The Media Roundup provides links to recent and archived articles, in both English and French, on immigration and diversity appearing in the national and local news. Some international content is also included. Articles are updated weekly.
Toronto Star – This Migrant Worker Got Fired After Raising COVID-19 Concerns. Now He’s Stranded in Mexico Amid Travel Restriction ‘Chaos’
After catching COVID-19 in a massive outbreak that killed his bunkmate and losing his job for raising safety concerns, Gabriel Flores Flores thought he’d found reprieve. He had won a reprisal ruling against his former employer at Ontario’s labour board, and received an open work permit for migrant workers who experience abuse. Now, having saved for three months to visit his wife and children over Christmas, he is stranded in Mexico. It puts him at risk of losing his new job in Canada.
Toronto Star – Immigration Canada Reports Rise in Suicide Calls from Visa Applicants
Immigration Canada is reporting an increased number of visa applicants who are expressing thoughts or intentions of suicide because of processing delays caused by the various measures put in place around the pandemic. “We have attributed this increase to the duress that many clients are under given the various measures put in place around COVID,” said Carly Dybka, Assistant Director, Social Media & Care at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in an email to her bosses obtained under the Access to Information Act.
Global News – New Canadian Forced to Defer University Education Twice After Lengthy Government Delays
A new Canadian was forced to alter his future plans in Nova Scotia after waiting nearly a year for his permanent resident application to be processed and approved. “I had to defer my degree because I haven’t gotten it (permanent resident card) in September and I deferred it to January, but then of course in January, I haven’t received anything,” A B M Naimul Islam said.
Global News – Canada to Cover Cost of Mandatory Hotel Quarantine for New Refugees
As of Monday, most incoming travellers to Canada are required to stay for up to three nights in government-approved hotels while they await the results of COVID-19 tests. Newly arriving refugees will have the cost of their mandatory hotel quarantines covered by the federal government. The federal government is also covering the cost of mandatory COVID-19 testing on arrival.
CBC News – People Wanting to Come to Canada Stuck with Pending Applications: Kitchener Immigration Lawyer
The federal government’s plan to bring 400,000 immigrants into the country this year is a good goal, but they also need to address a massive backlog created during the pandemic of people waiting in the system, says a Kitchener immigration lawyer. Jennifer Roggemann said every person immigrating to Canada has to do a fingerprint. That has to be done in person and between March and July of 2020, the buildings where people could do that were closed. Even after they were open, there were people waiting for their turn.
CBC News – North Sees 34% Drop in International Students Due to COVID-19
A new report shows 34 per cent fewer international students came North in 2020 compared to the previous year. Robert Falconer, author of the report and a research associate at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, says it may partly have been due to the ensuing travel restrictions after the pandemic began last March. “While the numbers, of course, are quite smaller for the territories relatively speaking, they’ve been the most impacted — more than any other jurisdiction in Canada,” Falconer said.
