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.
Globe and Mail – Quebec and Ontario Labour Activities Urge for More Transparency Around COVID-19 Outbreaks in Workplaces
Labour activists in Quebec and Ontario say more transparency is needed around COVID-19 outbreaks in warehouses and factories, many of which are staying open despite upcoming “non-essential” business lockdowns in both provinces. “A huge part of the workforce doing this kind of low-paid, precarious work,” Dr. Leighanne Parkes, infectious disease specialist at Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital, said, “are refugee claimants, they are newcomers, they’re people with precarious status, often they’re international students.”
CBC News – How This Syrian Refugee Is Giving Back to His New Home During COVID-19
This holiday season, Abdul Jalab wants to give back to the community that welcomed him with open arms. A Syrian refugee who moved to Halifax at the end of January, Jalab says he was immediately struck by the kindness of the people around him as soon as he got off the plane. When the coronavirus arrived in Halifax a few months later, Jalab had a work schedule that gave him three to four days off each week. That’s when he got the idea to spend that time running errands for people who weren’t able to do so.
CBC News – Donations of Food, Gifts Bring Taste of Trinidad and Tobago to Stranded Farm Workers
The federal government estimates roughly 400 people from the Caribbean country are still stuck on Canadian farms after labouring through the pandemic as essential workers. Their border has been closed since March because of COVID-19 and returning workers are only being allowed to trickle back a few at a time. Charles Haggart and his wife Petty drove down from Toronto with a car-full of Trinidadian foods and drinks from roti and rum cake to chocolates and other snacks.
Toronto Star – To Cut Through COVID-19 Disinformation, Ottawa Urged to Make Sure Vaccination Info Also Reaches Newcomers
Anti-vaccine propaganda and misinformation comes in multiple languages over a spectrum of social media, shared widely among community groups, social circles and families. The messaging targets everyone under the sun. Advocates say Canadian health authorities need to make accurate vaccination facts accessible to newcomers, who can be susceptible to these campaigns due to language and cultural barriers.
National Post – ‘We Can’t Go Anywhere’: Canadians Stuck in U.K. After Canada Shuts Down Air Travel
Mark Sultana says Canada’s decision to halt most air travel from the United Kingdom, where a mutated strain of COVID-19 has been discovered, landed “like a bombshell.” The federal government said late Sunday that passenger flights from the U.K. into Canada would be suspended for 72 hours in an attempt to keep out a new strain of COVID-19 discovered by British health officials.
CBC News – COVID-19 Halts Canadian Arrivals for Refugees Detained for Years Near Australia
A Vancouver settlement agency is ready to welcome 97 refugees who’ve been detained on islands north of Australia, but COVID-19 has put a wrench in the plan. Applications from the MOSAIC immigrant settlement organization to sponsor the new arrivals have passed the initial approval process in Canada, and they’ve been transferred to the overseas visa office in Sydney. Because of the pandemic, Canada’s Sydney visa office is closed, which means the paperwork and final checks can’t be completed for the 97 refugees.
