Une alliance nationale visant à fournir une base factuelle pour l'établissement et l'intégration des nouveaux arrivants, ainsi que pour la promotion de communautés accueillantes au Canada
La revue de presse fournit des liens aux articles récents et archivés, à la fois en anglais et en français, sur l’immigration et la diversité lesquels ont été publiés dans les média locaux et nationaux. Il y a également des articles internationaux. Cette section est mise à jour hebdomadairement.
Reluctant witnesses, scant evidence, and limited time and resources pose serious challenges when it comes to investigating crooked immigration consultants, the Canada Border Services Agency says. Agency president Luc Portelance tells Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney in a newly disclosed memo that fraudulent activities involving unscrupulous consultants “threaten the integrity of Canada’s immigration program.” The correspondence highlights the latest headaches confronting federal officials in their long battle against criminals who take advantage of people desperate to come to Canada. The memo, released under the Access to Information Act, says the border agency has received more than 700 referrals of suspected consultant-related fraud for criminal investigation since 2008. About 140 of these have resulted in investigations. Over the last six years, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada has accepted 22 cases, with 13 resulting in guilty convictions and several others still making their way through the courts, the memo adds.
CBC – Canada Considers Prioritizing Religious Minorities in Syria Refugee Resettlement
The federal government is seeking to resettle more Syrian refugees, but only from the country’s religious minorities, according to sources close to discussions around Canada’s position on refugees from the war-torn nation. Canada has been struggling to meet an earlier commitment from July 2013 to resettle 1,300 Syrians by the end of this year. Statistics tabled in the House of Commons last week showed 457 refugees had arrived as of mid-November. On Tuesday, the government updated that number to 703. Kevin Menard, a spokesman for the immigration minister, wrote CBC News on Friday saying the numbers are “going up fairly quickly.”
CBC – No Easy Answers on ISIS Religious Persecution, MPs Learn
For the last three weeks, the foreign affairs committee has been studying Canada’s response to the “violence, religious persecution and dislocation” caused by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) throughout the Middle East, with particular emphasis on the situation in Iraq. So far, though, it’s fair to say the committee seems to be especially interested in the implications of the ongoing conflict for religious minorities — particularly, though not exclusively, Christians. Earlier this month, the committee heard from Rabeas Allos, an Iraqi-Canadian who has spent the last few years helping Iraqi Christians settle in Canada through a program run by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto. He told MPs that he’s seen people in churches “arguing about whether we should be sponsoring Muslim families.” “In one church in the Toronto area, for example, they sponsored a family,” he noted. “It turned out to be Muslim and people went berserk when they found out — and they are decent, good people.” Allos said representatives from his community have met with Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander “regarding Christians, basically,” as well as Yazidis. “They’re open for suggestions, especially if it’s not going to cost the taxpayers money,” he told the committee.
The Province – Government Faces Questions about Anti-Muslim Bias Over Syrian Refugees
The Conservative government is facing renewed questions about an alleged anti-Muslim bias following revelations it wants to cherry-pick which Syrian refugees will be accepted into Canada. Sources say the government wants to prioritize religious minorities as a condition for resettling thousands more Syrian refugees in Canada over the next two years. But the United Nations has resisted Canada’s request, as its policy is to help the most vulnerable, no matter their religious background. This includes families led by women, torture victims and those with serious medical conditions. […] The desire to accept only religious minorities has sparked fresh concerns the Conservative government’s refusal to do more in response to the Syrian refugee crisis is because the majority of those affected are Muslim. Sunni Muslims account for nearly three-quarters of all Syrians, according to the CIA Factbook, while other Muslim groups such as Shias, Alawis and Ismailis represent another 16 per cent of the population. Christians and a small number of Jews represent the remaining 10 per cent.
Le Devoir – Réfugiés syriens: l’opposition critique la décision d’Ottawa de donner la priorité aux minorités
L’opposition remet en question le mode de sélection des réfugiés syriens préconisé par le gouvernement fédéral, qui a choisi de donner la priorité aux minorités ethniques et religieuses. Selon Costas Menegakis, le secrétaire parlementaire du ministre de l’Immigration Chris Alexander, Ottawa ne «s’excusera pas» de procéder ainsi. «Nous donnons la priorité aux minorités ethniques et religieuses, celles dont il a été fait la démonstration qu’elles étaient à risque», a-t-il déclaré vendredi à la Chambre des communes. Le Nouveau Parti démocratique (NPD) et le Parti libéral estiment que les réfugiés ne devraient pas être discriminés en fonction de leur religion. «C’est inadmissible et impensable», a déploré en point de presse la députée néodémocrate Sadia Groguhé. «Lorsque les bombes tombent, elles ne discriminent personne. Elles tombent sur la tête de tout le monde», a-t-elle illustré. Les musulmans sunnites délaissés. En vertu de cette orientation gouvernementale, les grands laissés-pour-compte seraient vraisemblablement les musulmans sunnites de la Syrie. La population syrienne est à 87 % musulmane (dont 74 % de sunnites), 10 % chrétienne et trois pour cent druze, selon le World Factbook de la CIA.
Radio-Canada – Le Canada a accueilli plus de 2300 Philippins depuis le typhon Haiyan
Le nombre d’immigrants en provenance des Philippines a grimpé en flèche au Canada depuis qu’Ottawa a mis en place une mesure spéciale pour faciliter l’immigration des victimes du typhon Haiyan, fin 2013. Le super typhon Haiyan avait fait plus de 6000 morts l’an dernier aux Philippines. L’ampleur de la catastrophe était telle qu’Ottawa avait mis en place des dispositions spéciales pour faciliter l’accueil des victimes de la tragédie. Selon des données du ministère de la Citoyenneté et de l’Immigration, obtenues par le NPD, le Canada a ouvert ses portes à 2314 ressortissants philippins depuis le typhon Haiyan. Ottawa a accepté 1985 demandes de résidence permanente et 329 demandes de résidence temporaire. C’est du jamais vu en 10 ans. Le taux d’approbation des demandes pour les personnes touchées par le typhon est de 81 %.
