Immigration
The TFWP and Harper’s smokescreen
Recent changes to the policing of Canada’s controversial Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) have some Canadians questioning the safety of their civil liberties. The changes allow agents of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), the branch of government in charge of the program, to enter the premises of any business employing TFWs and search… More »
FTW Friday: Exploitative “Border Security” episode won’t air
The separation of families and deportation make good television according to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister Vic Toews. The “de facto executive producers” approved a series that follows the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) in action. A lot of what is caught on film shows people foreign to Canada being detained, confused and intimidated…. More »
Friday FTW: Toronto to be Canada’s first “Sanctuary City”
Sanctuary! The Toronto City council passed Access Without Fear yesterday, a motion that gives basic rights to people without full immigration status. This makes Toronto the first sanctuary city in Canada, joining 31 American cities that have laws protecting non-documented immigrants. The motion affects about 400,000 migrant people living in Toronto who can’t depend on… More »
Peruvian migrant van crash survivors speak out
The man stood at the front of the room, facing a crowd of curious people. He appeared calm, but there was a definitive sense of sadness below the surface. “Have any of you ever felt your life slipping away from your hands?” he told the audience in Spanish (through an English interpreter). “I have.” His… More »
Flashback Tuesday: “Murder by Decree”
In this week’s installment, we’ve dug deep into the archives to bring you this 1987 piece by Reg Whitaker lambasting the Mulroney government’s backward stance on refugees. “Murder by Decree” tells the story of how the Mulroney government—taking its cue from the Reganites to the south—concocted an immigration policy that left thousands of Central American… More »
Bill C-4: anti-human smuggling or anti-refugee?
On August 13, 2010, a ship full of Tamil migrants arrived on the shores of British Columbia. There were 492 people on board, including 49 children, all seeking asylum after enduring a desperate, four-month voyage on a cramped, unsanitary ship. Even before the boat arrived, the Conservative government labeled occupants as “criminals” and “terrorists.” The… More »
Occupy: Will splinter groups build the movement or dilute its potency?
Lia Grainger is a Canadian journalist. She is currently travelling across the United States interviewing activists from across the political spectrum. To follow her trip, visit Awinterofdiscontent.com. We’ll be cross-posting some of her blog posts on the This blog as she travels. Lia was in Los Angeles last week. Here, she chronicles the Occupy I.C.E. march and… More »
Book Review: Citizens of Nowhere by Debi Goodwin
The eleven extraordinary young people profiled in Citizens of Nowhere have been teachers, social workers, mediators, and breadwinners. Journalist Debi Goodwin meets them as refugees in Dadaab, Kenya, and follows them through their difficult transition to life as first-year university students in Canada. They have each been sponsored to come to study in Canada as… More »
Canada's treatment of Tamil refugees is a "defining moment," and we're failing
Watch out! The terrorists are coming! They’re human smugglers too, all of them. They’re smuggling themselves. And there are many more boats on the horizon, watching and waiting to take advantage of our natural generosity. Xenophobic? Not us. We value immigration. In fact, there are thousands of good immigrants out there waiting patiently to get… More »
