5,000 mostly Iranian and Iraqi refugees to resettle in Canada

canadianimmigrant.ca
January 16, 2013

Minister Jason Kenney and Parliamentary Secretary Bob Dechert at a refugee camp in Turkey on Jan. 14, 2013.

Canada will resettle up to 5,000 refugees currently in Turkey by 2018, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced during his current visit to Turkey.

Metro/Graham Lanktree
Shahriar Ayoubzadeh, of Ottawa’s Iranian community, said that the Persian solstice celebration of Yalda Dec. 21 shares many commonalities with the spirit of Christmas.

December 20, 2012
Updated: December 20, 2012 | 7:02 pm
Christmas spirit embodied in Iranian Yalda tradition
By Graham Lanktree
Metro Ottawa

Metro/Graham Lanktree
Shahriar Ayoubzadeh, of Ottawa’s Iranian community, said that the Persian solstice celebration of Yalda Dec. 21 shares many commonalities with the spirit of Christmas.

Yalda is older than Christmas, but shares its spirit, say Iranians who celebrate the Persian winter solstice celebration.

“It’s the night of birth or rebirth,” said Shahriar Ayoubzadeh, an Iranian of the Baha’i faith who came to Canada in 1987. “In the old tradition they used to celebrate exactly like Christmas with candles in the windows and lights in the house.”

Fahimeh Sinai and Peyman Rajabian say good-bye to their Montreal apartment: ‘We sent résumés everywhere,’ she says, but ‘couldn’t find any answer.’
(Christinne Muschi For The Globe and Mail)

IMMIGRATION
New Canadians love Quebec, but they’re leaving it
ANNA MEHLER PAPERNY 
The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Dec. 21 2012, 7:53 PM EST
Last updated Saturday, Dec. 22 2012, 8:49 AM EST

In the three years since Fahimeh Sinai and Peyman Rajabian left Iran for a new life in Montreal, they have accomplished a lot – earning graduate degrees, touring the Gaspé and obtaining provincially funded therapy for their toddler son. They applied for citizenship as soon as they were eligible.

Three Toronto-area immigrants fight for human rights in homeland
Published on Friday December 21, 2012 
TARA WALTON/TORONTO STAR
Freddy Kabongo, who came to Canada over 20 years ago, wants to bring democracy to Congo, whose people have lived under dictatorships for decades.

Debra Black
Immigration Reporter

Human rights and democratic values are principles that many Canadians take for granted. Not so for many immigrants and refugees who have chosen to make Canada their home.

Many come from countries where a lack of civil liberties and democracy is the norm. They arrive in Canada full of hope and optimism, to build a life and become part of the vibrant fabric that makes up the GTA.

J.R. Almerol, a manager at Basha Foods International, says he has noticed that younger family members are less likely to keep up with their Filipino heritage by speaking the Filipino language Tagalog. The most recent census has showed an increase in second language speakers other than French.
Photograph by: Gavin Young , Calgary Herald

Rise of immigrant tongues makes Calgary a global city
Statistics Canada report says many speak Punjabi, Spanish and Chinese dialects
By Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald October 25, 2012

J.R. Almerol, a manager at Basha Foods International, says he has noticed that younger family members are less likely to keep up with their Filipino heritage by speaking the Filipino language Tagalog. The most recent census has showed an increase in second language speakers other than French.
Photograph by: Gavin Young , Calgary Herald

CALGARY — Located along Barlow Trail in the city’s northeast stand two staples of Canadian taste: Tim Hortons and McDonald’s.

But tucked behind them, an international hub offers a different flavour of Calgary’s increasingly multicultural makeup.

Jason Kenney, Is Canada Standing Up for Transgender Refugees, Too? (Updated)
September 25, 2012. 1:44 am

(Updates at end)

Much is being written in the Canadian press about a bulk email reportedly sent from Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

Glen McGregor of the Ottawa Citizen writes: For many who received an email from Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney about gay refugees on Friday, the message raised one important question: How did he know I’m gay? The bulk email sent from Kenney’s MP’s office to thousands was titled “LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Refugees in Iran” and began with the salutation, “Friend.” It proceeded to trumpet steps taken by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and the Conservative government to protect the rights of gay and lesbian refugees, especially those coming from Iran.