Irene Bloemraad, professor of Political Science and Sociology at the University of British Columbia, delivered the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada’s 2024 Mallory Lecture, titled “The Limits of Canadian Tolerance” on Oct. 30. She presented her recent research on Canadians’ attitudes towards out-of-status immigrants—temporary residents whose visas have[Read More…]
Tag: Immigration
The Illusion of Inclusion
As an American who came of age during the tumultuous Trump era, with the 2016 election marking my first real exposure to the complexities of national politics, I couldn’t wait to move to Canada. Amid the chaos of increased polarization, inflammatory rhetoric, and escalating tensions that defined U.S. politics, Canada[Read More…]
Parliament Hill must address the root causes of the migrant crisis
Last year, around 39,000 refugees entered Canada through Roxham Road, an illegal border-crossing site between New York and Quebec, which requires an extremely dangerous journey on foot. This past January, almost 5,000 were reported to have crossed the site into the province. The situation has sparked heated debate at Parliament[Read More…]
Canadian mining: Putting a price on Latin American lives
Canada is one of the world’s most prominent players in the mining industry, and its presence has been swiftly growing since the 1990s. Nowhere is Canada’s dominance seen more clearly than in Latin America—where between 50 and 70 per cent of mining activity involves Canadian companies. With its neocolonialist control[Read More…]
Abolish migrant prisons now
On Oct. 25, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) opened a new migrant detention centre in Laval, Quebec. Canadian provinces, often in accordance with CBSA contracts, forcefully detain migrants for “administrative reasons” and continue to incarcerate many for indefinite periods of time. The excuse of administrative detention undermines the violent[Read More…]
Shattering the political illusion of Legault’s anti-immigrant policy
The Quebec provincial election campaign has officially kicked off and, as election day approaches on Oct. 3, voters have much to consider after a tumultuous four years. This fall, immigration is top of mind. Businesses want more immigrants to relieve the province’s major labour shortages, Bill 96 has stirred intense[Read More…]
‘Minari’ waters down the Korean immigrant experience for the white gaze
As a Korean Canadian who immigrated to Canada at age 12, I had high hopes for Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari (2020), touted as a moving immigrant drama that tells the story of growing up Korean in 1980s Arkansas. Since its award-winning world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Minari has drawn immense[Read More…]
‘Forbidden’ fights for intersectional justice
On Jan. 27, the Union for Gender Empowerment (UGE) at McGill hosted a virtual screening of the documentary Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America, which follows Moises Serrano, a young, undocumented, gay man. Directed by Tiffany Rhynard, Forbidden’s 88 minutes immerse viewers in Serrano’s life and his grapple with the[Read More…]
New international students need more support on immigration procedures
On Sept. 15, I, along with many other international students, received an automated email from McGill Legal Services notifying me that I was at risk of deregistration due to missing immigration documents. Although I applied for my documents over the summer, the Quebec documents uploading system did not correctly upload[Read More…]
CAQ’s proposed reforms to PEQ spark criticism from student organizations across Québec
Quebec’s Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government announced on May 28 its proposed reforms to the Quebec Experience Program (Programme de l’expérience québécoise, or PEQ), a popular immigration program that fast tracks temporary foreign workers and international students to obtain the Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) required to apply for permanent residency[Read More…]