Dear friends, 

I have wonderful news to share. 

Yesterday, at 5:20 pm EST, less than 24 hours before his third scheduled deportation, CIC called young Gergo Balogh (subject of article below) to inform him that his H&C application has now been approved and that he can stay in Canada [...] 

Immigration lawyers are seeing a growing number of deportation cases where a failed refugee claimant is being removed even if the person has a pending permanent residence application with the spouse, who is granted asylum in a separate claim [...]

The federal government denies it’s behind the problems faced by Roma travellers, saying it’s up to airlines to decide who boards flights to Canada.

Ottawa is being accused of preventing Roma travellers from boarding Canada-bound flights and denying them the possibility of seeking asylum here [...]

A community coalition has asked the federal government to grant permanent status to deported Roma refugees who were clients of three disgraced lawyers.

Ottawa is being urged to offer redress to the Roma refugees who were the clients of three disciplined Toronto lawyers and subsequently had their asylum claims rejected by Canada [...]

Joseph Stephen Farkas, who represented a high volume of Roma refugees, will be suspended for six months and placed under supervision for at least one year [...]

Co-Written by  Julia Lovell; Romani civil rights activist and co-founder of the Canadian Romani Alliance and Amanda Shorr; Romanichal, activist, researcher, and genetic genealogist

Time and time again, Romani people are the targets of cultural appropriation, with various levels of offenders to tackle. On Etsy, Ebay, and Pinterest combined, one can find over 498,000 objects tagged “Gypsy” which includes items such as dangly jewelry, hippy/Boho skirts, colorful bedsheets, and even pet supplies with tags such as “ Vintage gypsy”, “Bohemian gypsy ”, and “Gypsy Junk” while fashion designers label their companies and collections using comparable terms and are relentless in their use of racially stereotypical themes [...]

CBSA statistics about which countries’ citizens Canada deports, and why, belie international perceptions of our warm embrace of foreigners. Matthew McClearn looks behind the numbers

"They fled Hungary because they were “scared that their home was going to be burned down. Tired of their children getting beaten up at school and put into segregated classes. Tired of being subjected to verbal, psychological, physical violence when they left their homes." - Gina Csanyi-Robah, Canadian Romani Alliance [...]

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 10, 7-9PM
VIVO (2625 Kaslo Street, Vancouver)
FREE

 https://www.facebook.com/events/1140801832641709/

Art has long been a powerful vehicle of expression used to challenge and resist negative stereotypes. 

Join us for an evening of exploring how different ethnic and class communities - Romani, Indigenous, Black --  have utilized multiple art forms to resist systemic discrimination and oppression.

Romani Women in Canada: Spectrum of the Blue Water is grounded upon Romani women’s lived experience as writers, essayists, visual artists, and activists. Reflecting the panoply of women’s voices, the book links everyday experience and a social critique of the factors that enable and constrain women’s lives [...]