|
'Canada - Vision Lacking
On Immigration'
From:
http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/670323
TheStar.com - Opinion - July 23, 2009
|
Who
Immigrated to Canada - 2005-2008
Source: Citizenship & Immigration Canada
Facts and Figures 2008 |
| |
2005
Number (%) |
2006
Number (%) |
2007
Number (%) |
2008
Number (%) |
|
Economic |
156,312 (59.6) |
138,252 (54.9) |
131,244 (55.4) |
149,047 (60) |
|
Family |
63,361 (24.2) |
70,508 (28) |
66,232 (28) |
65,554 (27) |
|
Protected Persons |
35,776 (13.6) |
32,499 (12.9) |
27,955 (11.8) |
21,859 (9) |
|
Other |
6,790 (2.6) |
10,392 (4.1) |
11.322 (4.8) |
10,740 (4) |
|
Total |
262,241 (100) |
251,643 (100) |
236,754 (100) |
247,202 (100) |
Canada relies heavily on
newcomers for population and employment growth. That
means our immigration policies are among the most
important decisions we make in shaping our nation.
Unfortunately, our federal government is now leaving
many of these decisions up to provinces and even
individual employers and universities, which do not
always have the national interest in mind.
Rather than deal properly with the backlog of people
applying to come to Canada under the federal skilled
worker program, Stephen Harper's Conservative
government simply expanded shortcuts to get here
through provincial and temporary worker programs.
In a study on immigration policy released this week,
Naomi Alboim compellingly argues that this devolution
of federal responsibility and control has skewed our
policy away from economic immigrants with the language
skills and abilities to become successful citizens
toward those who fill regional or temporary labour
needs.
For the first time in our history, we are accepting
more temporary workers than permanent immigrants.
Regrettably, this dramatic policy shift was made
without any serious public debate. Harper's government
did much of it by giving the immigration minister
extra powers in an amendment buried in a budget bill
last year.
The minister has used those powers to limit skilled
workers to specific occupations or those with a job
offer. This excludes many who could contribute
significantly to Canada. It also creates frustration
for those who do come only to discover that the list
of 38 "in demand" occupations is out of date and jobs
in their field are hard to find.
Under the Harper government, there has also been a
troubling growth in low-skilled temporary workers who
provide employers with cheap labour but have no hope
of becoming citizens. There is a real danger that when
their work term ends, some will go underground rather
than leave the country. They will then create an
undocumented class of illegal immigrants, as in the
United States.
Given all this, how can we hope to get the integrated,
successful immigrants we need for a prosperous future?
Fundamentally changing our immigration policy should
not be done quietly, as it has been. We need a
vigorous debate in the next federal election, with all
the parties clearly laying out their visions on the
issue. As Alboim notes, "It determines who we will be
tomorrow."
http://www.maytree.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/adjustingthebalance-final.pdf |
