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NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY MINORITY REPORT
JUDY WASYLYCIA-LEIS, MP
The need to address the matter of Canada’s ability to compete for immigrants is becoming increasingly critical. Canada needs immigrants. Our most recent census data shows that we will not be able to maintain our population or our skilled workforce without attracting increasing numbers of immigrants. This has served to underline the need for a revamped immigration policy. It is a message that comes just as we are entering a period of increased competition for immigrants worldwide.
A policy based on vision
For most immigrants, selecting a destination — a new home where they hope to flourish and establish their families — is based on very personal and subjective criteria. It is a question of comparing their vision for their future with our vision and what other countries have to offer.
Canada’s vision is presented through our immigration legislation, regulations, guidelines and programs. But that vision, as it stands, fails to make a convincing case for Canada as a welcoming society for immigrants. The federal government presents no clearly articulated population-based strategy; no clear vision of an open immigration policy, of a country drawing strength from its diversity and acting decisively against intolerance.
The new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is far from visionary, charts a cautious approach and is as much about keeping people out as welcoming them. The new rules discriminate against those who may lack formal educational qualifications but who nonetheless would contribute productively to our society. Versatility has become the catchword in Canada’s new knowledge-based economy, yet our immigration requirements are not adequately geared to that new reality. As well, arbitrary retroactive deadlines that were designed to cut people off of waiting lists are still part of the picture. Combined with an increasingly restrictive approach to refugees, this signals that Canada is moving away from the humanitarian traditions that have been at the very root of our past success in attracting immigrants.
A multi-pronged strategy
Canada’s approach must change. In order for Canada to succeed in the toughening competition to attract immigrants, there must be an integrated approach using a multi-pronged strategy that clearly points to Canada as a destination of choice. This means looking beyond short-term economic self-interest and beyond the administrative problems of the day. Policies that will succeed in attracting immigrants and in convincing them to stay, once here, have to address the need to feel welcome, to be valued and to belong. These must include:
1. Recognition of foreign credentials
Canada must improve the recognition of foreign credentials and experience. Many immigrants find that the assets that qualified them to come here prove to be of little or no value in getting a job in their field once they have arrived. This has become a chronic and debilitating problem for immigrants — a problem that studies say is getting worse. It undermines newcomers’ confidence, impedes their integration and may ultimately lead them to abandon Canada for a more hospitable alternative. There are hundreds of regulatory bodies nationwide, each with their own standards and procedures. Federal leadership is needed to eliminate these well-documented barriers, to develop mechanisms to ensure that immigrants gain access to employment in their field of expertise, and to place work-ready immigrants in jobs as quickly as possible.
2. Family Reunification
The valuable role that the presence of family members can play in setting down new roots has also been undervalued. Wanting to have family members close at hand to share in our lives is common to immigrants and non-immigrants alike. It contributes to our sense of community. As well, family members can provide familiar and trusted support, especially during a period of adjustment. Expanding the family class definition to include more extended family members — at least, grandparents, sisters and
brothers — would ease some of the strain of immigration. Speeding up the family reunification process, that can sometimes drag on for years, would also reduce the stress of prolonged separation. Short-term family access is also important. Improving visitor visa processing would ensure that temporary contact is possible. The role of family ties and links to cultural communities in attracting and keeping immigrants cannot be underestimated.
3. Ending the head tax
For many people, especially those from less materially affluent countries, the Right of Landing Fee poses an insurmountable barrier to immigration. Commonly referred to as the “head tax”, this $950 fee together with the administrative fee of $500 per adult and $100 per child places immigration here well beyond the means of many who have much to offer Canada. It saddles others with an immediate debt burden that adds significantly to the strain of settlement. These fees need to be phased out as quickly as possible.
4. Effective settlement services
Comprehensive and adequately-funded settlement services are integral to any policy that is going to attract and retain immigrants. Such services should include, for example, skills upgrading, employment assistance, official languages training, affordable housing strategies and should be complemented by extensive public awareness programs to acquaint more Canadians with the benefits of immigration. The lead for the needed overhaul of our settlement efforts should come from the federal government with services developed in cooperation with the provinces and territories and with meaningful consultation and collaboration with municipalities. Municipalities are a vital component often ignored but frequently left to pick up settlement responsibilities that have been downloaded as a result of federal cuts to social programs. Readily available settlement services are essential to help immigrants make a successful transition to life in Canada, as quickly as possible, and to begin participating fully in Canada’s economy at the earliest opportunity.
5. Renewed multiculturalism
Building strength from diversity and preserving Canada’s multicultural identity are ideas that must be at the core of our immigration policy. We need more than a passive acceptance of our cultural differences. What is called for is a proactive strategy to promote positive race and ethnic relations in order to strengthen respect for diversity in tandem with a clear and immediate response to any racially or religiously motivated hatred. This sends the all-important message that Canada is home, not just to those already here but to everyone seeking a stable and secure environment in which to relocate.
We can succeed in meeting the urgent new challenges before us, if we build our vision for immigration on the traditions of this nation of immigrants that is Canada, and if we deliver the promise of that vision with the generosity of spirit, commitment and resources that are its due.
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