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Immigrants In Canada
http://www.thestar.com
While Canada is facing a growing shortage of skilled workers,
the federal government is proposing only a modest increase to
immigration levels and has ruled out any amnesty for illegal workers
already in the country.
At the same time, the backlog of immigrants hoping to come to Canada
has swelled to 800,000, up 100,000 in the past year, a mark of this
country's appeal to newcomers and the processing time within the
department.
 Immigration Minister Monte Solberg admits that his department's
annual report — released yesterday — holds few answers for meeting
the labour needs of Canada's economy.
For the sixth year in a row, the department's annual report confirms
that Canada beat its immigration target last year, accepting 262,236
new permanent residents, just above its target range of 220,000 to
245,000. That's up 11 per cent over the 235,824 residents accepted in
2004.
Next year, Canada has set a goal of admitting between 240,000 and
265,000 new residents, according to the report tabled in the Commons.
Jobs go begging in a number of areas in Canada, most notably in the
Alberta oil sands, in many construction trades across the country, as
well as in many medical fields. Labour market experts have warned
that shortages in these and other spheres will worsen over the coming
decade as more workers retire. Yesterday, Solberg hinted at possible
changes:
By year's end, he's hoping to unveil measures to reduce the red tape
that slows permits allowing foreign workers to enter Canada
temporarily. As well, he hopes to allow them to stay longer.
He's hoping to make changes that would open the door wider to skilled
workers, saying that under existing rules, there's no "easy way" for
blue-collar workers to get into Canada.
Solberg also suggested that shake ups could be coming for Canadians
who hold dual citizenship, and to their "responsibilities" to Canada
when they live abroad. Canada spent at least $63 million evacuating
some 15,000 Canadian citizens from Lebanon this summer, many of whom
also held Lebanese citizenship.
But since then, at least half have reportedly returned to homes in
Lebanon.
He reiterated his opposition to granting amnesty to the thousands of
illegal workers working in Canada, many in Greater Toronto's booming
construction trades. "We're not considering amnesty at all," he said.
Critics say Solberg isn't dealing with fundamental problems in the
system.
Vancouver-based immigration lawyer and policy analyst Richard Kurland
said the minimal increase in the family reunification quota — up just
6 per cent to 19,000 — will not resolve the delays in sponsoring
parents and grandparents.
The backlog stands at 90,000 applications.
On tailoring immigration to labour market shortages, Solberg
acknowledged "that the remedies aren't laid out, but we are working
on ways to reorient immigration policy to address labour market needs.
"The challenge we have today is not quite the same as we used to
have. It used to be that we had too many people lining up and we
didn't know what to do with them," Solberg said in an interview.
"Now we're in a competition for a lot of that talent so we're going
to have to make changes to get them here, to entice them."
New Democrat MP Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina) faulted the Tories for
a timid immigration plan and said the government should aspire to
accept a number equal to 1 per cent of the country's population —
roughly 330,000 people a year. That's a target the previous Liberal
government set but never reached.
She said Canada's economic viability hinges on a bigger influx of
immigrants.
Other critics said the government is not dealing with fundamental
problems in the system — how to shorten processing time and eliminate
backlogs; making sure highly qualified immigrants will have their
credentials recognized by employers; and what to do with the
estimated 200,000 undocumented workers living here in limbo.
"There is a lack of political will to address these issues ... the
process just takes too long," said Queen's University immigration and
refugee law professor Sharry Aiken.
Aiken argued that refusing to regularize undocumented workers
contradicts the government's position that it wants to "reorient" the
system to reflect Canada's labour needs.
Debbie Douglas, executive director of the 200-member Ontario Council
of Agencies Serving Immigrants, said the report doesn't pay enough
attention to settlement issues.
"We should be asking ourselves: How do we create opportunities for
immigrants to immigrate, and regularize the status of the massive
number of people who are in Ontario without status?" she said.
"We need a serious debate in this country about immigration."
Solberg's refusal to consider an amnesty has sparked anger among
workers who face deportation and frustration among the businesses who
rely on the workers.
"It's not good public policy to ignore the realities of the economy,"
said Cosmo Mannella of the Labourers' International Union of North
America, who estimates that one-third of Toronto's residential
construction workforce consists of undocumented workers.
"You cannot take that kind of human resource out of the home building
economy and expect anything less than a disaster," he said.
According to the report, economic class immigrants made up almost 60
per cent of the new arrivals.
About a quarter were in the family class, 13 per cent were refugees
and 2 per cent were granted permanent resident status based on
humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
China ranked as the top source of new immigrants, followed by India,
the Philippines, Pakistan and the United States.
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