We closed our doors to the world
TheStar.com – Opinion/Commentary – Many people think of Canada as one of the most welcoming countries in the world. Sadly, that is no longer true.
Sep 18 2015. By: Naomi Alboim
The Harper Shift is a month-long look at how Canada has changed over a decade of Conservative government – and at what kind of country we want to become. Here Naomi Alboim considers Canada’s increasingly stingy immigration policy.
Many people think of Canada as one of the most welcoming countries in the world. Sadly, that is no longer true. Since 2008 it has become harder to get into Canada, to stay here permanently, and to become a citizen. This is due to a steady stream of changes by the federal government that affect virtually all aspects of our immigration and refugee policy.
Many of the changes came without public discussion or debate, often buried in “omnibus” bills. In addition, the minister of citizenship and immigration was given the power to make significant changes simply by issuing “ministerial instructions” to immigration officers, effectively bypassing the parliamentary process.
Although the level of immigration has remained fairly constant at approximately 260,000 per year over the past 10 years, the composition of that flow has tilted toward selecting more people in the economic class, fewer in the family class, and far fewer refugees. In 2014 refugees represented less than 9 per cent of the immigration flow to Canada (as compared to 14 per cent in 2005), while the economic class rose to 63.4 per cent and is targeted to reach 70 per cent.
The government’s goal of using the immigration system to help provide workers who can fill jobs in the labour market is not a concern when viewed on its own. It is a serious problem, however, when these short-term labour market objectives overshadow Canada’s longer-term social and economic nation-building goals, achieved in large measure by our humanitarian refugee and family reunification programs.
A new system called Express Entry for the selection of economic immigrants was introduced in January 2015. The mid-year report of the program, issued in July, states that 85 per cent of successful applicants were already living in Canada as temporary entrants. This demonstrates that we have largely moved to “two-step” immigration where individuals first come to Canada as temporary workers or international students and then try to make the transition to permanent residence. But the odds are against them.
The number of people holding temporary work permits in Canada more than doubled between 2005 and 2013 from 214,317 to 460,663. That is 200,000 more than the number of permanent residents admitted in 2014.
Many temporary workers, particularly those in lower skilled jobs, are ineligible to apply for permanent residence, while the rest are potentially competing with each other, international students, and people around the world for the approximately 78,000 spaces available to economic class principal applicants. The result is a growing number of people in Canada — without access to services, supports, and mobility rights — who will never become permanent residents. Some will stay anyway, creating a potential undocumented underclass.
For those who manage to become permanent residents whether in one step or two, changes to the Citizenship Act have made it much harder for them to obtain Canadian citizenship. As a result, fewer apply and succeed in becoming citizens, the true indicator of belonging and becoming part of this country. Those who obtain citizenship may now be at risk of losing it due to policies in which dual citizens can have their Canadian citizenship taken away much more easily.
In the family class, recent changes make it practically impossible for people in Canada to sponsor their parents or grandparents for permanent residence. Children over 18 are no longer considered to be dependents who can be sponsored or accompany their parents to Canada. In addition, even sponsored spouses now enter Canada on a conditional basis for their first two years here, putting them at risk of abuse.
Perhaps the cruellest changes since 2008 have been those aimed at refugees and refugee claimants, from policies that deny essential health care, to those that assume people are not legitimate refugees, simply because they are from countries that our government has deemed to be “safe.” Hungary is one of those supposedly “safe” countries, despite its appalling treatment of Roma and other minorities.
It was a promising sign when earlier this year the government publicly committed to accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next three years. But there is little evidence of government action to deliver and respond quickly to the ever-growing crisis. In fact, bureaucratic and regulatory requirements have discouraged many eager and generous Canadians who want to help. We know that the government is capable of acting quickly and decisively, as it did in putting through so many immigration policy changes over the past several years. One can only conclude that the level of political will we witnessed to restrict access is still greater than the will to respond to the current refugee crisis by opening our doors.
Immigration policy decisions affect how Canada is perceived in the world and will shape the nation for generations to come. As a country, we have benefited enormously from previous generations of immigrants and refugees. Let us hope that this will be top of mind for whoever forms the next government.
Naomi Alboim is an adjunct professor at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University and a former Ontario deputy minister.
< http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/09/18/we-closed-our-doors-to-the-world.html >
Tags: featured, globalization, Health, ideology, immigration, multiculturalism, rights
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