Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - December 2009
A new report finds that Canada is one of the only prosperous nations in the world who is not decreasing immigration targets in response to the recent economic downturn.
The report, compiled by Canada’s Border Services Agency, is warning government officials that would-be migrants to the United States or Europe may now choose to come to Canada, as most nations tighten their borders.
The CSBA report states that many industrialized nations will see higher unemployment for longer periods of time. This will most heavily affect workers at the bottom of the employment ladder who are often the migrant workers and new citizens. Governments do not want to have to dish out more welfare payments to the unemployed migrant, no more than voting citizens want to lose their jobs to better-qualified migrants, and immigration policies change accordingly.
The new report surfaces at a tumultuous time in Canadian immigration politics – in particular with regards to the issue of refugees. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has been highly active in the media of late, after making controversial statements about Canada’s need to “crackdown” on illegitimate refugee claimants who are merely trying to “jump the queue”.
The Department of Citizenship and Immigration has been promoting the idea of refugee reforms that could affect tens of thousands of migrants already in the country. The new report could mean that such reforms would have more wide-ranging consequences than first suspected.
However, experts are saying that closing our doors may not, in fact, be the economic solution it seems. The report also includes an analysis of the global socio-economic impact of such policies and the forecast is grim.
Migrant workers and immigrants are often leaving their native countries in search of better economic opportunities. They move away to find work and, once established, often send money back home to relatives in need. According to the report, cutting off that lifeline – particularly for temporary workers coming from extreme poverty – could easily result in social unrest and more crime.
No doubt, the decision on immigration targets during times of recession is a difficult one for any government. The struggle to balance human rights and the desire for dollars is an issue that has plagued us for years, and will continue to do so as the global community becomes smaller and smaller.
Source: The Globe and Mail
