How should we measure the success of an immigration program?
The measuring stick the Conservative government uses is earning potential. Essentially their theory is, immigrants of Group A earn more than immigrants of Group B, then we should only allow immigrants from Group A in.
But is this why we want to attract more immigrants to our country? Do we only want new immigrants and citizens who can earn a lot of money? I don't think so.
Here are some reasons why I think we need immigration (and why basing our immigration policies on earning potential just does not make sense):
1. Meeting labour market needs and shortages
As Canada's working population shrinks, the labour market needs more people to work in it. Although there will always be a need for workers with specialized skills not found in Canada, we have seen in recent years a dire need for workers in lower paying jobs. As university/college education becomes the standard for the new generations entering the labour force, the shortage in the manual labour market is reaching crisis levels in many industries.
The Conservative government has classified these occupations as being low-skilled and has now implemented a policy aimed at returning foreign workers in these occupations after 4 years of work in Canada. They have also made it impossible for "low-skilled" workers to immigrate to Canada under the Federal economic categories and have implemented artificial language requirements even for the selection criteria set by provinces.
Why did they do this? According to the Conservative government "low-skilled" workers won't be able to "integrate" as well into Canada. How do they come to this conclusion? Earning potential of course! Since low-skilled workers don't earn as much as high-skilled workers, we don't need them as much in Canada even though employers can't find Canadians who are willing to do these jobs. Anyone else see the absurdity in this reasoning?
2. Making our population younger
Canada's population is aging and unless we can bring in a younger labour force, our economy will slow down as the burden of the retired population becomes increasingly heavier, as it is in Europe where the population is much older than ours. This has to do with the number of people coming in, not how much they earn. In fact, younger people are more likely to come in with less work experience and thus earn lower salaries than their more senior counterparts. However, they have longer working years and can increase the birthrate in Canada.
3. Attracting talent
With the exception of the Aboriginal peoples, everyone in Canada is an immigrant or a descendant of a immigrant. The success of our country has been largely due to our ability to attract talented entrepreneurs, scientists, and professionals from other countries. Most of them did not have job offers before they came to Canada. In the first few years most of them struggled but they and/or their children eventually became leaders in their industry and in Canada.
Under our current system, people like Albert Einstein, Antoni Gaudi, and Steve Jobs would not qualify for permanent residence. Why? Because they didn't have job offers in Canada. The Conservatives state that people with job offers earn more than those without during their first few years in the country. As a result they conclude only people with job offers should be allowed to immigrate to Canada. This shortsightedness confounds reason.
4. Allowing us to reunite with family members
To most of us family is what we care for the most in the world. We cannot bear to be without our spouses and children for a few days. We feel a deep responsibility to care for our parents as they did for us.
We have a responsibility to care for new members of our Canadian community to allow them to reunite with their families. Do unto others as you would unto yourself. If you cannot bear to be without your spouse and children, don't force others to do so for an extended period of time. If you feel the responsibility to take care of your parents, don't force others to leave their parents thousands of miles away.
Yes, family members may make less money than skilled workers. But allowing them to immigrate gives us much more than money - that of knowing we have done the right thing as a community.
5. Allowing people who face persecution in their own countries sanctuary in Canada
Listen carefully when you hear Minister Kenney or any Conservative government members speak about the refugee system these days and you will hear them mention how "generous" the Canadian refugee system is. Their generosity spiel is usually paired with the announcement of how they are going to take away basic human rights of refugees in Canada. These have included mandatory detention and the inability to become a permanent resident and be reunited with their spouse and children for upwards of 7 to 8 years if they arrived in Canada as part of a designated group, denying them rights of appeal if they come from designated countries and denying basic medical treatment for such health issues as heart attacks and diabetes.
Minister Kenney and the Conservative government have it wrong - Canada does not offer sanctuary to refugees because of generosity. We do it because it is morally repugnant to send someone to serious persecution, torture, or death. If Canada enacts laws that effectively punishes refugees who come to Canada or not give them a fair chance to prove their claim, we stain ourselves with blood and tears of those who fall through the faulty system.
6. Contributing to the cultural diversity of Canada
When I walk through the streets of my Toronto neighbourhood, I hear over a dozen languages spoken, I can taste food from most corners of the earth, I can see people of all colours and backgrounds. When I think of this I smile because this is what I proudly call home.
Canada is not a country of English and French. We are people who came from everywhere around the world or we are the children of these people. In doing so, we have made a country with one of the lowest population densities in the world, one of the best countries in the world in terms of economy, influence and living conditions. We did this because we attracted the hardworking and brave of heart. We did this because we cared for each other. That should always be our measure for success.
