Francis: Canada’s immigration ministry should start behaving like an HR department — not an open-invitation dinner party

An incredibly weak “analysis,” one that does not appear to understand how the system works, cites less reliable polling data, wants to go back to annual planning when multiculturalism-year planning makes it easier for provinces and service providers, bereft of evidence, misleading characterization of the numbers, I could go on.

The sad thing is that a serious case could be made against the current and planned higher levels of immigration, given the expected impact of technology on labour market needs and some uneven results in terms of economic integration.

Stating that “But nearly half of those admitted won’t be working, perhaps ever, and wouldn’t qualify to be admitted as economic immigrants with skills.” is simply wrong and fear mongering.

Sad:

The United States and Canada have built their economies by accepting millions of immigrants for centuries. Interestingly, polls in the U.S. show support is holding while those in Canada reveal that 63 per cent of Canadians want to limit immigration levels.

The difference is perplexing, especially since Canada doesn’t have more than 12 million undocumented migrants sneaking in, or applying for asylum, as does the U.S. But the facts are that — proportionate to our population — we have very high levels and a government that in 2017 set an arbitrary goal of bringing in 1 million over three years by 2020, or around 330,000 annually, instead of around 230,000 a year.

For starters, the setting of a static immigration goal for one or three years is foolish in and of itself. Migration should vary and be based, for the most part, on the need for unskilled or specialty labour as well as economic conditions.

Frankly, this one million — half of whom are family immigrants and not economically free-standing immigrants — is unsustainable. Equivalent to the population of both Ottawa and Edmonton, that’s a lot of health care, educational costs, infrastructure pressure, and housing shortages.

But the Liberals are undaunted. Trudeau’s Immigration Minister rebutted to polling results that immigration is not a “zero sum” situation and that more money (read tax dollars) will be invested in these areas for these newcomers. This is the argument of a trust-fund kid.

The Liberals claim that the huge increase in immigration is required to fill skills shortages. But nearly half of those admitted won’t be working, perhaps ever, and wouldn’t qualify to be admitted as economic immigrants with skills. Besides, this old chestnut of an excuse has been trotted out repeatedly forever and yet shortages persist.

The Liberals also add that more immigration is needed to boost the size of the country’s population overall. But the vast majority of new entrants will end up crowding into a handful of already-crowded cities.

Canada’s immigration department should return to behaving like the Human Resources Department of the country. People should be given entry if they fill a job that a Canadian cannot perform. Instead, the Liberals are like an HR Department that recruits people then hopes they find jobs or match those already posted.

A small percentage of humanitarian immigration is also required of rich countries, but should only recruit people living in refugee camps with bona fide need. Not those who merely say so.

The issue of refugee, or asylum seeker, immigration is what began the public backlash. In 2017, the naïve Prime Minister tweeted out an open-ended welcome and sparked a flood of 43,000 alleged “asylum seekers” at the U.S.-Quebec border. Most will be deported eventually — because they are not refugees or were already admitted into the U.S. as asylum seekers. Most are queue-jumpers or jurisdiction shoppers who have cost taxpayers more than $300 million and counting.

They were escorted by smugglers through a forest path in Quebec to avoid official border checkpoints where they’d have been turned back to the U.S. asylum system, pointed out Tory leader Andrew Scheer.

“There is absolutely nothing fair or compassionate about … forcing the oppressed to wait longer for Canada’s help while others jump the queue, exploit loopholes and cross the border illegally from places like upstate New York,” he said.

Fortunately, talks with the U.S. have cleaned up the situation and the number of crossers into Canada has dropped and deportations are happening.

Immigration is not a right but a privilege. It’s about finding people for jobs that are begging. It’s also about a manageable amount of bona fide humanitarian migration.

Canada, or the U.S. and Europe, are not open-invitation dinner parties that anyone is entitled to attend and that taxpayers must pay for.