Rempel Garner: Immigration levels must go way down, not up.

Pre-levels plan political positioning, principles with few details, no numbers and lots on the failures of the Trudeau government.

Closing line of interest sounds more NDP than CPC: “It’s time for Mark Carney to deliver an immigration levels plan that works for people, not just for corporations:”

…First, bring the numbers down.

Bring them down so unemployed and underemployed Canadians get first crack at Canadian jobs. The Liberals love to talk about buying Canadian. It’s time they started talking about hiring Canadian and training Canadians.

Bring down levels so housing starts can catch up and rents can come down.

Bring down levels so our hospitals and family doctors aren’t asked to do the impossible.

And bring down levels so immigration policy goes back to what it should be: helping newcomers succeed and integrate, not handing corporations a tool to drive down wages.

Second, restore integrity to the system.

That means swiftly removing the large number of people who are in Canada with no legal right to be here. It means making sure social benefits go to people who genuinely need protection, not to those filing bogus asylum claims. It means stronger security, criminal and identity checks on every applicant. And it means ending lenient sentences handed to non-citizens convicted of serious crimes so they can avoid deportation.

It also means cracking down on fraud, from fake documents to study permit scams to the buying and selling of job offers. My colleague Brad Redekopp will describe one recent program change that is an example of a step in the wrong direction….

It’s time for Mark Carney to deliver an immigration levels plan that works for people, not just for corporations.

Source: Immigration levels must go way down, not up.