Globe editorial: Immigration is not a provincial fiefdom

Good editorial with quotes by Skuterud. Shared jurisdiction, neither just federal nor provincial, and little to no evidence that provinces are better able to resist self-interested stakeholder pressures:

…If there are truly some regions of the country that can’t solve their labour problems without immigration, Prof. Skuterud says this should happen through a small standalone program, rather than being funnelled through the economic immigration system. The goals should be clearly defined, and success in terms of retention and other measures should be tracked.

Instead of empowering premiers to create provincial immigration fiefdoms, Ottawa should protect the federal system. The federal government should also reverse its own moves in recent years that have diluted its points system. Rather than using niche “category-based selections,” Ottawa should select economic immigrants with the highest scores in the general pool of candidates.

The federal and provincial governments should stop thinking of immigrants as fodder to plug labour gaps, subsidize post-secondary institutions or achieve other policy goals. Instead, they should revert to a federal system that selects highly skilled high-earners with the best chance at prospering and encourage them to live where they think they will do best. Further undermining Canada’s economic immigration program by giving the provinces increased control is a step in the wrong direction.

Source: Immigration is not a provincial fiefdom