On Immigration

Let me start by saying that historically speaking, immigration has been a net positive for Canada and that it has driven growth for our country since before Canada was even Canada. Even in our day, thousands come here with the very best of intentions and do build good lives for themselves while contributing positively to our country as a whole. My own parents are an example of people who came to be good Canadians and leave something positive here. The issue is not immigration, but rather uncontrolled immigration. That is the problem we now have in Canada. We have a broken system, a situation that is deeply unfair to both new immigrants coming to Canada, and those already here.

First of all, as the federal government tacitly admitted the other day, we are taking in too many people relative to our ability to absorb them, creating an oversaturation problem. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing for all involved. That is true in many things, not just immigration. We need to be realistic vis-a-vis what level of immigration maximizes its associated benefits and understand that past that inflection point we find ourselves straining resources and stuck in two dilemmas. One, we find ourselves with too many people competing for the same housing, the same healthcare, the same jobs etc. Two, as a result of that first problem, and the strain on the resources we have available to help people adapt to Canada, we shortchange newcomers; that is, we reduce our chances of getting the best out of very qualified new immigrants.

When the government is setting immigration targets, it must do so with a clear understanding of what target is reasonable based on the amount of available housing, the speed at which new housing can be built, (another major issue here worthy of its own article) our existing healthcare resources, and so on. Naturally, there will be among the applicants immigrants with qualifications in areas where Canada has significant need. (eg: doctors) This should be taken into consideration also but then we also need to remove barriers around allowing them to demonstrate their qualifications to practice their profession in Canada. An immigration system that is pragmatic and realistic with regards to our resources is what has prevailed for most of Canada’s history and what will fix what the current government has broken.

For more charitable considerations, we absolutely continue to be a place where people fleeing war, crime and persecution can find refuge. Where we cannot feasibly absorb refugees then we can and should work with allies to see who amongst them can. While we have to accept that we cannot take in everybody, the “none is too many” attitude is also not an answer. Apart from being immoral, that sort of attitude would deprive us of some of the people that would work the hardest to return the favor to their new country, the country that gave them a chance. There could even be a Nobel Prize winner like Gerhard Herzberg (Canada’s first Nobel laureate in the sciences) amongst them also. But again, checks and balances matter. Strict and comprehensive vetting are required to ensure the system is not abused, and that admitees are genuine refugees.

On the matter of international students, we need to address two points. First of all, we need to crack down hard on these diploma mills and their associates who are scamming these students and their families. These people deserve stiff jail sentences for not only severely jeopardizing the future of young Canadians, but for selling a lie to these young people from abroad who upon coming to Canada find themselves vulnerable to the most cynical exploitation, at times even with deadly consequences. Nobody deserves to pay thousands of dollars, live in a room crammed with twenty other people, and still be abused by the people they trusted to help them get to a better life. We owe it to them and to the young Canadians gamed out of the possibility of steady employment and home ownership to bring the hammer down on these opportunists for good and get a handle on this issue once and for all.

As for the properly accredited colleges and universities, they aren’t innocent either. They know well that they are admitting far more international students than they have living quarters available on campus. They know that these students will have to work part time or depend on outside help to afford a cramped apartment with who knows how many others unless they come from wealthy backgrounds in which case they might as well just live on campus. They also don’t care. International students are and for a long time have been a cash cow bringing in double the tuition fees and therefore they admit as many as they can get away with, without consideration for the consequences if there aren’t enough residency places to house them. The deans and university presidents will still make a killing. It is therefore time to tie, in law, the amount of international students each school can take into the amount of residency spaces available. Universities are not Fortune 500 companies. Their value is not pegged to their profits, but to how well they educate the leaders of tomorrow, and they fail even at that.

The final point I want to make is around who we admit. The attitudes of people who come to Canada matters just as much as their qualifications, their skills, or their financial resources coming into Canada. We are an open and tolerant country where people from all over the world can and do build new lives for themselves, and we should remain so. Therefore, we cannot not be permissive of people who come to this country and import hatred and conflicts into Canada. We do not need people importing racism, sexism, anti-semitism and so forth. If anything we need less of those things and other forms of bigotry. Coming to build a new life in Canada is a privilege that thousands of very good people are denied every year for one reason or another. It stands to reason therefore that those who would abuse the generosity of the Canadian people by engaging in violent demonstrations attempting to intimidate Canadians in their neighborhoods, gaming the welfare system etc. should be removed from Canada as soon as possible. More than anything, it matters that the people we bring in are good people. I would take someone with less impressive academic credentials that isn’t a bigot over a Ph.D that is.

Again, immigration historically has been a net positive for Canada. It has brought highly skilled and highly tenacious people that have shaped our country’s direction for the better. The system wasn’t always broken either, but it is, and we must fix it. We must fix it to ensure our country’s future first and foremost. That, among other things, means being able to capitalize on the opportunities that immigration does offer Canada provided we have a robust, sensible immigration system.