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Immigration Services : Immigrating to Canada |
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In the socio-economic and political life of a nation, some things trigger major change. Indeed, September 11 did that across North America. But while the horrific tragedy in the US may have prompted Canada to slap security safeguards into its immigration policy, the dawning of the twenty first century, globalization and the new world order have spurred policy thinkers in Canada, nonetheless, to evolve a more modem and dynamic immigration policy framework.
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The first evidence of this was reflected in the new Immigration and the Refugee Protection Act which became law on June 28, 2002. In a wide-ranging interview with our publishers Touch BASE, Denis Coderre, Canada's minister of Citizenship and Immigration said: "The policy is not about building walls, its about controlling doors to make sure that people who are coming for the wrong reasons face the consequences."Coderre, was in Halifax in April this year to address the Nova Scotia Partnership Conference 2003 hosted by the Metropolitan Immigrant Settlement Association (MISA). |
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He has been visiting the region frequently lately and what that says is that immigration is going to become a priority in the Atlantic provinces. "We're talking about regional strategy," he said. "We have to spread and regionalize immigration. I think there are some specific needs for the region and the people of this province the need for skilled workers, for example and we have to bring the tools to work with us to provide solutions for the region. Immigration is an ongoing issue. In the past people thought immigration was an issue only for Vancouver, Ontario and Montreal."
Coderre told Robin Arthur, editor of Touch BASE, that he was looking for a plan with several tools built into it. "I am looking for a foreign students immigration strategy... an industrial strategy... then we also have the Provincial Nominee Agreement," he said. In many ways, the minister was indicating that his department was working several new strategies to address immigration from different fronts. Ottawa is trying to get an agreement from the Nova Scotia government, for example, for the implementation of the recognition of foreign credentials and Coderre believes that would promote and facilitate the process of an agreement where people will come on a temporary work permit, work for three to five years in their field and then apply for landed immigrant status.
"But we have to find an inclusive strategy that will demand help of the community to make sure the people are made to feel at home," Coderre says. "Immigration is not an entry point alone, it is an integration process. We are looking not only for new Canadians, but future Canadian citizens. It is an integrative process where everybody participates."
The foreign students program is already in place in other provinces such as New Brunswick in Atlantic Canada and is well underway in Nova Scotia. Mi. Coderre said he is in talks with Angus McIsaac, the minister of education for Nova Scotia as well as Deans of Universities and may soon call for a round table with the business community. "The policy would make it easier for foreign students who graduate from universities in Nova Scotia and who wish to apply for permanent resident status as skilled workers an extra year of employment and additional points on the selection grid in the areas of experience," he said. Coderre said the Prime Minister wants to double the number of foreign students. "Last year we had about 133,000 students".
Coderre also addressed questions about our immigration policies being designed to meet US border security factors. "We are working on common grounds on several levels, but we have our policy and they have theirs," said Coderre. "We are negotiating a 30-point Smart Border Plan in which we are looking for common ground without compromising our principles. There is an economic fallout in all of this and so we should work together," he said. "Since Sept IL we've done our homework... in security terms. We have a vigilance agenda. We have created a new card for landed immigrants - the PR card which includes a 20-point fraud resistance and biometric capacity. We are pushing for an ID strategy... which is before the standing committee. These are important matters we have to face," he said.
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The proposed ID card has been opposed by some Canadians, but Coderre says: "I think we should have a process... no matter where you were born.., if you are a Canadian citizen you should be protected .. .so it's a matter of protecting your own privacy . . - I don't want to know where you are from...all I need to know is that you are that person..." He said there are some domestic problems with identification including ID theft and the loss of about 2.5 billion dollars a year in lost credit cards. "Thus we have to do this without jeopardizing our values and principles while being protective at the same time.... with fairness and openness." |
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Since February 10, 2003, the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration has been conducting public hearings on Bill C-I 8, the newly proposed Citizenship of Canada Act, which, some advocacy groups say undermines citizen' rights. One of their concerns are about the national ID card. "If this bill is passed, it will make it harder for immigrants to become Canadian citizens, and easier for the Government to take away citizenship from those whom it deems undesirable without due process," said Avvy Go, Clinic Director of the Metro Toronto Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. "This Bill perpetuates the public myth that our country is under threat by terrorists who come here as immigrants and refugees -especially those of Arab descent and Muslim faith," remarked Go.
Among other things, the Bill C-IS grants new powers to the Minister to revoke or annul citizenship with little procedural safeguard for the affected individuals. "Many provisions in this Bill violate the rights of Canadians under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, especially the right to equality," said Erica Lawson, policy analyst of the African Canadian Legal Clinic, "we do not believe that such violations are justifiable or even necessary."
"If more Canadians learn about this Bill, I am sure they will be asking themselves if this is the kind of law that we really want for Canada," said Debbie Douglas, Executive Director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCAS1). "The message that this government is sending through this bill is that we welcome immigrants and refugees to contribute to our economy but we do not want them to become citizens of this country," said Douglas.
The government, of course, defines the ID card as a necessary security. |
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