The temporariness of the temporary

Globe editorial
July 23, 2009

If the core purpose of immigration is to integrate and create new Canadians, then Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, ought to heed the main findings of new report by the Maytree Foundation

Is it possible for a government with a clear-eyed citizenship policy to be muddled on immigration? A new report by the Maytree Foundation suggests that the answer is yes. Recent policy changes have failed to meet Canada’s long-term needs. Workers are not being well matched to current jobs, and a smaller proportion of immigrants come to Canada expressly for citizenship. Arrivals in Canada by temporary workers and students now exceed those by new permanent residents. If the core purpose of immigration is to integrate and create new Canadians, then Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, ought to heed the report’s main findings.

The biggest problem is that we are now focused on the short term. In June, 2008, the government tightened the rules for Federal Skilled Worker applications. Only immigrants from 38 pre-established occupations would be eligible to apply; others cannot even ring that doorbell. Today, the list is dated. There are no public-sector occupations outside health care, and a number of jobs are aimed at the now fallow oil and gas patch.

We have seen this story before. Attempts to pick the hottest profession in the late 1990s resulted in an influx of engineers whose employment vanished in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, and the dot-com bust. Don DeVoretz, an economist at Simon Fraser University, says that around 32,000 immigrant engineers are not working in their field.

Federal policy changes illustrate the futility of predicting which jobs will be in demand. Naomi Alboim, the report’s author, rightly says we need to look again at how points are allocated under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and to use selection criteria that best predict future success in the economy.

Meanwhile, Canada needs to clarify the role of temporary workers, whose numbers have almost doubled in five years. Initiatives like the Live-In Caregiver and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker program respond to known and sustained needs. Some temporary workers now have a path to citizenship through the Canadian Experience Class program, launched in 2008. But as a group, they are less invested in what Canada has to offer than those who have made the arduous decision to move themselves and their families to Canada for the longer term.

Ms. Alboim asks, “Do we want citizens, or do we want workers?” Mr. Kenney has articulated a vision of citizenship for new immigrants based on an appreciation of Canadian history and values. His immigration policy needs to follow a similarly enlightened course.

Reference: Globe and Mail