Nick Noorani Website

Newspaper headlines recently screamed: “Immigration target hits 25-year high,” “Government boosts immigration target by 15,000.”
Really? Okay, let’s do the math, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) style:
Current maximum immigration target: 265,000 per annum
Number of immigrants entering Canada in 2005: 262,236
The difference? 2,764

Do targets really mean much?
More? Here goes:
Waiting list as of 2005: 800,000
Number of applications processed per year: 130,000
Number of years needed to process waiting list: 6.15 (provided new applications are closed off)
I am concerned that unless strong steps are taken to bring down the waiting period, potential immigrants will just choose another country to migrate to. A report from Statistics Canada earlier this year showed a significant proportion of the most prized immigrants who come to Canada are later lured away by opportunities elsewhere in the increasingly globalized economy. The study found that nearly one in five young male immigrants to Canada leaves the country within the first year of his arrival. For those entering Canada in the skilled-worker and business class, 40 per cent moved on within the first 10 years.
Yet our economy needs these people. Instead of simply increasing a “target,” why not make a real commitment to bring in more immigrants and ensure they become integrated quicker.
We also have the government to thank for meddling with the family reunification category. In 2002, the immigration department deliberately “managed downward” the target for parents and grandparents. This has led to a 10-year wait for the parents and grandparents category. I had hoped that this current government would have fixed that problem, especially considering the pending class action suit. Unfortunately, it will freeze the number of grandparents and parents at between 18,000 and 19,000, even though there are probably more like 100,000 waiting to get in.
No commitments of course on processing times.
So here is how I sum up our state of immigration, much like the now famous commercial.
Current waiting list: 800,000
Numbers allowed per year: 265,000
Time to get to the top of the list: five years
The opportunity for a doctor to drive a cab: priceless