Nick Noorani Website

The Citizenship and Immigration Minister is going to announce this fall a 35 to 40 per cent increase in the number of new immigrants into Canada. From its highest level of 250,000 in 2000, it plans to bring in about 330,000 per year, apparently with a focus on some trades workers, international students and those interested in settling in outlying areas (i.e., not Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal).
I can’t help but picture Canada as this great big theme park that welcomes more and more new riders and charges them thousands of dollars to get in, but then fails to have enough rides and facilities for them to enjoy.

With the amount of money that each immigrant is expected to bring with them ($10,000), not to mention all the fees each immigrant pays (which is supposed to help support settlement services), you’d think that this theme park would be able to offer these hopeful patrons a ride that provides a worthwhile experience. Unfortunately, to many immigrants, Canada ends up being no Disneyland.
It’s as if immigrants are being welcomed through the gates, given their ticket stub, but then not able to go on the rides. They are stuck wandering around the park, wondering what went wrong as they look upon those who did manage to make it to the front of the line.
The last few months have seen an increase in articles in international media like the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times talking about the failed dreams of immigrants in Canada. Immigrants who have returned home and are now likely serving as anti-Canadian ambassadors in those countries. How has the government responded to this negative press … to these stories of shattered immigrants? Stony silence.
The country needs immigrants. With a low birth rate and an aging baby boomer population, immigrants are expected to meet 100 per cent of the workforce growth by 2011. The federal and provincial governments know this. So why are they spending so much effort on calling for new immigrants, when they’re making little progress on helping them settle in once they get here? In my opinion, you can’t have one without the other.
As for immigrants settling in outlying cities, support systems including settlement agencies need to be put in place before immigrants would chose to go there.
Here are some initiatives the federal and provincial governments should start making before the additional thousands of immigrants start arriving:
- Prepare immigrants before they arrive (i.e., encourage them to learn English before they come and fully inform them of the many employment barriers here, particularly for the professionals).
- Create a national board to assess foreign credentials and experience to get immigrants working in their fields faster.
- Propose legislation that encourages professional bodies to integrate immigrants among their membership with standard testing processes.
- Increase and improve educational outreach to employers through communications materials and presentations on immigrant employment-related topics.
- Subsidize mentorship and internship programs (both general and industry-specific) across Canada.
- Create a course for newcomers about corporate culture and working in Canada.
- Give employers a tax break or wage subsidy when they give a newcomer their first job in a field relevant to their credentials.
- Incorporate a public sector program to encourage governmental organizations to give a newcomer their first skilled job, be it temporary or permanent.
- Ensure that checks and balances are in place to ensure federal transfer money intended for settlement services is meeting immigrants’ needs in each province equitably.