The Canadian minister for immigration, refugees, and citizenship on February 23 announced the need to adopt an immigration system that is strong, easy to navigate, and adaptive to change. This statement undoubtedly points to the problems Canada is facing in effectively managing its immigration program to its full benefit. Since that announcement, the new initiative has not gone far enough to address the weaknesses of the program and is continuing with the large-scale absorption of immigrants from all over the world.
A few facts, as follows, will be relevant here:
— In 2022, according to official records, Canada welcomed 437,000 new permanent residents, the highest number in many years. Previous data ranged between 250,000 and 300,000 a year.
— In 2021, more than 8.3 million people, or some 23 percent of the total population, were or had been, landed immigrants, the highest among the G7 group.
— The share of Canada’s population of working age is shrinking. In 1983, there were about seven workers per senior in Canada. Now, it is about three workers per senior and is projected to drop to close to only two workers per senior.
— Close to two-thirds of recent immigrants are of core working age —between 25 and 54.
A close look at the salient features of Canadian immigration policy will be helpful. Over the past half a century, Canada has built a reputation for welcoming immigration and valuing multiculturism. Immigrants have helped the country counter aging demographics and fuel economic growth. However, due to a lack of a proper and more pragmatic policy, this has caused an increasing strain on housing, access to schooling, ensuring a sustainable income, and access to quality health facilities, and social services.
The 2022 records reveal that the greatest share of new Canadian permanent residents have come from India, followed by China, the Philippines, Nigeria, France, Pakistan, and Iran. The current government plans to steadily increase immigration levels over the next several years, to accept 500,000 new permanent residents into the country each year beginning in 2025.
Canada admits new permanent residents into four main categories. In 2021, 62 percent of immigrants were admitted through economic pathways, 20 percent through family sponsorship, 15 percent as protected persons and refugees, and 3 percent for humanitarian or other reasons. Canada leads the G7 in attracting immigrants, with newcomers now driving 90 percent of population growth. Amid persistent labor shortages, Canada recognizes that these immigrants are bringing valuable skills.
The bad news seems to be that a higher level of immigrants alone won’t fix Canada’s longer-run structural labor supply issues. It must be recognized that while new immigrants can fill open positions, they also increase demand for housing and demand for consumer goods, which in turn raises demand for labor. Better use of skills can offset all those pressures by making the economy more productive. This year, Canada’s economy has already entered a mild downturn, causing aggressive interest rate increases and higher inflation. As a result, investments and hiring have moved lower, causing significant unemployment in the economy.
In recent political debates, social researchers and political leaders have pointed out that there is a mismatch between the housing and healthcare needs of immigrants with actual access to both. The situation has reached a critical stage. Statistics Canada reports that by 2030, Canada needs to build 22 million housing units to achieve housing affordability. The most negative feature of today seems to be the fact that, despite being younger and more academically accomplished, immigrants tend to do worse when it comes to finding a suitable job. This challenge, present in all sectors, is particularly daunting for those with degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science medicine, or optometry. The Canadian immigration policy is thus a self-defeating one in so far as they continue to deny recognition of the foreign credentials of highly skilled immigrants in the above-mentioned categories. Moving forward, eliminating those barriers will be critical to ensuring Canada’s success in attracting skilled immigrants. To be precise, proper integration of their skills could help address worker shortages, add to a more productive labor force, and offset increased pressure on inflation and housing.
Due to the conditions described above, Canada’s immigration system is not working as well as it should. Low and skewed absorption is causing the immigrants’ lives to fall into low-income status. The problems are often related to language barriers and, as mentioned earlier, foreign credentials and work experience not being properly acknowledged. Unless a refinement of the process of selecting new immigrants and more effective processes to facilitate the integration of current and past immigrants are forcefully undertaken, Canada will fail to achieve its strategy of boosting the economy to its full potential.
In recent political debates, social researchers and political leaders have pointed out that there is a mismatch between the housing and healthcare needs of immigrants with actual access to both. The situation has reached a very critical stage. Statistics Canada reports that by 2030, Canada needs to build 22 million housing units to achieve housing affordability. The hospitals and health-related facilities need to be significantly increased to respond to the demands.
Of late, there has been a spike in the number of immigrants who opt to voluntarily depart from Canada for opportunities elsewhere. It must be understood that attracting immigrants is only one part of the equation; Canada must also do the needful to retain them once they are in Canada. The number of immigrants who left Canada this year rose by 31 percent above the national average of some 20 percent. Factors that influence onward migration include economic integration, a sense of belonging, racism, homeownership, or a lack thereof, and economic opportunities in other countries.
In conclusion, I refer to a research report that recommended the following: ‘Initiatives that foster a sense of belonging and attachment to Canada, together with policies that ensure immigrants and their families have opportunities for personal and career growth, could influence more immigrants to decide to stay in Canada.’
Humayun Kabir was a former senior official of the United Nations in New York.
-Courtesy: Daily NewAge
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