Just a smarter immigration process will do

Despite a turndown in the world economy and mounting evidence that immigrants are finding it very tough to find agreeable work in Canada, there are always some reports popping up and advocating an increase in the number of immigrants. The latest one was produced by the Conference Board of Canada.

The report says that newcomers help fuel the growth of Canada, but there is a need of polices that would make it easier for immigrants to stay. The fact is that this report is rubbish and it reminds me of the one that was produced by the Royal Bank of Canada that called Ottawa to increase its level of immigration to 400,000 a year. The goals that this report aims to achieve can easily be achieved under the current immigration system. All Canada needs to do is make our immigration system a bit smarter. Also, if Canada enacted policies that encourage natural growth rate then the labour market needs of the nation can be achieved by the year 2025.

The report states that Canada will suffer a labour shortage in coming years. But how dramatic that shortage will be is up in the air as no one here really knows about it and such alarms are speculative. So, based on certain illogical assumptions, the result is that Canada needs more immigrants. Great!

Currently, only 20-25 percent of all immigrants to Canada are selected on the basis of their skills and labour market needs. Another 25 percent comes in as their spouses and children. The rest 50 percent are largely humanitarian (refugees, sponsored relatives) and as a result, almost 75 percent of the immigrants in Canada do not enter to satisfy any particular job shortage. Thus, in the current situation, instead of increasing the intake of immigrants, Canada should rather tweak its current immigration system to address the issue.