Critics call for overhaul of Canada immigration system

Canada, 1st October: Critics of Canada refugee and Canada immigration system have called for an immediate overhaul of the policies if the nation wants to avoid increasing joblessness and straining social services.

As per the Center for Immigration Policy Reform, politicians in Canada are only bothered about getting votes of new immigrants in Canada and do not care to see that increased number of immigrants is actually straining job markets in the nation.

Nearly 250,000 immigrants are allowed entry into Canada each year apart from around 175,000 temporary immigrant workers each year. As per the latest statistics available, out of six Canadians, nearly one is foreign-born.

The overwhelming immigration levels in Canada have pushed the rate of joblessness in the nation to around 7 percent. And this has brought forth the fact that the social system of Canada is unable to accept such a growing number of immigrants in the country each year.

Hence, the Center has urged for a total overhaul of the immigration and refugee system of Canada.

A number of renowned names in Canadian political system form part of the group pushing for reform of the Canada immigration rules. Some of these names include James Bissett, director general of Canada immigration service and a former ambassador; Derek Burney, one-time America ambassador and a former advisor to Canada PM (Prime Minister) Stephen Harper; and Martin Collacott, a senior fellow, Fraser Institute and a former ambassador.

The aim of all political parties in Canada is encouraging mass immigration since immigrants are seen as potential voters by them, stated Bissett in Ottawa. And this is the only reason for nearly a quarter of one million immigrants coming to Canada annually, he added.

Immigration already has become a topic of hot debate in Europe and in the US. However, Canada became aware of the growing immigrants in the country only when a ship carrying around 500 Tamil refugees arrived in BC (British Columbia) illegally. 

Meanwhile, an immigration critic for New Democratic Party, Olivia Chow, said that Canada needs young children and young families to maintain its economic development since the nation has an aging population.

Hence, the nation must have an annual immigration level of around 1 percent of the total population of the nation, that is, around 330,000 immigrants each year.