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Immigration up in 2005, future unclear |
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By Ethan Caleb » Canada welcomed around 250,000 new immigrants in
2005, a seven per cent increase over the previous year, according to
unofficial sources quoted in a national newspaper.
If confirmed, the numbers are in line with what the former Liberal
government mandated for last year, but does nothing to answer the
question of what 2006 and beyond will bring now that the Conservatives
have come to power.
The Globe and Mail, which published the unofficial numbers for 2005 (official figures are unlikely to be released for several weeks), said senior Conservative figures would not publicly comment on whether there should be a change in annual intake, but said off the record the party is committed to "retaining high immigration levels."
There was no word on what the officials would define as "high". The Liberals had declared their intention of gradually raising immigration levels to one per cent of the population per annum, or about 320,000 new immigrants each year. However most policy experts believe this was unlikely to happen in the near future, no matter which party was in power.
The new government has been mostly silent on the issue of immigration since taking power. Part of the reason could be that the ministerial portfolio was surprisingly handed to Monte Solberg, whose lack of background on the issues involved means he has to do a lot of learning in his first weeks in the job.
Solberg has made few comments of any substance since becoming minister. Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who appealed to the immigrant vote during the election campaign by promising to reduce the landing fee, has remained mum on the larger question of whether immigration levels should increase, remain the same or be scaled back.
Without attributing it to sources, the Globe and Mail speculated that the Tory government will place a higher emphasis on recruiting economic class immigrants, rather than family class ones, and make it harder for people to abuse the refugee route to gain entry into Canada.
It added that foreign students graduating with a degree or diploma from Canadian colleges and universities may not be required to leave the country before applying for permanent resident status. Instead, they could be given a work visa while their applications are processed.
Likewise, migrant workers could also find it easier to convert temporary job permits into permanent applications, and there could be some form of amnesty for illegal immigrants who have found jobs and made lives for themselves, the paper added.
The report also said the government hoped to work with smaller provinces to help them recruit immigrants.
Meanwhile, Canada's current declared policy for 2006 - issued when the Liberals were in power and hence subject to change - is to admit between 225,000 and 255,000 newcomers to Canada as permanent residents with a 56:44 ratio between the economic and non-economic categories.
The latter category includes more parents and grandparents than in 2005.
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