The Disingenuity of our Government on Immigration

I believe that the future of Canada is in immigration. And not just some sort of namby-pamby utopian future vision, but the reality of just sustaining our economy and the standard of living we currently enjoy in this country. One only has to look across the ocean at the continuing economic meltdown in Europe to see the price countries pay for not continuing to develop and expand their economies.

Even in Canada we are already seeing major problems in some industries and areas. Have you tried to find a GP in Ontario recently?

The reality in Canada is that soon, without a real increase in immigration we will have some real economic problems. So it's more than a bit disheartening when on top of the roadblocks thrown up in front of immigrants when they arrive in Canada (and find that their skills and experience are worth far less than they are told before coming) our Federal government seems to be doing all it can to discourage immigrants from coming.

The most recent example is the story of funding cuts to settlement agencies in Ontario and British Columbia that broke just days before Christmas. (A bit of background here, settlement agencies are organizations that help newcomers adjust to life in Canada. They provide help in a variety of areas including: finding places to live, language and skills assessments and training, how to enter the Canadian job market.)

Now let me state clearly, I know that there are areas in which some settlement agencies could surely be more efficient and there is likely to be a good case that there are too many smaller agencies that would better serve their constituents if they were almagamated into larger organizations.

So, especially with the current, somewhat fragile state of the economy the idea of some cuts to funding and budgets for any group, including settlement agencies is not without merit. Sadly this sort of thinking wasn't the major reason put forward by CIC for the funding cuts and several elements of the way it has been handled in whole are at the very least eyebrow-raising. The most disturbing parts of the story are:

1. Lack of notification and dialogue - The agencies who did have their funding cut and/or dropped were informed by letter. There was no opportunity for discussion of what sorts of cuts would be needed for budget purposes, nor any discussion about what the needs "on the ground" actually are. There have been some vague claims by CIC that choices were made based on "number of clients served" but the actual objectives measured is not clear. It's frankly just arrogant to make choices of this nature without meaningful consultation with the groups and organizations who are actually on the front lines providing services.
2. The PR Spin Nonsense - The main excuse peddled for the cuts by Minister is that Ontario receives less immigrants than it used to so this money is being redistributed. There are multiple problems with statements like this but the primary one being that, everyone, including the Minister would be fully aware that (outside of Quebec) the place that immigrants settle is not necessarily the place that they first arrive. Newcomers are going to migrate to where the jobs and opportunities actually are in the country and not where the government might like them to be.
3. The Timing - There is a reason that these cuts were made in mid to late December and it isn't because CIC wanted to be known as the grinch who stole Christmas. The reason that these cuts were made when they were made is that late December is a good time to bury bad news. It's the one time of year when for many people it's hard to feel much outrage about any topic because we think of our friends, families, good times in the past and to come. Newspapers are filled with stories about kindness and generosity and there simply isn't much stomach for discussion of policies and serious plans. The fact is that if this story had broken in June you could expect to hear about it all summer but being that it was end of December it's almost dead and buried already.
4. The Follow Up - There has been little follow up from the CIC on any of this. Is this money going to be re-allocated as was implied by the Minister or is this just a straight cut? And if it will be re-allocated will it be to something sensible, like settlement agencies in other places or something irrational like more weapons for our borders to "protect" us from starving refugees? In what can only be described as sadly typical the only follow up from CIC thus far was a ham-handed attempt to stifle any further discussion of the cuts. This later turned out to be a "mistake" but either way doesn't really offer much hope when it comes to meaningful dialogue.

Again, I am not averse to budget cuts anywhere, including services for new immigrants even though I personally believe that these are pretty vital. But there is a big difference between that and an agenda of destroying settlement agencies and given the lack of honesty, and the heavy PR spin and timing used here it's hard to understand what other possible agenda there could be. Our government should be consulting and working with these agencies to help remove the obstacles from the paths of new immigrants. Our government should be open with its plan for sustaining the economy of this country either with or without more immigration.

It's really hard to see what the plan is here, or believe that the government is actually interested in any discussion of their plans or ideas or that they think there is any value in the experiences of those actually working with immigrants with these moves. I personally hope that the CIC takes some lessons from this episode and tries to be more proactive in engagement with those in the front lines although I'm sort of doubtful that will happen. But this behaviour is just short-sighted when it comes to the future of this country, and it's a little shameful as well.