Maytree releases Naomi Alboim’s latest report Adjusting the Balance: Fixing Canada’s Economic Immigration Policies
Toronto, July 22, 2009 - Recent federal policy shifts have altered the landscape for economic immigration without public debate states the report Adjusting the Balance: Fixing Canada’s Economic Immigration Policies released today by Maytree. These shifts suggest that the Foreign Temporary Worker Program, provincial nominee programs and the Canadian Experience Class will soon overtake the Federal Skilled Worker Program, traditionally the cornerstone of immigration to Canada. This could make our immigration system less competitive internationally for attracting potential immigrants, and could have negative long-term consequences on our labour markets and economy.
“What we have found is that the changes made were individual ad-hoc, short-term fixes without looking at their cumulative impact,” explains the report’s author Naomi Alboim, Maytree Senior Fellow, and Adjunct Professor and Co-Chair, Policy Forum at the School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University. “Fixing Canada’s economic immigration policies has to be done in a coordinated way to have a positive long-term impact.”
The report recommends that the federal government articulate a national vision for economic immigration through public dialogue and debate, in which a revised Federal Skilled Worker Program becomes the priority. The revisions should include more points for younger immigrants and trades people, as well as mandatory English or French language testing. In addition, the federal government should create a database with the resumes of overseas skilled immigrant applicants, which would be searchable by employers before the immigrants even arrive. Among its fifteen recommendations, the report also suggests that the Foreign Temporary Worker Program for low-skilled workers be halted, and that Canada should adapt and improve its services to ensure that immigrants succeed.
For the full report and a description of all 15 recommendations, visit www.maytree.com/policy.
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About Maytree: Established in 1982, Maytree is a private foundation that promotes equity and prosperity through its policy insights, grants and programs. The foundation has gained international recognition for its expertise in developing, testing and implementing programs and policy solutions related to immigration, integration and diversity. www.maytree.com.
Media contact:
Markus Stadelmann-Elder, 416-944-2627 ext. 284, mselder@maytree.com.