Canada is ready to open its doors to expanded immigration, but only if the immigrants already here do better.
The government is under huge pressure to increase immigration levels, according to Citizenship and Immigration minister Jason Kenney. It's facing demands for more newcomers from business leaders and nearly every provincial premier. But before Mr Kenney will comply, he says he wants to see more immigrants working and earning at rates close to those of Canadian-born people. Mr. Kenney said he first needs to see a narrowing of the difference in earnings between immigrants and the Canadian-born.
He also wants to see an unemployment rate close to that of the Canadian-born (it's currently about 2.5 per cent higher for all immigrants, and 6 per cent higher for recent immigrants) and evidence that immigrants are filling job shortages. All of those are central to his proposed new selection process, which places more emphasis on language ability, youth and skilled trades.
In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Mr Kenney said he's open to raising immigration levels as soon as he sees a turnaround in those outcomes.
17 May 2012
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/moving-to-canada/Canada-ready-to-open-its-doors-to-more-immigrants-Kenney-says/articleshow/13204773.cms
