Government says high number of immigrants will help economic recovery.
The government says the number of immigrants welcomed to Canada last year, the highest number admitted in over 50 years, will help the country's economic recovery.
"Canada's post-recession economy demands a high level of economic immigration to keep our economy strong," said Kenney
But critics say the emphasis placed on economic immigrants is hurting other kinds of migrants, including refugees and overseas family members waiting to be reunited with loved ones in Canada.
Janet Dench, the executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, said recent immigration policy has been dominated by economic concerns.
Meanwhile, refugees or overseas family members waiting to be reunited have been left by the wayside, said Dench.
"Because of this greater priority to economic immigrants, we're seeing a lot of family members who are having to wait a very long time to be reunited with their families," said Dench.
"We believe there needs to be a greater priority given to bringing families together, especially reuniting children with their parents."
Recent immigration policies have been responding to employers's needs, said Dench.
"In some cases it seems like it's to get cheap labour, where maybe if employers were willing to pay more reasonable rates there may be Canadians who would be willing to work in that area," she said.
***IMO Chachu is wajib-ul-joota now***
