Chapter 5: Canada's Immigration Laws and Policies

• Immigration involves people establishing homes and often citizenship in a country that is not their native country.
• Chapter 5 explores Canada’s immigration laws and policies, stating who can come to Canada from other countries to work and live.
• Immigration shapes Canada's legislative framework, affecting the quality of life for Canadians and those seeking a home in Canada.

Reasons for Immigration

• People immigrate for various reasons including Canada's quality of life and refuge from war or other circumstances.
• Immigration presents both opportunities and challenges for citizenship and building an inclusive society.
• The chapter assesses how Canada's immigration laws and policies meet the needs of all Canadians and addresses emerging issues.

Historical Recruitment

• In the late 1800s, the Canadian government used posters to recruit immigrants to fulfill the objectives of the National Policy.
  • These objectives included promoting Canadian industry, completing the national railway, and settling the west.
• Immigration was targeted towards the U.S., Britain, and many parts of Europe, excluding French-speaking populations.

Modern Immigration

• Canada accepts more immigrants during labor shortages, especially those with specific skills to fill demand for particular jobs.
• Immigration affects the identity of both newcomers and existing residents, including groups in Canada with collective rights.
• Immigration creates a mix of cultures, requiring people to understand different beliefs, values, and worldviews.
• Canada has obligations to shelter those escaping war and other dangers and immigration policies must consider the security, health, and quality of life of people who already live in Canada.

Factors Shaping Immigration Policies

• Economic, political, health, and security factors should shape Canada's immigration policies.
• Immigration has an impact on citizenship, identity, and quality of life.

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

• The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act from 2002 is the most recent law regarding immigration since Canada became a country in 1867
• It categorizes who can come to Canada from other countries to make permanent homes there and lays out the objectives of those categories.
• The objectives for immigration include pursuing social, cultural, and economic benefits for all Canadians, respecting bilingualism and multiculturalism, supporting minority official language communities, sharing economic benefits across regions, reuniting families, and promoting successful integration into Canadian society.

Immigration Categories (2006)

• Economic Immigrants: 55% (Skilled workers and businesspeople)
• Family Class: 28% (Spouses, partners, children, parents and grandparents of people living in Canada)
• Refugees: 13% (People escaping persecution, torture, or cruel and unusual punishment)
• Other: 4% (People accepted as immigrants for humanitarian or compassionate reasons)

Canada's Workforce Needs

• Immigration aims to meet Canada’s workforce needs and contribute to the economy, society, and culture.
• Demographic changes indicate that immigration will be a critical source of population growth and to ensure the growth of the labour force in the future.

Law vs Policy

• A law describes principles or conditions that must be followed.
• A policy describes objectives of the government, within the law.
  • Immigration law dictates who is allowed into Canada, while immigration policy sets procedures for evaluating immigrants and the number allowed each year.

Point System for Immigrants

• The point system dates from 1967 and is part of the criteria to decide who to accept as immigrants and applies only to economic immigrants.
• Potential economic immigrants must prove good health and may be refused entry if their health could risk Canadians, endanger public safety, or put an "excessive demand" on Canada's health services
• These health requirements do not apply to refugees or family-class immigrants.

Changes in Immigration Laws

• Currently, no one is excluded from Canada based on their race or country of origin, and the point system evaluates people on skills and education.
• Historically, Canada favored immigrants of British ancestry and restricted immigration from Asian countries.

Welcoming Immigrants

• Fahd Mirza volunteers to help immigrants and refugees adjust to life in Canada and feels a responsibility for giving back to Canada.
• The Calgary Bridge Foundation is one of many organizations in Alberta that offers assistance to immigrants and refugees.

Researching Issues

• Researching can help inform a position on issues.
• Research starts with questions, ends with conclusions, and requires an open mind.

Refugee Policy

• Refugees are a category of immigrants under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
• In 1976, Canada started accepting refugees steadily, instead of crisis by crisis.
• Objectives for Canada’s refugee program include saving the lives of displaced and persecuted and affirming international commitments to protect refugees.

Singh Decision

• In Canada, April 4 is known as Refugee Rights Day, following a 1985 Supreme Court decision known as the Singh decision
• The Supreme Court said everyone in the Charter means everyone physically present in Canada.
• People claiming refugee status in Canada have the right to a hearing they attend in person
• Canada established the Immigration and Refugee Board to provide quick and fair hearings.

Aboriginal Peoples

• Engaging Aboriginal peoples into Canada's economy affects their quality of life, citizenship, and identity.
• Government seeks to create a balanced way to support growth, while meeting the needs and respecting the rights of all peoples.

Franco Albertan Communities

• In 2006, Canada established a five-year plan to help Francophone communities in minority settings attract French-speaking immigrants.
• This requires institutions to deal with people who come from non-European cultures and to welcome and integrate people from African cultures

Provincial Influence

• Provinces control some aspects of immigration to ensure it fits and meets their needs.
• Under the Provincial Nomination Program, provinces can "nominate” a percentage of immigrants Canada selects and can specify that it needs immigrants with particular skills.
• Alberta wanted to “speed up the flow” of immigrants in 2007 for economic reasons, because of a boom in oil sands development.

Canada-Québec Accord

• Under the accord, Québec can nominate the percentage of immigrants to Canada that corresponds to its population within Canada.
• The accord also allows Québec to require immigrants who settle in Québec to send their children to French-language schools.
• Under the Canada-Québec Accord, Québec seeks immigrants whose first language is French, of which about 75 percent to Canada settle in Québec.