Canadian Immigration Policy
The Canadian immigration policy has evolved from being one of the most dehumanizing and segregator systems to an accommodative and efficient structure. Canada is one of the most desirable destinations for immigrants, has been a result of the motivations from the Canadian government and accommodative nature of the nation’s multiculturalism culture. Despite having a high number of immigrants, Canada has continued to experience explosive rates over the past five years due to strict policies in the US, resulting in increased pressure on the federal government to provide vital resources in support of the various refugee facilities and organizations. The illegal immigrant and refugee across have also raised, yet Canadian refugee policy is stricter than most nations across the globe. An increase in post-war nations such as Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria has provoked an influx of refugees in Canada seeking asylum. Despite the movement from their countries, these refugees stay in the Middle East continues to expose then to warfare resulting in seeking refuge in America and European nations. This policy analysis paper investigates the historical development of Canadian immigration policy, issues surrounding the system, individuals affected, possible amendments and forces supporting or opposing these changes, and recommendations for sustainability.
History and Evolution
The migration policy of Canada is the most specific element of the nation’s population regulation. After the Confederation in 1867, the new federal government prioritized immigration policy as entrants were considered a significant boost to the economic potential of the nation as the manufacturing sector required immense labour force, which was missing in the country. The immigration act passed in1869 was supportive of these movements using the open door policy, which allowed everyone to move to Canada except for criminals. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Later on, this policy informed the new immigration act, which is the framework of the current Canadian immigration policy. The new category of immigrants was considered in this policy and entailed the independent class, humanitarian class, family class, business, and assisted relative’s class. This act was, however, replaced by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which represented refuges. The policy also tightened the requirements for refuges and skilled workers to enter the country. The threats posed by terrorism in the early 200’s mandated the formulation of the “Safe Third Country Agreement,” which considered the implications of asylum seekers and refugees (Makarenko, 2010). Another critical development during this period is the creation of compatibility systems cross border sharing of immigration data between the US and Canada. The number of refugees in Canada was also favoured with Bill C-11 in 2010, which also seeks to finance these groups such that they can be integrated into society (Makarenko, 2010).
Issues Not Addressed in Canadian Immigration Policy
There are numerous policy and legislative issues with the Canadian immigration system ranging from increased illegal immigration to the lives that legal immigrants being inhumane and a significant contribution to their deportation. Despite having the most significant number of immigrants when compared to the US, the Canadian immigration policy has experienced backlash from members of the society, political leaders, and human rights activists due to its bureaucratic system. The Canadian immigration policy is one of the strictest despite the nation having an open door policy. A most individual affected by this system entail students seeking study visas and individuals originating from countries such as Somalia, Yemen, and, Syria (Keller, 2018). The existing scheme, therefore, seems to have reverted to the discriminatory practices that were part of the Canadian immigration system during the early ’20s. Despite implementing the bureaucratic hurdles for individuals seeking to enter the country, this policy seems to fail due to the compatibility relationship established with the US. Through Roxham Road, thousands of immigrants can enter Canadian borders on foot and seek asylum. These individuals are either denied or given asylum. Their lives are halted, judicial resources strained as immigration court procedures are overwhelmed. The Canadian policy only allows the immigration of numerous individuals with low skills and unaware of their positions in the nation’s labour market as long as these groups fit the refugee and needy individuals categories. The policy further provides supplemented living to immigrants, such as individuals coming as a supportive individual to the disabled but fails to investigate the type of lives that these individuals live outside their residences.
Need for Review of Canadian Immigration Policy
Immigrants arriving as the caregivers of the disabled individuals are required to access a 24 month probation period in the country. This period according to Banerjee, Kelly & Tungohan (2017), is marred with increased challenges associated with labour exploitation, poor living conditions, inappropriate documentation of working hours, cancellation of the contract without observation of due process and abusive employment. After being employed as unskilled labour, most of the refugees portray a higher level of vulnerability as language barrier issues and time spent with one’s family significantly reduce. These populations are also subject to a financial system that does not help them to stay above the poverty line and access certain factors vital in their survival (Stewart et al. 2015). The possibilities of such immigrants being part of the nation’s insecurity system are therefore increased. The long queues and backlog of refugees at the immigration centers also risk their health as they are not given necessary medications such as insulin on their arrival in Canada (Olsen, El-Bialy, Mckelvie, Rauma & Brunger, 2016).
The supplemented living and acceptance of refugees in Canada, therefore, does not extend to analyze and guarantee better work and protection of human rights. In 2017 alone, the number of asylum seekers entering Canada doubled from 50,000 in 2016. The trend started in 2015, with the majority of asylum seekers being undocumented Haitians living in the US who immigrated with the fear that President Trump will deport them (Keller, 2018). The ease with which these groups access the Canadian border poses significant security threats to the nation’s citizens. The existing policy, therefore, seems to fail in protecting its boarder when it comes to controlling the relationship with the US regarding entrance. Security issues, labour challenges, and the inability of the government to plan are among the challenges that the existing state of the Canadian immigration policy presents.
Future Considerations and Policy Thoroughness
An issue that must be considered within the Canadian immigration policy is the treatment of immigrant employees within the nation’s workforce. The acquisition of labour force at cheaper rates and treatment of these individuals as expendables is an issue of human rights and economic consequences. The future needs to be fair to treat temporary that are considered commodities and are either discriminated against for lowering the price of labour or employed and overexploited. The success of Canadians immigration policy has been for a long time dependent on the nation’s “open policy.” The failure of immigration services to offer standards healthcare and primary living conditions to immigrants, thus creating conditions that result in refugees being undermined.
There is the question of the Canadian refuge system embracing its duty to vulnerable groups such as individuals escaping war and persecution. The strict policy in Canada seems to be aggregating all individuals from war-torn nations (especially the Middle East) and denying them a right to live a healthy life. The conservatives among the leading groups which are against the laxity of the Canadian immigration policy, with most individuals feeling that the refugees are decreasing the strength of the employment sector by working for lower wages, which reduces the opportunities that other citizens have access to. The conservatives are also against the open policy of immigration in Canada as they cite the allowance by these policies for groups that already have large numbers is a ploy by regulators to make them a significant voting block (Berthiaume, 2015). On the other hand, other members of the society are aware of the challenges that immigrants face within the Canadian systems are willing to do more than what is offered by the immigration department. Immigrants are helped by Canadian citizens to adapt to the way of life by learning about the culture, practices, and systems in place that can help them in living a comfortable life. The operational standards of the Canadian employment system can be protected, and its stability increased when employees who are vulnerable to exploitation are protected. By protecting immigrants’ employments rights, not only is the threat of low labour pays eliminated but also an influential corporate culture that champions human rights is created.
Policy Recommendations
The contribution of most workers to the Canadian economic system is immense. I would seek to establish policy recommendations that foster Canada’s inclusion culture but also prevents potential exploitation of the system. Individuals involved in facilitating the entrance of undocumented immigrants in Canada from the US should be subject to the full extent of the law with punishments ranging from considerable fines to jail term depending on the severity of the cases. Regarding the exploitation of immigrants, there is a need to establish reforms that are part of the immigration policy and helps in monitoring how immigrants are integrated within the existing systems in Canada’s employment industry. Strong measures such as fines and possibilities of serving jail term should be emphasized regarding employees who overexploit immigrants services, fill in false working hours, employ undocumented immigrants, and are directly or directly involved in discriminatory acts against immigrants. I would also implement the non-essential border closure policy that can help in limiting the entry of illegal immigrants using specific sections of the US Canadian border, such as Roxham Road. The policy will allow the nation to implement strict measures and provide the vital infrastructure that can help in limiting illegal immigration.
References
Banerjee, R., Kelly, P., & Tungohan, E. (2017). Assessing the Changes to Canada’s Live-In Caregiver Program: Improving Security Or Deepening Precariousness?. Toronto: Pathways to Prosperity. Retrieved 19 March 2020, from http://p2pcanada.ca/files/2017/12/Assessing-the-Changes-to-Canadas-Live-In-Caregiver-Program.pdf
Berthiaume, L. (2015). Canada Immigration had backlog of 7,500 Syrian refugee applications. Ottawa Citizen. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/immigration-had-backlog-of-7500-syrian-refugee-applications
Keller, T. (2018).”Canada Has Its Own Ways of Keeping Out Unwanted Immigrants.” The Atlantic. Retrieved 19 March 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/07/canada-immigration-success/564944/
Makarenko, J. (2010). “Immigration Policy in Canada: History, Administration and Debates. Society, Culture & Communities.” Retrieved 19 March 2020, from https://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/immigration-policy-canada-history-administration-and-debates.html#history
Olsen, C., El-Bialy, R., Mckelvie, M., Rauman, P., & Brunger, F. (2016). “Other” troubles: Deconstructing perceptions and changing responses to refugees in Canada. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 18(1), 58-66. Retrieved 19 March 2020, http://www.academia.edu/download/34045997/Other_Troubles._Olsen_et_al._2014.pdf
Stewart, M., Dennis, C. L., Kariwo, M., Kushner, K. E., Letourneau, N., Makumbe, K., … & Shizha, E. (2015). Challenges faced by refugee new parents from Africa in Canada. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 17(4), 1146-1156. Retrieved 19 March 2020, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nicole_Letourneau2/publication/263705862_Challenges_Faced_by_Refugee_New_Parents_from_Africa_in_Canada/links/575b0af308ae9a9c95519573.pdf.