“A healthy workforce is like a toolbox. You need all kinds of tools in it and not just the most sophisticated ones.”
We are not selecting our immigrants properly. Instead of changing our criteria, we are instead planning to spend lots of money to correct our mistakes.
Immigration policy has traditionally favored people with the highest levels of education, language skills, and professional experience. On its face, this “best and the brightest” approach seems to make sense since these qualities contribute to success.
So the theory goes.
That is until you see a professional immigrant abandon his dreams after ten years of driving a cab. So, why is this happening? The reason is simply that our selection method is speculative. It assumes that certain personal attributes will lead to success. However, provinces which deny licensing and employers who refuse to hire these newcomers are obstacles which are not easily overcome.
So what is the federal government doing about this problem? On Nov. 10 Immigration Minister Monte Solberg announced $307 million of new settlement funding so that “there will be more new Canadians who can access language training, orientation, referral to community resources, employment-related services, interpretation and translation”.
In my view, this approach is wrong.
Theoretically, if we choose our immigrants well, they will not need any settlement assistance at all. They would simply arrive here and go straight to work. Accordingly, the more we spend on settlement the more we are conceding that we are not choosing immigrants that our economy is able and willing to employ.
What is the alternative to the “best and the brightest” approach?
Firstly, we must move away from a speculative system. We need to focus on people who actually have a job waiting for them here rather on people who we think might be able to find work here.
Secondly, we shouldn’t care if the immigrant who is recruited is the “best and the brightest” provided that there is a Canadian employer who genuinely needs him. He can be a scientist, a janitor, a factory worker, a farm worker, anything really. If he holds such a position for a couple of years, has an adequate income, and is paying his taxes, he has proven that he has a good future here and should be landed.
Immigrants have historically filled positions that their hosts don’t want. We should abandon a system that picks immigrants assuming they will find jobs that may be denied them.
A healthy workforce is like a toolbox. You need all kinds of tools in it and not just the most sophisticated ones. A fairly simple tool can be essential for overall success. We can take pride in the knowledge that Canada can attract “elite” immigrants. Or, we can reap the rewards of a well-staffed workforce.
The choice is ours.
Guidy Mamann is the senior lawyer at Mamann & Associates and is certified by the Law Society as an immigration specialist. Reach him at 416-862-0000. Direct confidential questions to metro@migrationlaw.com
