Critics charged the federal government is using immigration to force an election yesterday at a hearing before the House of Commons citizenship and immigration committee meeting in Halifax.
“They’re trying to tempt the opposition to defeat the government and go to an election,” said Kevin Wyman of the Halifax Coalition Against Poverty.
“This is the most cynical approach to an important issue in Canadian politics as I’ve ever seen in my life.”
The federal government is pushing changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that would include giving the Minister of Immigration more power over who enters the country. The amendments are packaged into bill C-50, a 136-page budget implementation bill.
Liberal and NDP MPs attacked the government on immigration yesterday, as the Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies argued that “low-skilled” immigrants are exploited by employers and need more protection.
Conservative MP Ed Komarnicki insisted the amendments were necessary and denied the government is trying to provoke an election.
“The existing system doesn’t work, particularly for employers,” Komarnicki said. “Having a system where skilled workers are waiting… years to get in just doesn’t cut it for business.”
