Some of Justin Trudeau’s promises remain unfulfilled
It must be said that the state of affairs in the immigration sphere is currently so neglected that radical and immediate changes are needed if the government is interested in effectively using the potential of immigrants. However, there are very serious doubts as to whether such interest exists.
Recall that the federal elections a year ago ended in a crushing defeat for the Conservative Party, which had been in power for nine years. The poor economic situation in which Canada now finds itself is largely the fault of Stephen Harper’s government and its far from balanced policies.
When it comes to immigration, the reform undertaken by the Conservatives turned out to be a complete failure — unless, of course, the goal of these changes was to limit immigration. The inexplicably introduced, completely illogical Express Entry system has become a barrier to professional immigration, including for graduates of Canadian colleges and universities who are foreign nationals.
In particular, while meeting all the requirements for the Canadian Experience Class program (i.e., having worked in Canada for a year in a required-level occupation), many graduates cannot pass through the Express Entry filter, because a year of work in Canada contributes little in terms of points under this pre-selection system. Combined with the unpredictability of the cutoff score in the Express Entry pre-selection system, immigration becomes a lottery, often with applications filed “on a wing and a prayer.” Naturally, this is fundamentally wrong, especially when it involves several years of study in Canada.
Another issue concerns the creation of a coordinated policy on provincial programs and their harmonization. Despite all the loud statements and promises, this has not happened. The most striking example of failure in this area is the immigration policy of the province of Quebec, which effectively operates autonomously from the federal center.
But the biggest disappointment and regret over the damage caused is the Conservatives’ policy on business immigrants: the path to Canada has been virtually closed to them. Currently, there is no truly functioning federal-level business program. Provincial programs, due to small quotas, cannot be considered a good alternative either.
For example, under the Entrepreneur Stream business program of the province of Ontario, launched at the end of 2015, only 10 applications have been selected to date. And this is the most populous and economically developed province of Canada, its economic engine. The only province that offers functioning programs for business immigrants is French-speaking Quebec. True, the quotas for the number of applications accepted there are also very small, simply incomparable with the number of those wishing to apply under these programs. Moreover, the main flow consists of Chinese, against whom immigrants from other countries find it extremely difficult to break through.
Finally, the problem of obtaining entry visas. Canada has a reputation as a country where it is quite difficult to get an entry visa. This is because Canada does not have effective mechanisms for deporting illegal immigrants from the country. Moreover, current laws entail lengthy and costly legal procedures for considering refugee claims from any foreigner who ends up in the country, their material support, and provision of expensive medical care.
In this situation, the Canadian government could think of nothing better than to restrict the entry of foreigners who might potentially remain in Canada illegally. Naturally, such an approach damages Canada’s economy because it limits the flow of tourists, restricts business ties, and reduces the number of foreign students wishing to study at Canadian educational institutions.
The Harper government promised to rectify this situation by changing laws and approaches to illegal immigrants. As a result, stricter laws on refugees were passed, but this did not solve the problem of issuing entry visas. There was a fairly short period when it became easier to obtain entry visas, but it quickly ended, and now everything has returned to square one.
The above applies only to immigration, but overall the approaches and results of the Harper government in other areas are similar. The crushing defeat of the Conservative Party that occurred in the elections a year ago is explained precisely by Canadians’ dissatisfaction with the work of Stephen Harper and his team. Naturally, great hopes were placed on Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party he leads, primarily in terms of loosening the screws tightened by the Conservatives and correcting the mistakes made by the Conservatives. In particular, radical changes in immigration were expected.
Unfortunately, the expectations placed on the new prime minister have not been fulfilled. There is a feeling that the government in Canada has not changed — everything continues to roll along as it was. The Canadian press has already noted that the Trudeau government, after its first year in power, has become the least productive of all recent governments.
When it comes to immigration, if there are any changes, they are not the ones expected. Since coming to power, the Trudeau government has made only one area of work a priority in immigration: the admission of Syrian refugees. That’s all the news, all the discussions. Everything else seems not to exist.
On the positive side, one can only note the increase in the number of issued immigration visas for sponsored parents from 5,000 per year to 10,000, as was promised during the election campaign. This is certainly good, but against the backdrop of 30,000 Syrian refugees accepted in a year, the quotas for sponsored parents look quite modest – especially given that the issue of parental sponsorship is extremely sensitive for Canada. That's it; the good news ends here.
No changes have been made to the Express Entry system, nor has it been abolished – although that is the first thing that should have been done. At the very least, international graduates of Canadian colleges and universities remain limited in their immigration opportunities due to the imperfections of the Express Entry system.
Business programs remain closed, just as they were. The Liberals do not seem to even consider that business immigrants would create much-needed jobs and invest in the Canadian economy. Apparently, this reflects the overall attitude toward small and medium-sized businesses in Canada – few think about their development and support; the focus is solely on creating conditions for megacorporations.
In terms of obtaining entry visas and study permits, things have only gotten worse over the past year. At least when it comes to residents of former Soviet Union countries.
It is worth noting the phenomenon of preferences for residents of China, with whom the Trudeau government is trying to establish special relations. At the moment, the Liberals' strategy is clearly to improve the Canadian economy through Canadian companies entering the Chinese market and attracting investment from China. Immigration policy, apparently, is conducted along the same lines.
For example, in the summer of 2016, there were reports that the number of Canadian visa centers in China was increasing from 5 to 10, with increased staff to handle the number of visas issued. Chinese tourists, by the way, have indeed become noticeably more numerous in Canada. Against this background, there is an impression that the increase in entry visas for Chinese is happening at the expense of visas issued to residents of the former USSR. It is difficult to say how accurate this impression is, but it has become harder for residents of former Soviet Union countries to obtain entry visas and study permits.
In November, a speech by Minister of Citizenship and Immigration John McCallum is expected, during which he plans to announce the immigration department's plans for the next three years. The speech will most likely focus on increasing quotas for the number of immigrants accepted.
The biggest intrigue of the upcoming speech lies in the question: will there be any other changes in the immigration sphere? In particular, will they change the Express Entry system, open new programs, what do the Liberals plan to do in the coming years? A year of deafening silence and complete detachment from solving current problems may indicate two mutually exclusive scenarios.
The first scenario is that work is underway to radically change the entire system, during which it does not make much sense to improve what exists – everything needs to be changed. The second scenario is the exact opposite. It is quite possible that the current state of affairs in immigration fully satisfies the government; no one is going to do anything, and all efforts are planned to be devoted to what provides good media effect, namely increasing the acceptance of refugees and facilitating parental sponsorship by increasing quotas for the number of visas issued annually.
And if from the perspective of usefulness for Canada, the first scenario is the most logical, then the second scenario is advantageous to the Liberals from a tactical standpoint. Humanitarian activities in accepting refugees allow them to look good in the eyes of the international community and have support among left-leaning Canadians, of whom there are many. Easing and speeding up the family sponsorship process for parents guarantees them support in ethnic communities.
Therefore, what the Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration will say in November is quite difficult to predict at this point. In any case, in the coming month this intrigue will be resolved, and at least it will become clear what to expect for those planning immigration to Canada and how best to go about it.