The appointment of young politician Chris Alexander as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration looks promising so far
The King is dead...
Let me start with a joke. A peasant's donkey fell ill. With no other choice, he went to the local shaman, explained the problem, and asked for help. The shaman ordered the peasant to give the donkey a potion made from oak roots. On the second day, when the peasant returned and complained that the donkey was still ailing, he ordered the donkey to be wrapped in burdock leaves overnight. And so each day he gave the peasant new advice, until one day the donkey died. Then the shaman said with great regret, "What a pity! I still had so many interesting ideas!"
Something similar happened in the field of immigration during the period when the ministry was headed by Jason Kenney. By the time of his appointment as head of the department, Canada's immigration system chronically suffered from lengthy processing times, selecting immigrants that were not what Canada needed, and other issues. But overall, the system worked, and immigrants had the opportunity to enter Canada and integrate into Canadian society.
At least at the time of Jason Kenney's appointment as Minister of Immigration (which occurred in 2008), the Moscow embassy was functioning properly, processing times for federal immigration programs were quite prompt, and there were no major complaints about the work of immigration authorities regarding Russia. However, with Jason Kenney's arrival, everything changed. The proactive politician set an ambitious goal to solve the existing problems of immigration and turn the immigrant selection process into a smoothly functioning efficient mechanism.
Technical workers have a joking principle: "Don't touch it, or you'll break it." The truth of this folk wisdom we can observe now in the immigration sphere. As a result of Jason Kenney's innovations, after five years of active reforms and loud statements, Canada's immigration system finds itself in an even more difficult situation, not to mention the fact that Canada's attractive image among potential immigrants has noticeably dimmed over these years.
I am fully aware that any radical changes and any restructuring cannot avoid complications and inconveniences. When the government said it wanted to reformat the entire immigrant selection system, it was clear that some unpopular measures and difficulties should be expected. Even when a road is being repaired, traffic jams and other inconveniences are unavoidable, and that goes for even more serious matters. But such measures cannot last long, especially in such an important area as immigration policy.
I also fully understand that while the work is not finished, one should not judge it by intermediate results. Therefore, in my articles, I wrote that we need to be patient and wait until the plans are turned into real proposals, and the system starts working according to the original ideas. However, in Jason Kenney's case, the restructuring dragged on, many promises remained only promises, initiatives presented with fanfare fizzled out and were gradually forgotten, replaced by new, equally grandiose plans, and the situation in immigration only worsened. The saddest part is that we will never know what should have come of it, as Jason Kenney was transferred to another front of work.
So far, this reshuffle looks more like a soft form of dismissal of an influential politician from a post where he failed to do his job, or an attempt to remove responsibility from him for the accumulated problems that have become blatantly obvious. Even if we set aside the fact that the immigration department under him was unable to solve many accumulated problems, the series of scandals it was involved in alone would have been enough to sink any politician. Recently, leading Canadian newspapers began writing openly that Jason Kenney should be removed from the post of minister. At the very least, the fact that the minister was transferred from one department to another, not allowing him to finish the radical reforms he initiated, and handed over their completion at the most critical moment to a novice politician, speaks volumes. It seems there is a general understanding that Kenney is doing something wrong, and if the process is not stopped, the situation could completely spiral out of control.
By the way, there has been much criticism of Jason Kenney as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. As I have written, it is quite possible that Jason Kenney's plan itself is good and has great potential to turn Canada's immigration system into a smoothly functioning mechanism, but so far nothing has convinced me of this. It is hard to agree with the concept of a new immigration policy that is more suitable for selecting temporary workers but does not contribute to improving the quality of Canada's population. I do not understand the tightening and restrictions introduced recently, as I see no tangible benefit from them. The logic of the new immigration programs, which consume human and financial resources, is unclear, especially considering that before 2002 Canada had an excellent, flexible, and very effective system that was a model for other countries.
I fully admit that lacking enough information, I may not understand something. But I know for sure that if a plan is good, it should work, and improvements should become visible fairly quickly. Unfortunately, five years after the start of the reforms, improvements are not visible; mostly only problems are visible. The situation now looks like Canada has tightly closed all doors and decided to let no one in.
For example, almost all federal programs are closed. For some, applications are still accepted, but the allocated quotas are so meager that they can be considered closed programs. The processing times for applications have increased, and there have been problems with obtaining open work permits for graduates of Canadian educational institutions, although Kenny's department repeatedly stated that it is focusing on attracting foreign graduates of Canadian institutions.
Despite the tightening for refugees, getting a visitor visa to Canada is still difficult and time-consuming. The processing time for citizenship applications has also noticeably increased. The culmination was the strike by foreign mission workers, as a result of which visas to Canada are issued with long delays, all immigration cases are postponed, and it is unclear when this conflict will be resolved.
... long live the king!
The appointment of the young politician Chris Alexander as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration looks promising so far. It even somewhat resembles a Hollywood plot of sending a special forces team to resolve a conflict that no one else can handle. At least, of all the politicians who have headed the immigration department over the past twenty years, he is the first who knows this field firsthand, since Chris Alexander is a professional diplomat and worked for a long time in foreign missions.
He himself is from Toronto, has a good education, has been in politics only since 2009, before that he worked in the foreign affairs system, so he has extensive practical experience. Interestingly, Chris Alexander began his diplomatic career in 1993 in Russia as third secretary of the embassy in Moscow, and since then most of his work has been related to Russia. In particular, in 1997, after returning from Moscow, he worked in the Eastern European department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a consultant to the minister on Russia. From 2003, he served as Canada's ambassador to Afghanistan, and later was one of the heads of the UN mission in Afghanistan. In 2006, Chris Alexander was included in the list of the 40 most influential Canadians under 40.
It seems that the appointment of Chris Alexander as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada has two goals – urgently restoring order in the immigration sector ahead of the 2015 elections, and promoting him as a politician, since the position of Minister of Citizenship and Immigration in Canada is key and provides excellent opportunities for gaining political weight.
There is hope that a politician with practical experience in the field and political ambition will be able to restore order in his department. By and large, if he cannot do this in the next couple of years, the accumulated problems in immigration could seriously adjust the Conservative Party's plans to retain power in the country as a result of the 2015 elections.
What to expect?
Undoubtedly, a change of minister at such an important moment can indicate a lot. At the very least, it is a signal that the immigration sector will undergo changes. And given its current state, the changes should be for the better. The question is only what will be done and when.
I think no drastic changes will happen in the coming months. Due to the change in leadership, a transition period is beginning; time is needed to develop new approaches and resolve the most acute disagreements. One of the first tasks of the new minister will likely be to end the strike of foreign missions and restore the full operation of embassies and consulates. I think that changes in immigration policy should be expected no earlier than early 2014. The question is how radical they will be, and whether the new minister will abandon his predecessor's plans or try to implement what was planned earlier, doing it more professionally.
I note that the intrigue of the current situation is as follows. On one hand, the situation in immigration needs to be urgently corrected. On the other hand, there are only two years left until the elections, so results must be demonstrated within a year, no later. Therefore, at this point it is difficult to predict how radical the changes will be and what the new minister can do in such a limited time.
What can really be expected is a departure from the harsh measures that Jason Kenney was so fond of using. First, with the departure from Harper's government of such a heavyweight politician as Vic Toews, who is considered the main advocate of a tough line, overall one can expect the Conservatives to soften their positions on all issues. Second, when talking about Chris Alexander, one must take into account his experience as a diplomat, which involves seeking compromises and the ability to work without excessive pressure.
Elena Ryabinina,
“Russian Toronto”.