Newcomers are important
There is no crisis at the border.
The Conservative Party of Canada has been copying U.S. propaganda scare tactics by using immigrants to divide Canadians. The misinformation is astounding, since the Government of Canada’s website on immigration regulations makes it easy to find the truth.
We are a nation founded by immigrants. Nothing has changed despite the disinformation coming from the opposition that demonizes a group of people by labelling them terrorists and accusing them of crimes they do not commit. It is also claimed they are taking our jobs and our welfare. So which is it? These statements are simply not true.
We had an influx in 2017 when President Trump issued a new policy to deport refugees. They had no place to seek asylum but to head to Canada. Our numbers are now level once more.
Asylum seekers and refugees do not jump the queue ahead of immigration applicants. They are not illegal and they have separate departments that handle their claims.
Many are turned away after thorough investigation into their background. While waiting for their claims to be processed, they work to support themselves. Any aid given by the government is a hand up, not a hand out.
Canada has room for more immigrants to sustain our economy. With our aging population and very low birth rates, we cannot possibly maintain our workforce without immigrants. More workers means more taxes to help build our country.
The American rhetoric can stay south of the border. We are a peaceful, generous and caring nation, and I hope people will educate themselves on the laws and how immigration works. Jeannette Savoie-Schwalm, Sutton, Ont. Rosie DiManno, thank you — the facts you expressed and more need to be brought to the public's attention.
It is my understanding that the birth rate in Canada is too low to replace our workforce, and that increasing numbers of high school graduates are choosing education fields not in trades. If that’s the case, we as a country will be at a loss for services that range from electricians to dog groomers. This vast, overlooked array of middle-income trades is vital to a thriving economy.
Could you do a column that investigates whether it is possible for the current population to pay for baby boomers’ pensions, health care, housing and the other expenses of growing old with the existing level of immigration?
With information such as this in the Star, our population might be enlightened as to the importance of immigrants to our country. Vicki Beard, Guelph
Re How Doug Ford conjured up a war over refugees, Aug. 23
The people following Roxham Rd. through Champlain, N.Y. to cross into Canada are neither refugees nor immigrants. They are economic migrants looking for the freebies that the Canadian taxpayer will ultimately dole out to them during their two- or threeyear stay, at which point their applications will have been rejected and back home they will go.
Or will Mr. Trudeau devise a way for them to remain and be forever Liberal voters? Kathleen Valin, Toronto