Immigration policies stimulate economic growth, say Liberal MPs
NEW GLASGOW, N.S. — Immigration is an issue that has wedged its way into mainstream political discourse in Canada, and last weekend citizens of Pictou County were given a strong indication of where the federal Liberals stand on it. “Anyone who hates on immigrants or immigration is actually working against our national interests,” said Canada’s immigration minister, Ahmed Hussen, the MP for York South-Weston, Ont. Central Nova MP Sean Fraser moderated the town hall-style event, which took place at Summer Street Industries in New Glasgow. They each made the case for how the Liberal party’s immigration policies have helped reverse population decline and stimulated economic growth in a region that needs both. “We want to really use immigration to fuel economic growth in Atlantic Canada,” said Hussen. “And I’m so proud that our efforts have paid huge dividends.” Essentially, three different categories of “newcomers” were discussed during the gathering — skilled workers who come through the newly minted Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP), seasonal workers through the temporary foreign worker program and refugees through blended visa, community sponsorship, or private sponsorship The AIPP is a program that matches skilled foreign workers with Canadian employers who are unable to fill a position locally. More than 3,700 employers have registered with the program since 2017. “I just visited a business a few hours ago where a Nova Scotian hired one skilled immigrant from Australia and because of that one decision he was able to create 35 jobs for Nova Scotians. That’s what immigration can do for all of us,” said Hussen to a round of applause from the room. Both Hussen and Fraser also pointed to the example of Peace by Chocolate in Antigonish which, in 2018, had hired 35 employees locally. However, there was criticism of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program during the event’s open forum. These are workers who do not have the skills or qualifications to apply for something like the AIPP and who work seasonal positions for a set period of time. “Some of them have been coming for six months each year for 10 years, but there’s currently no forward path to permanent residency or citizenship. All this time counts for nothing,” said one audience member, who asked Hussen about the government’s plan to create a path for residency for these workers. Hussen said that the liberals got rid of the four-year-in/four-yearout rule. “Meaning if you were a temporary foreign worker and you had a job, even if the employer wanted to keep you, they couldn’t.” If an employer needs the worker to stay, and is perhaps willing to offer support, then getting rid of this policy could technically give temporary foreign workers the time in Canada that they’d need to apply for permanent residency. The Liberal policy has been made that path easier, but it’s still rockier than it would be for skilled workers who come under programs like AIPP. At the end of the night, the room heard from Farhiyo Salah. Like Hussen, Salah is originally from Somalia. She grew up in the Dadaab refugee camp which is located in Kenya, not far from the Somali border. There are currently more than 230,000 registered refugees who live there. Salah came to Canada on a World University Service of Canada (WUSC) scholarship. “When I finished high school, I had two scholarships. One for France and one for Canada,” said Salah. “I said, no, I’m going to Canada.” Salah is currently in her second year of study at Saint Francis Xavier University. “I am so proud to say that in two years I will be a nurse and helping my community here.”