Immigration Reform is a Power Grab

There is an immigration bill before the House of Commons right now that, if passed, will give the Immigration Minister the power to fast-track certain applicants based on certain skills they would bring into Canada. The argument of Stephen Harper is that we need a massive influx of skilled people now, and the current system is inadequate to help us do so. The other main idea that is being pushed as a positive about the reform is that it will allow the Immigration Minister to clear a backlog of applicants that is growing close to a million people, (925,000 as of the National Post) which could grow to be 1.5 million in five years. The only problem with the PM's plan is that we already have a system that does this. We've had it for a very long time. We already have thresholds for wealth and criteria for skills that people applying to become citizens of this country must possess. If there is a backlog, then we need to address the system, not cut the system out of the loop.

A complication to fighting the reform is that this amendment has been tied into the Conservative budget, meaning that if the opposition parties oppose it, the government falls and we have an election. This is still a possibility that it will be defeated and the government will fall, but the federal Liberals are very hesitant to run an election right now, due to Stephane Dion's shakiness as leader. The changes proposed are going to impact everyone who is either on the list now, or looking to be in the future. It affects families that are trying to being their loved ones to this country, and areas that thrive on immigration, such as Vancouver. If this sort of amendment does pass the Commons, there should at the very least be some kind of independent monitor to ensure that the fast-tracks approved aren't a result of some sort of friendly nudge. The dangers with corruption and that sort of thing increase unbelievably when you give one person this kind of power.

The population of Vancouver is almost 50% immigrant-based, from Statistics Canada, so clearly this city has a vested interest in this bill passing or failing. The amount of people in this city that could be affected by their loved ones being pushed aside after waiting through the normal process for years would be staggering. We do need an influx of workers right now, especially with Baby Boomers starting to retire, and the need is only going to grow. Labor and Healthcare are already starting to feel the stretch, and are clamoring for more hands. We need more skilled people in this country than we can produce, but is this really the best way to go about it? Or should we be looking towards hiring more immigration officers to clear the backlog and work within the system we already have in place?