Does increasing economic and trade relations with emerging economies have any consequences for immigration systems in Canada?

This topic and interview were based on a research project that the interviewer was working on. The emerging economies in question were Brazil, Russia, Indian, China, Turkey and Indonesia. The study endeavoured to look into current and past multilateral collaborations on migration between Canada and these countries. The specific areas of concern were labour, tourism, business, students, family, security, asylum, irregular migration and the specific policies in these areas.

In Canada, immigration is a major societal nation-building exercise. Apart from Aboriginals the rest of the population arrived in Canada through immigration at one point or the other. Immigration policies are in tandem with social and economic goals of the country. The fundamental issue is to ensure immigration works to Canada’s advantage. Before and after 2006 the emphasis was on the economic side of immigration: education, language and skills that made immigrants ready for the job market. Canadian citizens support immigration policies.

Before 1950, policies favoured European immigrants. Later, individuals who wanted to settle permanently in Canada were targeted. Currently, there is no discrimination on nationality. Asians, especially those from India and China contribute the largest number of immigrants. Temporary immigration involves visitors, international students and temporary foreign workers. Temporary residence can be transformed to permanent basis. There are also policies that discriminate based on country of origin when it comes to employment.

Countries with which Canada has trade agreements for temporary workers include US, Mexico and EU. Such workers do not require labour market assessment opinion to work temporarily in Canada. Canada has no trade related entry agreements with Brazil, Russia, China, Indonesia and Turkey but is negotiating with India. The problem with the India talks is that the latter is not willing to abide by Canadian terms on labour, education among other issues.

There are other policies designed for specific countries. Seasonal Agricultural Worker Programmes are bilateral agreements between Canada and Mexico, Central America and Caribbean countries. Workers perform temporary duties in a tightly controlled/ environment for a short duration before returning home. International Experience Canada Program refers to agreements with 32 countries like India whose young people work and travel in Canada.

There are policies to prevent abuse of immigration policies by non-refuge producing countries also called Designated Countries Award Left. Asylum requests from these countries are reviewed according to individual needs. Other policies relate to people affected by human smuggling, designated mass arrival and organized criminalities.

Country-specific programs are implemented collaboratively with the countries concerned. For example, there are agreements with India and Brazil on tourism; trade and economic relations with China and India and economic and academic ties with Brazil. Turkey, India, Brazil and China are given priority on academic collaboration. This has resulted in influx of students from these countries. Canadian institutions and employers form collaborations with their respective colleagues in these countries to ensure mutual benefit.

In future, it is expected that immigration policies will favour countries like Mexico which are transitioning from developing to developed status. In addition, China and India will remain priority countries because they are economic powerhouses. Canada also has trade ties with both, especially China. Other relations are historical because of large populations of immigrants. Brazil is important for different reasons since it is an American country and is growing rapidly economically. Russia has no strong immigration links with Canada while India, Indonesia and Turkey not as much important economically.

There are a number of challenges emanating from Asian immigrants. Cultural ties between Punjabi immigrants and those who migrated earlier have resulted in increased applications for asylum by new generation immigrants. These immigrants are also highly skilled thus posing competition for employment with Canadians. In addition, China is in need of skilled labour and is encouraging skilled Chinese-Canadians to return to China.

Canadian officials feel that the current immigration policies are adequate to respond to current and future challenges. However, foreign governments are complaining that the Canadian Immigration policy is very stringent and visa fees are high. This is the case with such nations as Brazil but not Europeans and citizens of developed countries who require no visa to enter Canada.