Canada is experiencing an immigration crisis and we are left asking where has the common sense gone?
Allowing 1.25 million people to enter the country in the middle of a housing crisis simply makes no sense. Yet the Liberal-NDP government, over a 12 month period ending Oct. 1, allowed Canada’s population to grow by 1.25 million people. That is the most rapid growth this country has seen since the 1950’s. It was almost entirely driven by a deliberate intake of immigrants consisting mostly of temporary residents and students.
According to a recent report released by a National Bank economist, Canada’s staggering population growth is stretching its capacity to adequately accommodate new immigrants. A significant lag in new housing construction has not kept up with the massive influx in immigration. The system is breaking down.
More alarmingly is that according to the Canadian Press, internal government documents from 2022 reveal that Canada’s rate of immigration could have very dire effects on the domestic housing market. The Canadian Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, recently stated in an interview that the volume of international students in Canada “is disconcerting.” And that “it's really a system that has gotten out of control.”.
Obviously, the first control point that shatters with excessive immigration is housing but what will be next?
Consider the budget deficits that are rampant in nearly every province in Canada. We are paying a high price to support such unlimited immigration and the financial impact is beginning to take its toll. Provincial budgets cannot bear this additional strain. Ironically this is a problem that the federal government can voluntarily control, yet it continues.
Other countries have already adopted new laws and policies to stem out of control immigration rates. France for example now requires that citizens from non-European union countries working in France will have to reside in the country for 30 months before they are eligible for any welfare benefits. And foreigners who are not working must now wait 5 years before they are entitled to state benefits.
These are sensible ideas for a G7 nation like France and so too should they be for Canada. Immigration has always been integral to the identity of Canada – our rich cultural heritage is the very foundation that built this great country. But we must be smart about it and uncontrolled immigration to the detriment of existing Canadians defies common sense.
So how can we financially accommodate vast amounts of newcomers to Canada when we can barely afford to maintain services for our existing population? Most would agree that our healthcare system is overstretched and failing. Further pressure on an overwhelmed healthcare system could be nothing less than catastrophic.
Common sense dictates that when newcomers immigrate to Canada we have to ensure they are employable and have access to adequate housing and health care. One way to address those issues is to focus on immigrants who are qualified to work in the healthcare or construction sectors, where we desperately need qualified workers. But under the current scenario this is not the case. Immigration straight into welfare is irresponsible and we simply cannot afford it. Our housing, social service and medical systems cannot bear the crushing burden of unlimited immigration.
We also need to make sure immigrants fit into and help improve Canadian society, but instead of much needed workers in high demand sectors the federal government has recently announced that they are inviting 1000 people from Gaza. I am very concerned about how we will screen these immigrants, given that we already know from polling that the vast majority of people in Gaza support Hamas. We already have far too many people in Canada protesting Jewish communities and businesses, and not enough nurses and construction workers, but our priority for immigration is people who are likely to do the former rather than the latter?
The unrelenting immigration policies of the federal Liberal-NDP government has become negligent and detrimental to all Canadians. A federal policy that opens the immigration floodgates only to expect the provinces to bear the burden and costs is not sustainable.
Common sense must prevail – and common sense dictates we must adopt a more rational and measured approach to immigration in fairness to all Canadians and the newcomers to this country.