Immigration is essential to build Canada and make it a better place
Marc Miller's first public comments since becoming Canada's new Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship (IRCC) came in talks with RedFM Canada, CBC Radio Canada, and Bloomberg News.
These talks help us understand how he thinks about some important parts of Canada's immigration system.
How many people are coming to Canada now and what it would be worth to bring in additional individuals
According to Minister Miller, immigration holds the key to solving Canada's labour problems, especially those in the agricultural trades and the medical field.
Miller says that immigration is important to "build Canada and make it a better place." and make sure our business is doing well."
Miller says that immigration to this country is important because it helps Canada deal with the fact that its natural population is getting older. Because of this, the IRCC wants to either keep the amount of immigration the same or keep raising it over time.
Since the demand is so high, I can't imagine a scenario in which we reduce our immigration targets. I'm not sure if we should adjust them higher or lower, but I'm leaning toward higher.
How economic immigration is going and how Express Entry works
Canada's top goal has always been and will always be economic immigration. Canada's new immigration minister has made it clear that IRCC wants to keep the current amount of "economically directed" immigration, which is around 60%.
At the same time, Miller does say that the time it takes to process economic newcomers in Canada is not as fast as IRCC would like. He says that the government is trying hard to cut down on future processing times.
Miller said that the federal government's main goal with Express Entry and, more specifically, with IRCC's new category-based draws is to make sure that Canada quickly gets skilled immigrants who work in key jobs that are needed all over the country.
Addressing international student fraud
Due to the recent national focus on international student fraud, including the case that affected about 700 international students across Canada, IRCC knows that they need to handle this problem head-on.
Miller knows that the current visa process for foreign students in Canada has led to "integrity challenges" that have made some people who want to go to college here very nervous. Miller says that international students are given "false hope," and because of this, they are sometimes unable to achieve their goals in the United States.
To this end, IRCC knows that it needs to do a better job of protecting foreign students who come to this country by making sure that people who are just trying to make a better life for themselves through a Canadian education cannot be taken advantage of by scammers.
Refusing to link immigration and housing issues
Miller says that immigration is not the reason why there aren't enough homes in Canada all over the country.So, Miller disagrees with the idea that foreigners take homes away from Canadians and cause housing prices to go up.
Miller says that this talk is often a lot more complicated than it seems. While housing prices and equity have increased dramatically, immigration has "not much to do with it,".
In fact, Miller tends to disagree with the idea that housing supply problems are linked to immigration. He does this by pointing out that immigration may be the answer to some of Canada's most important problems, including housing supply.
The greatest way for individuals to acquire the dental treatment, health care, and cheap housing they want is for skilled professionals to come to our country.
Canada's plans for the future of immigration
Miller, Canada's new Immigration Minister, said again that he was committed to fairness and kindness in order to comfort both Canadians and newcomers.
The IRCC knows that Canada's immigration system isn't perfect. This is especially true when it comes to how Canada recognizes credentials from other countries.In fact, Miller agrees that it's not fair that some newcomers have to give up the hard work and experience they gained in their trained jobs back home.
Miller says that the best way to do this is for the federal government of Canada, along with the provinces and territories, to talk openly about how to regulate jobs in this country. This is because immigration is so important to Canada's past, present, and future.
"I'm here to be a part of a government that runs our immigration system in a way that is open, fair, and kind. This is what the country will look like in the future, so I'm glad to be a part of it."
