Immigration in Canada: Key Points

Immigration Overview

  • Immigration: Moving to a non-native country and establishing a life.
  • Emigration: Leaving one's country to settle elsewhere.

Immigration Trends

  • Immigration rates are affected by the Prime Minister's beliefs, laws, and policies.

Reasons for Immigration to Canada (2006)

  • Economic Immigrants (55%): Skilled workers and businesspeople.
  • Family Class (28%): Spouses, partners, children, parents, and grandparents of Canadian residents.
  • Refugees (13%): Those escaping persecution, torture, or cruel punishment.
  • Other (4%): Accepted for humanitarian reasons.

Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

  • Immigration Law: Determines who is allowed into Canada.
  • Immigration Policy: Procedures for reevaluating immigrants and determining the number allowed each year.

Objectives of Immigration

  • Pursue social, cultural, and economic benefits.
  • Respect bilingualism and multiculturalism.
  • Support minority official language communities.
  • Share immigration benefits across Canada.
  • Reunite families.
  • Promote immigrant integration.

Objectives for Refugees

  • Save lives and protect displaced and persecuted people.
  • Fulfill international commitments to protect refugees.
  • Grant fair consideration to those claiming persecution.
  • Offer refuge to those facing persecution, torture, or cruel treatment.

Changes to Immigration Act

  • Security Concerns: Inadmissibility for espionage, subversion, terrorism, or being a danger to Canada.

Immigration Categories

  • Economic Class: Skilled workers (evaluated via points system for education, language, job history).
  • Family Class: Relatives of Canadian residents.
  • Refugees: Those escaping persecution.
  • Other: Accepted for humanitarian reasons.

Point System

  • Criteria: Education, language ability, job history.
  • Applies only to economic immigrants.

Health Considerations

  • Economic immigrants may be refused if their health poses a risk to Canadians, endangers public safety, or puts excessive demand on health services.
  • Requires proof of good health (except for refugees and family-class immigrants).

Economic Factors

  • Need for workers due to low birth rate.
  • Shrinking labor force impacts the economy.

Singh Decision

  • 1985 Supreme Court decision granting refugee claimants the right to a hearing.
  • Established the Immigration and Refugee Board.
  • Ensures basic necessities for refugee claimants awaiting a hearing.

Past Immigration Laws

  • Historically favored British immigrants and restricted Asian immigration.
  • Current system evaluates skills and education.

Komagata Maru Incident

  • Early 1900s policy prevented direct travel from India, effectively excluding Indian immigrants.
  • The ship was forced to return; some passengers died or were arrested.

Chinese Head Tax

  • Between 1885 and 1923, a tax discouraged Chinese immigration.
  • In 2006, the Canadian government apologized.

Impacts of immigration

  • Provinces: Provinces have some control of immigration to ensure immigration fits their needs.
  • French-Speakers: Agreement with Quebec that allows the province to nominate the percentage of immigrants to Canada that corresponds to its population within Canada
  • Indigenous: First Nations have collective rights under the constitution