http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/422949

Proposed reforms would create ‘unfair, arbitrary’ system, committee hears
May 08, 2008 10:59 AM
BRUCE CAMPION-SMITH
Ottawa Bureau Chief

OTTAWA–Letting more immigrants into the country – not a controversial overhaul of the country’s immigration rules – is the real solution to tackle a growing backlog bogging down the system, a Commons committee has heard.

The federal government should aim to accept between 300,000 and 333,000 new immigrants a year – roughly 1 per cent of the Canadian population – up from the current target of between 240,000 and 265,000 now, said Victor Wong, of the Chinese Canadian National Council.

“We cannot reduce the backlog unless we increase the immigration target range,” he told the Commons’ finance committee yesterday.

That call was echoed by Sima Sahar Zerehi, of Status Now — Campaign in Defence of Undocumented Immigrants. Last year, the government issued 251,000 permanent resident visas.

“It becomes evident that the real issue at stake is not the application processing times but the low annual targets we have set for permanent residents,” she said.

Both witnesses condemned the Conservative’s proposals to reform the immigration system to give the immigration minister new powers to decide the categories of newcomers that will be processed. It’s billed as an attempt to tackle a backlog of applicants that has stretched to more than 900,000.

But Sahar Zerehi said the changes would create an immigration system that is “unfair, arbitrary and open to abuse.”

“The proposed changes will give the minister . . . unfettered power to decide what category of immigrants will be allowed to enter the country each year,” she said.

“These new powers are dangerous. With no set criteria, there is far too much room for arbitrary or discriminatory decision-making,” she said.

“It is true that our current immigration system is broken but if these amendments go through, the immigration system will no longer be broken but shattered beyond repair,” Sahar Zerehi said.

She also raised concerns with the government’s strategy to let in more temporary workers to fill pressing labour needs, saying that Canada was treating immigrants “as cheap and exploitable labour.”

Wong urged the government to withdraw the immigration reforms from the budget bill and instead issue a “proper discussion paper and organize national consultations.”

“These changes shouldn’t even be in the budget implementation bill,” he said.

That request was quickly shot down by the Tories on the committee. “That’s not going to happen,” said Conservative MP Mike Wallace (Burlington).