One of these days I'm going to write a column on my method for eating cereal that guarantees it never gets soggy. But today we're back to immigration.
The federal budget cut Citizenship and Immigration Canada's (CIC) budget by three to 5.3 per cent over the next three years, but $130 million has been set aside this year. What's the $130 million for? To give refunds to 300,000 federal skilled workers who applied before Feb. 27, 2008 and who have been patiently waiting in the immigration queue for four to eight years that Jason Kenney is planning to - what's the metaphor I'm looking for here - push off a cliff.
Not a single one of those pre-2008 applicants is a client of mine. And in fact, when they go over that cliff, visa officers will be able to process newer applicants who might be clients of mine. So no, this is not about what's best for me. This is a question of fairness and Canadian values.
The rationale for tightening up our refugee system is to discourage "bogus claimants," economic immigrants just trying to bypass the legitimate line to get into Canada.
Why are we giving 300,000 people who took a number and got in line the backs of our hands? They followed the rules. Now we're telling them to stop bothering us, we have more important guests.
It's because Kenney hates backlogs. They make his department look inefficient and foolish. After announcing year after year after year that 250,000 immigrants would be admitted annually, they still can't figure out how to actually process them.
Backlogs occur when you don't allocate enough resources to a job you've committed to. Take that $130 million. A CIC could use it to hire over 2,100 additional staff. That ought to put a big dent in the backlog, wouldn't you think?
There might even be enough capacity left over to clean up the 185,000 parents and grandparents waiting in another backlog - another positive step towards reuniting families and restoring the reputation of Canada's immigration system.
CIC has been talking about a leaner, faster immigration system that's more labour-market driven and responsive to employers' needs. I couldn't help but notice the budget also tagged Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) for an 11 per cent cut over the next three years - $287 million.
HRSDC plays a big role in the immigration system.
They provide the labour market opinions required to hire temporary foreign workers.
They approve the arranged employment offers that employers need in order to fill permanent holes in their work forces.
It seems inevitable that the leaner, faster, more labour-driven system we're hoping will replace the current skilled-worker criteria is going to get further behind as the cuts at HRSDC start to clog things up.
Maybe the only way to get out of this hole we've dug for ourselves is to dump the backlog so we can start again. What do we owe these people anyway?
I think it's less what we owe them than living up to the standards we've set for ourselves. Is this how we want the Canadian government to act on our behalf?
Dr. Joe Greenholtz is a regulated Canadian immigration consultant (RCIC). He also sits on the Richmond Intercultural Advisory Committee (joe@premiercic. com).
