{"id":255571,"date":"2020-05-21T01:29:43","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T05:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=255571"},"modified":"2020-05-21T01:29:43","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T05:29:43","slug":"mendicino-immigration-to-remain-enduring-value-after-coronavirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/05\/21\/mendicino-immigration-to-remain-enduring-value-after-coronavirus\/","title":{"rendered":"Mendicino: Immigration to remain \u201cenduring value\u201d after coronavirus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mendicino made the comments in response to recent questions being raised by analysts and critics about Canada\u2019s high immigration targets and its open immigration policies at a time when the current economic crisis threatens to loom long after the health crisis has passed. (File Photo<\/a>: Marco Mendicino\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

COVID-19 is showing us the need for continued strong immigration to Canada and the important contribution of immigrant workers to the Canadian economy, federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said Friday when he spoke with the Canadian Press.<\/p>\n

\u201c[It is] vitally important that we continue to immigrate today in a manner that is safe and orderly and also to drive that future that we all believe will be underpinned by immigration as it has been in the past.\u201d Immigration will remain, Mendicino believes, an \u201cenduring value\u201d for Canadians.<\/p>\n

Mendicino made the comments in response to recent questions being raised by analysts and critics about Canada\u2019s high immigration targets and its open immigration policies at a time when the current economic crisis threatens to loom long after the health crisis has passed.<\/p>\n

For decades, the promotion of accessibility and inclusion had been Canada\u2019s cornerstone, but the pandemic has put a damper on this approach based on openness. The\u00a0federal government\u2019s actions<\/a>\u00a0to contain the spread of the virus, high unemployment rates and the reluctance of some international workers and students to travel in an era of social distancing and uncertainty are the main reasons.<\/p>\n

Mendicino remains confident and hopeful, however, that Canada\u2019s overall approach to welcoming and helping newcomers will not change.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have faith that Canadians believe in immigration,\u201d he told columnist Susan Delacourt in a recent interview. \u201cThat\u2019s because they relate to it. It\u2019s part of who we are. At its core, immigration is about people coming together to build a stronger country, which is what we\u2019ve seen throughout our history, throughout this pandemic and, I\u2019m confident, what we will see in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many sectors of the Canadian economy rely heavily on immigrant workers, and during the pandemic,\u00a0immigrants are being called<\/a>\u00a0upon to strengthen and sustain many essential services. In Canada, front-line workers, food supply chains, hospitals, and long-term care facilities, among others, all depend on the support of foreign workers.<\/p>\n

Over the years, growing immigration levels have been at the heart of Canada\u2019s policies because they help sustain its labour force, support economic growth and spur innovation.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s\u00a02020-2022 Immigration Levels Plan<\/a>\u00a0had set targets of 341,000 permanent residents in 2020, 351,000 in 2021 and total immigration could increase to as many as 390,000 new permanent residents by the year 2022. This represents an immigration level of nearly one per cent of Canada\u2019s population, which the Conference Board of Canada\u00a0has said<\/a>\u00a0must be reached by 2030 to ensure modest population and economic growth.<\/p>\n

Mendicino does not rule out the possibility that these numbers may be revised in November when the government is expected to announce new immigration targets.<\/p>\n

The Minister of Immigration also told the Canadian Press that the government has been continually monitoring the situation and finding ways to improve the application process for permanent residents and temporary foreign workers.<\/p>\n

For instance, a\u00a0temporary policy<\/a>\u00a0unveiled last Tuesday by Ottawa will allow foreign workers to work for an employer other than the one on their permit while waiting for a new permit to be issued. The immigration department promises to process applicants\u2019 applications within 10 days of their submission instead of the usual 10 weeks.<\/p>\n

There was also concern that international students, whose contribution to the Canadian economy is estimated at about $21.6 billion, would be unable to enrol and attend higher education institutions this fall while borders remain closed.<\/p>\n

The government has sought to address this issue and has recently rolled out\u00a0new measures and policies<\/a>\u00a0that will allow international students to count online classes in Canada toward education programs and for immigration purposes. One of the\u00a0major program reforms<\/a>\u00a0announced this week will enable\u00a0international students<\/a>\u00a0to enrol in online courses for the fall term while they are abroad and still be eligible for a\u00a0Post-Graduation Work Permit<\/a>\u00a0after moving to Canada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COVID-19 is showing us the need for continued strong immigration to Canada and the important contribution of immigrant workers to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":238166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,6,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-255571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-ca","category-immigration","category-news","mauthors-alexandra-miekus","mauthors-cic-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255571"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":255573,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255571\/revisions\/255573"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}