(il)legal immigrants

Lately, the Canadian and American governments have been cracking down on illegal immigration. The U.S. Government estimates that there are currently 11 million illegal immigrants, many Hispanic, in that country, rising by tens of thousands each year. While Canada isn't quite seeing those numbers, it too has many illegal immigrants.

The U.S. is dealing with the problem by introducing a bill to better control this illegal immigration, mainly due to crossings through the U.S.-Mexico border. No amnesty, just better control. Canada is dealing with it by just deporting these people. Of course, the media is getting a lot of mileage from a couple of Portuguese families that were deported last week. They had been in Canada for several years, working in the construction industry, and even apparently had Social Insurance Numbers and were paying taxes!

I don't have a problem with good, law-abiding, hard-working people that come from other countries, looking for a better life for their families. At one point or another, all of our families did the same. That is not the issue. The issue is the method by which they entered Canada.

My understanding of the Canadian immigration system is that anybody that applies for emigration to Canada, must apply at their home country's Canadian Embassy or Consulate. When their application is processed, they are given points for such things as education, experience, English (and presumably French) -speaking ability, whether they have immediate relatives already in Canada, etc. The score they receive, and Canada's quota for particular skill sets, will determine whether, and how soon, somebody would be allowed to enter Canada. A process that could take two or three years. A long time to wait for someone that wants a better life. Apparently, some potential immigrants are fast-tracked if they have sufficient money to invest in a business in Canada and hire a number of Canadian employees. As you can see, this system favours educated and financially well-off people. But what about the hard-working, blue-collar stiff? Certainly there's a place for those without money, post-secondary education and/or strong English/French-speaking ability?

How about a system that identifies businesses and trades, such as day labourers, construction workers, kitchen help, and other jobs, where there is a worker shortage? This shortage likely comes from the low wages that these jobs typically pay and lack of desire for Canadian workers to perform them. Surely someone from another country would be willing to work in these positions, given the opportunity. It's happening now, but it's more than likely underground, and business owners are probably taking advantage of the situation these workers are in.

I have a suggestion. What about a government run "virtual" equivalent of a Union Hall. The government can sign up businesses and/or identify jobs where there is a significant shortage of workers. The government can translate this need into immigration quotas for the skills, or lack of, required. Businesses that have owners/workers that predominantly speak a particular language can target countries that speak that language. For example, last week, the deported families were from Portugal and worked in the construction industry. So, tell the Canadian Embassy in Portugal to fast-track construction workers looking to emigrate to Canada. The government can even have quotas for totally unskilled labourers, looking for an opportunity, to do manual labour like digging ditches and the like.

By having this "Union Hall," the government can control the number of unskilled and semi-skilled immigrants to the country, as well as keeping track of their progress as they work as day labourers, part-time, temporary, or even full-time. At this point, they are landed immigrants. Prior to being granted citizenship, they would have to show progress in holding a steady job, improvement in language skills (which the government can help administer), and any other criteria the government deems necessary.

The result? Everybody wins. Immigrants that may otherwise not be allowed to come to Canada because of lack of education, or English-speaking skills, would have the opportunity for a new life for their family. Businesses wouldn't face such a shortage of labour, and the Canadian Government would get a legal taxpayer to add to the Canadian coffers. In addition, the government will likely spend less money trying to track down and deport illegals, because there would be fewer of them. Sounds like an ideal situation doesn't it?

This sounds too simple for it not to be instituted by the government a long time ago. Am I missing something? Could I be oversimplifying the problem? I hope I'm not because maybe this would be a win-win-win situation for everyone.

Wings Over The World