QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Immigration Levels
October 8, 2024
Minister Miller, thank you for joining us today.
There has been much discussion around the country about Canada’s immigration targets, and I know you are currently working on Canada’s upcoming Immigration Levels Plan, which you will table before Parliament. You were quoted recently as saying that a reduction in the number of permanent residents is a possibility as we try to stabilize our immigration system.
Can you speak to us about your consultations with the business community? What are they telling you? There continues to be a need for newcomers to fill positions in many industries — such as accommodation, food services and more — and for some entrepreneurs struggling to find workers, a possible reduction of new workers is concerning.
Senator Loffreda, thank you for that crucial question. I think there is a responsibility to the business community. I mentioned in a response to one of your colleagues that we prevented two recessions, at the very least, because of our robust immigration policies, which we can be quite proud of. I have also acknowledged that the system has become overheated. To some extent, the country has indeed become addicted to temporary foreign workers, and businesses have taken advantage of that. They’ve leveraged that opportunity, and there is some responsibility there.
What we don’t want to do is overcorrect and throw the country into a recession. We want to ensure we are not damaging vital industries. Obviously, in an era of food insecurity, we don’t want to damage businesses that depend on temporary foreign workers, particularly ones that essentially sustain a lifeline in rural communities.
We have to get it right, but it’s not something I can do in a vacuum. I have spoken to a lot of business associations and chambers of commerce. Without a fault, all of them ask for more and more temporary foreign workers, but I think the responsibility that we have as a country is that we can’t get complacent about that, and to some extent we have become complacent about selling the values of the consensus we have carefully built, and that is incumbent on businesses as well as on the shoulders of the federal and provincial governments.
Thank you for that.
Some provinces are calling for more temporary workers to fill positions, for example, in the hospitality sector. How have the talks with your provincial counterparts been going on this matter as you prepare to release your new plan? I am particularly interested in your discussions with the newly minted Quebec minister Jean-François Roberge. I appreciate that striking the right balance between meeting labour force needs and our country’s ability to adequately welcome and integrate newcomers is a difficult task, and there are challenges in housing and other sectors.
It’s not easy, but how have your discussions been going with respect to that?
I don’t necessarily share the same vision for Quebec as Jean-François Roberge. I don’t like some of the policies of his government, and Bill 21 and Bill 96 are at the top of that list. I do get along with him personally, and I think Quebecers and Canadians expect us to get along and work positively and proactively to ensure that we have an immigration system that we can be proud of.
As you have alluded to, immigration responsibilities are a shared jurisdiction, and we need to get it right. It isn’t a question of compromising our principles, but so far, my working relationship with him has been quite productive.
Remember, Quebec has changed its posture recently, and up until a year ago, they were asking us for more temporary foreign workers. It’s changed, and they have some responsibility to get it right. I still haven’t seen Mr. Legault’s plan to reduce temporary foreign workers.
