tdotwriter

Canadian leaders are too afraid to engage seriously with the frustration many normal people feel about immigration after the last few years. But I share many of their concerns. We have made honest conversation too difficult. And in Ontario especially, we have been naive about the effects of sudden population growth on housing, wages, infrastructure, public services, and yes, social and cultural cohesion. Immigration has historically been one of Ontario’s greatest strengths. It helped build our industries, our cities, and our prosperity. But many Ontarians feel gaslit if they express frustration about current circumstances. Young people watched rents explode. Entry-level work became more competitive and lower paid. Colleges transformed into immigration pathways. Infrastructure and healthcare struggled to keep up. It has changed our politics, too. People are not imagining this. Ontario experienced a genuine immigration shock. This at least is somewhat acknowledged. And while Ottawa deserves plenty of blame, Ontario cannot pretend this simply happened to us. Doug Ford’s government helped create the conditions for this crisis by blowing up the higher education funding model. They froze tuition, underfunded colleges and universities, then allowed institutions to make up the difference by massively expanding international student enrollment. That turned parts of our higher education system into an immigration-processing business. Now Ontario now needs a reset. And because immigration policy is ultimately federal, Ontario will need to work closely with (and pressure) Ottawa to pursue a system that is sustainable, orderly, and capable of maintaining public trust. Permanent immigration should return to a more normal and sustainable baseline, and no longer be subject to insiders claiming “labour shortages”. Over the next 5-10 years, Canada should gradually unwind the enormous temporary resident population from roughly 5 million people nationally to well under 1 million. Some, of course, should be offered a path to stay, but many cannot and we need to honestly acknowledge that. That likely means a prolonged period of near-flat population growth. Going forward, temporary worker, asylum, and student streams need to shrink substantially. More than they have. Visa rules need to actually mean something. Asylum claims cannot quietly become a parallel permanent residency system. At the same time, we should reward people who follow the rules. If someone came legally, worked or studied honestly, avoided welfare, and left when required, they should receive a meaningful advantage if they later apply to immigrate permanently. And finally, we need to remember what immigration policy is for. It is not primarily a humanitarian program. It is a civilization-building and economy-building program. Ontario and Canada should prioritize immigrants with the skills, education, economic potential, and cultural compatibility to help build a prosperous, cohesive, high-trust society.

I really feel like the governments of the world are getting desperate. Take your vitamins. I hope this doesn’t escalate. 😒