The Vital Role of Immigration in Sustaining Canada's Strength and Prosperity

Take a minute and sit down. See the community around you. Now imagine nothing, none of these people surrounding you, no buildings, empty and desolate . This is what most of Canada would look like, if it wasn't for the backs of immigrants in the early beginnings of the creation of this nation. The awe-inspiring beauty, and diversity, of the lives and buildings that inhabit our neighbourhoods, our towns, our cities and our provinces, are all here due to those brave immigrants that saw what Canada could be, and the first nations that accepted them. Recently there has been a lot of debate, and controversy regarding Canada's Immigration policies, and many believe that our doors should be shut, and that immigration is harmful to our country, but they need to understand that continuing Canada's current “open door” immigration and refugee policies is vital in sustaining this strong, diverse, country with great patriotism, and even greater economic and political power.

Why Immigration is Beneficial for Canada?

Immigration is a key factor in strengthening Canada's dropping economy; with our aging population, it would be reckless to stop its biggest support. 2001 census showed that the country's population growth rate has slowed to an all-time low. Even for the population to stay where it is will require more immigrants: Canada's fertility rate is just 1.5 children (the average number of children a woman will have over her lifetime), and that figure needs to be 2.1 children per woman to sustain the current level of population.This growing epidemic will lead to labour shortages. which will leave canadians with less resources, lower quality services, and higher taxes. Our existing population is aging quickly , by 2020, one in three Canadians will be over 55, which will add more strain on the work industry, as retirement grows. The already strained economic support for the senior demographic group will collapse as the small population of young workers will be incapable of supporting them, leading to detrimental effects. Canada currently spends around $27 billion assisting elderly yearly , plus another 45% of Canada's healthcare costs also dedicated to seniors. If your wallet is hurting already, it gets worse. Our medical care expenditures are now predicted to increase by 35%, due to the fact that half of half of a person's lifetime health care costs are incurred after the age of 65, so much of Canada’s public health system expenditure growth will be directly attributable to the country's aging population. Canada's tax payer dollars are about to rise drastically, and all because our country cannot support itself. Without a drastic rise in birth rates, or tens of thousands more immigrants enter the country, Canada will still continue to be at a loss. Studies show that in order to support the financial state of our country now, we need to increase the acceptance rate by beyond the current level of 210,000 people a year

The growing diversity of Canada's population due to immigration increases the country's political and social strength, through import and export relationships, global admiration, respect, and a title of freedom. Canada still stands to be the only nation to receive the United Nations Refugee Agency’s Nansen Award, in recognition of its efforts to resettle 60,000 Vietnamese refugees. This achievement is something we should all be proud of. For such a young country to be granted this, is an honour. It goes to show that other countries support and respect Canada’s brave, heroic , helpful ways, but the fact that its own citizens and government do not is absurd. In 2006, the US sought advice from Canada regarding its immigration policies, this advice was clearly not followed, and our neighbouring country is going through one of the biggest immigration and deportation fiascos of the 21st century. Two nations, that are extremely important players in the global field, both agree that our past acts of immigration have been positive and worthy of respect. The UN and the USA both have highly significant relationships with Canada so making decisions that they too are supportive of will better our country's international, political, position for the better. TRANSITION By 2006, new immigrants from more than 200 different countries moved to Canada and spoke 150 different languages. The linguistic skills and cultural understanding that these immigrants possess are valuable, indispensable resources for navigating an increasingly globalized labor market. Their institutional, legal and social knowledge of business structures, and social services of their native country is particularly valuable for diversification of canada's international relationships. Skilled immigrants selected through the points system constituted 62 percent of all newcomers in 2001, and Established a disproportionate part of Canada's educated class, which is a fundamental support for Canada's international competitiveness. As well as its political impact, immigration deeply affects the lives and standards of canadians already living here. A misconception is that immigrants are “lazy” and “ drain our economy and tax dollars” but it is not the case, and they can be more beneficial then not. The incoming population is often selected, highly skilled people who, within a decade or two of their arrival, typically meet or exceed Canadians ' average income and although recent immigrants are more likely to receive welfare payments at some point than native-born Canadians, on average, immigrantsimmigrantss show less overall reliance on social welfare payments than the Canadian-born population. Furthermore, it has been discovered that immigrant families make a substantially bigger net lifetime contribution to the social services of Canada than a comparable Canadian - born household. Proving these people aren't here to waste your space and money, and they do not suck the purpose and privilege of the Canadian Dream, they are here to work like you, raise a family like you, and benefit and enrich this country just like you.

Immigration has been an important player in the creation and sustainment of Canada since the beginning. It would be unpatriotic and unethical to decrease, or put a stop to one of the most important reasons as to why Canada has grown to the country we know now. A faulty premise that many native born canadians have, is that immigrants, are “bleeding out” the Canadian culture, and disrespecting the title and the privilege it is to live in this country, but that is not the case. In 2001, more citizens self-identified as Canadian, or Canadian in addition to another ethnicity, than any other ethnic categorization.The newcomers are proud, and want to embrace their new Canadian identity . In fact, 75 percent of immigrants who were eligible for Canadian citizenship opted to become citizens. These families want to be apart of our communities, and want to be Canadian, because they believe in our nation and want to create better lives, in a beautiful country with beautiful people. And though the process of adaptation is slow, and difficult, studies show that non-English or French-speaking immigrants have been able to lose their reliance on their mother tongue within a single generation. Rather than remaining separate from Canadian society, immigrants are proving their desire and will to integrate positively in our society, and encompass/represent what it means to be a Canadian, native born or not. Looking back, throughout Canada's short, yet eventful history, there have been times where immigration has saved the well being of our nation. In 1945, when Canada's immigration rates were practically zero, Canada fell into a great labour shortage, and as the economy started collapsing we quickly changed our immigration regulations. We opened our doors, and in 1955 we had one of the largest flux of immigration since 1910. This saved our economic, and political crisis, why not rely on it again? Unfortunately Canada does not have a very clean past when it comes to decisions regarding our immigration laws. Times where our government approved chinese head tax, forcing any chinese immigrants to pay 500$ to enter Canada, and later naming them “unfit for full citizenship ... obnoxious to a free community and dangerous to the state.' Then the disgusting,incident in 1914, where a chartered ship carrying Punjabis who sought a better life in Canada was denied entry due to their ethnicity at the Port of Vancouver. And on their return back to India,they were fired at by indian police, resulting in a deadly conflict killing 20. These are just a sample of the many times our government failed this nation. Canada has worked hard on repairing those inhuman, and repulsive wrongdoings, formal apologies from prime minister stephen harper to those apart of the Komagata Maru incident, and compensation of $20,000 to be paid to survivors or their spouses of the discriminatory immigration act of Chinese head tax, and keeping our doors open since, are some of the steps we have taken to change, and grow for the better. as well as keeping our doors open, and welcoming ever since.Thousands of people had to suffer, inorder for this Nation to transform its morals, and represent something we can all be proud of ; freedom, and equality. Closing our doors again, would set our growth from these incidents backwards by decades, and almost act as a slap to the face, to those who have fought to forgive, and support Canada despite its many faults.

Conclusion

Embracing immigration with open arms, will set our nation on a path of strength, and resilience, in our economic and political sectors, and in our growing communities. It is our duty to promote and represent the accepting, and free, ways that our country has worked so hard to be known for. As our birth rates, and economy continue to drop, immigration is the only viable recourse we have to fix this, so stopping and reducing it, due to false premises and misconceptions is completely vacuous, and will harm our nation drastically. Other Countries support, and idle our decisions, and being rewarded for doing the very thing that built our country, is something Canada should be proud of and continue to practice. So next time you go grocery shopping, or to a party, or to pick up your kids from school, understand that your current ways of life are all possible because of immigration, including your friends, and your resources, your job, and your money. And think, people and your government are debating reducing or stopping the main cause for all of that.