Dear Editor,
I write to correct the puzzling and erroneous claims made against our Government in your paper (Kenney continues on immigration-busting path with ‘minimum language skills’ requirement, January 27, 2012).
Your article suggested that our Government’s focus on language proficiency is intended to reduce immigration from non-English speaking countries. This is a baseless and irresponsible allegation. Canada’s top three source countries for immigrants are the Philippines, India, and China. Indeed, in 2010, Canada welcomed nearly 100,000 newcomers from those three countries alone, and we do not anticipate this changing significantly in the years ahead.
The reason we are focusing on language proficiency is that study after study demonstrates that newcomers who have some ability to speak and understand one of Canada’s official languages fair much better, economically and socially, in Canada. This is just common sense. It is also why our Government has tripled settlement funding to ensure that language courses are provided to all newcomers arriving in Canada, to improve their language skills after arrival.
In 2012, our Conservative government will admit between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents. This is in line with our sustained average intake of 254,000 per year, a 14% increase over the previous Liberal government’s average of 222,500. Canada has maintained its immigration levels despite the recent recession because we believe our future economic growth will require a steady stream of new immigrants to meet growing labour market demands.
There is no reason why our increased focus on language proficiency should result in reduced immigration levels from non-English speaking countries. Millions of upwardly mobile Indians, Filipinos, and Chinese speak one of Canada’s official languages. Indeed, recent reports show that there are more than 300 million people learning English in China, in addition to approximately 125 million English speakers in India.
Canada welcomes immigrants from all over the world, and will continue to do so. We hope each and every one of them will enjoy a bright future in Canada, filled with opportunity and prosperity. That is why we are moving toward a system that will ensure that newcomers have the skills – including language skills – they need to succeed when they arrive in their new home.
Candice Malcolm
Press Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
