Canadian Immigration Minister Admits System Out of Control, Constituency Offices Damaged
The Canadian immigration minister has recently been highly controversial. A few days ago, the minister's constituency office was severely damaged, with windows smashed and sprayed with pink paint. However, Marc Miller did not back down from this.
According to Nicholas Keung, a reporter from The Star, Miller joked at a special naturalization ceremony in Toronto last Friday, "Does anyone want to change their mind? You still have time. But I'm sure, looking at the smiles on your faces, no one will change their mind. It's a wonderful moment
Miller personally welcomed 368 new citizens from 60 countries who pledged allegiance to Canada under a large tent at one of the world's most famous circuses. On that day, the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Sun Circus was also celebrated.
During the event, seeing proud immigrants striving to become Canadians and the radiance in their eyes made Miller realize the value of Canadian citizenship and the challenges facing the country today.
Recently, Miller gave an interview to The Star on the eve of his one-year anniversary as Minister of Immigration, sharing the good, bad, and ugly aspects of his job over the past year, as well as his to-do list before the next federal election in October 2025.
Canadians now have a lower tolerance for errors or a lack of rigor and discipline in the system, "said the Liberal Minister. We are not immune to social media. People see large-scale illegal immigration in Europe, and the political system is often exploited or used as a weapon by right-wing governments
The number of refugee applications is nearly 190000, and nearly 80000 have been approved
Miller stated that the rapid increase in the number of Canadian refugee applications since international travel resumed in 2022 is his biggest concern.
The number of people seeking protection far exceeds the pre pandemic 64030 in 2019, reaching a record high of 91700 in 2022 and 143580 in 2023. In the first five months of this year, there were 77725 applicants. There are approximately 186000 pending applications in the system.
The global increase in displaced populations has led to an increase in the number of asylum seekers in most developed countries, but the minister believes that when the public sees refugees sleeping on the streets and staying in homeless shelters, Canadians see the influx of refugees as the reason for the out of control borders.
Image source: X@MarcMillerVM
He said that it is important to strengthen the visa processing system, given that many refugee applicants are temporarily residing as visitors, students, and workers.
We see that the influx of people does not match the original reason for coming to Canada, which indicates that the system itself has been disrupted, "Miller said. We are studying and will take some measures, hoping to announce as soon as possible to further strengthen the integrity of the system, including in the field of international students
He is frustrated that the recent federal budget proposal has removed the proposal to simplify the refugee adjudication process. This means that promoting these reforms to address the backlog of the Refugee Council will take longer.
Miller's priority list also includes two tasks: fixing the foreign worker program to combat fraud, and passing legislative amendments to help Indigenous people travel seamlessly between Canada and the United States.
LMIA fraud is a big problem
Miller stated that he is working with Employment Secretary Randy Boissonnault to revise the Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process to ensure that only employers facing genuine labor shortages are eligible to hire foreign workers.
LMIA fraud is a big problem, "he said. Workers should not pay for this... Indeed, there is trafficking in the market, which is not right. Enforcement is one aspect, but ensuring that we first eliminate this motivation is key, especially in the context of a tight labor market
Image source: X@MarcMillerVM
When Miller was transferred to the position of Minister of Immigration, he was facing an affordability crisis caused by rising borrowing rates and soaring housing and living costs, and public attitudes towards immigration were also changing.
Earlier this year, he announced new regulations to control the upper limit of international students and temporary residents, as well as measures to restrict obtaining work permits, which were opposed by higher education departments and employers. He is satisfied with the current trend figures and reminds Canadians that it will take time to see the impact of the new policy.
Miller said it is difficult for him to adequately explain the affordability challenges faced by all Canadians. We cannot attribute all affordability related issues to immigration, and at the same time, the large-scale temporary immigration we have seen in the past few years has indeed had an impact on the economy. We cannot have an uncontrolled backdoor entry under the guise of international student programs, which does need to be controlled
Miller referred to the lack of discipline in the immigration system as "bad," and what was "ugly" was the mentality of scapegoating new immigrants.
One opinion poll after another shows that Canadians' support for immigration is declining, and Miller said he understands people's frustration with an imperfect system. However, there are also reasons to hold onto hope.
Some people may feel dissatisfied and frustrated, but no major political party has opposed immigration in the election, "he pointed out. I think this is important. At the same time, I believe we cannot ignore the possibility of political parties opposing immigration appearing in the next election
Source link:
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/immigration-minister-marc-miller-on-international-students-asylum-seekers-and-life-in-the-hotseat-plus/article_f8f5c4d0-4621-11ef-b186-c7888cee0a38.html#tncms -source=login