Hon. Andrew Cardozo: Welcome, minister. Thank you for the discussion you’re having with us today.

Yesterday, I participated in the Refugee Jobs Agenda Roundtable in Toronto, which includes a business network that is interested in employing refugees. There was concern, though, about the increasing lack of national consensus on immigration. Could you outline the specific policy changes you have been making in the past few months to restore confidence in our immigration system?

Hon. Marc Miller, P.C., M.P., Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship: First and foremost, the measures we must implement are those that reinforce discipline in and the federal government’s control over the system. That can take many forms, whether it’s ensuring people coming here on tourist visas do so for the right reasons and don’t claim asylum as soon as they land at the airport, ensuring that we have properly secured borders or ensuring that those coming to study in a program are the actual students coming to study there, graduate and enter a field connected to the program. Currently, there are many questions relating to that latter category. That’s why we’re trying to rein in some of the volume challenges in the system.

I mention volume so much because when it is at a level that causes Canadians to start to question the consensus, it scratches away at some important measures, such as our refugee resettlement programs; our welcoming of families, parents and grandparents; and the 60% of the yearly draws in the immigration system that are economically related, contribute directly to the GDP of the country and have been responsible for preventing two recessions. That’s critical, so those increased disciplinary measures in the system ensure that we have sustainable levels — ones that will continue to contribute to the integrity of those programs in particular.

Senator Cardozo: Thank you. I know that’s difficult because, just in the questions today, we have heard that some sectors want more immigrants while there is a push for less from others.

We know that immigration is a major economic, social and cultural benefit. One example of this is that there are numerous seniors’ homes across the country that are almost 100% staffed by immigrants — from top to bottom. Those homes wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for those immigrants. Will you work with community, business and labour groups to highlight the benefits of immigration to restore that consensus and remind people about the benefits that we all gain from immigration and refugees who come to Canada?

Mr. Miller: Absolutely. I have told my provincial counterparts that I am not in the business of stymieing the businesses in their provinces, but we must ensure our labour data is aligned and that we’re achieving the proper alignment between programs — for example, how it looks when university programs transition international students into the labour force, or ensuring that the people we bring in obtain the jobs they were trained for. That is the case in the health care sector writ large, including home care and care for our most elderly, and it’s something we need to get right. Aligning supply and demand isn’t perfect, and it’s something on which we have to continue to work with provinces to ensure the labour data market aligns with our needs and whom we draw and select to come to this country.