Hon. Danièle Henkel: Honourable senators, I would like to thank our colleague, Senator Tony Loffreda, for initiating this inquiry. These days, immigration is fodder for fear and stereotypes in many western democracies, so it is our job to put facts, history and nuance back at the centre of the debate.
[English]For decades, immigration in Canada was not a major fault line in our political life. On the contrary, it rested on a broad political consensus. That does not mean there were no debates nor an absence of legitimate concerns, but consensus made it possible to build an immigration policy that was relatively stable, predictable and oriented toward the country’s economic and social interests.
Let us be clear: That consensus is now under strain. Pressures on housing, infrastructure and public services are causing genuine concerns among many of our fellow citizens. We cannot dismiss those concerns out of hand, but newcomers alone cannot be held responsible for planning decisions made by successive governments over the years.
And reducing all of today’s challenges to immigration would be unfair and a mistake. We must reject simplistic narratives and sweeping generalizations directed at families who chose Canada in search of a new beginning.
A serious immigration policy must be planned, coherent and results-driven. It must not only welcome people but also support their integration and enable their full participation in our society and our economy. Indeed, immigration is woven into the very fabric of Canada’s history.
[Translation]Canada is one of the most cosmopolitan countries in the world. According to the most recent major census in 2021, nearly one in four Canadians was born abroad. Here in the Senate, I counted at least 17 senators who were not born in Canada. This dynamic is part of a longer history, one that began well before immigration. Before any of us arrived, First Nations and Inuit peoples had been living here for millennia. Their cultures, rights and knowledge are an integral part of our collective history.
Let’s be honest. We have not always had the best relationship with immigration. Canada adopted discriminatory policies not only toward its own First Nations, but also toward Chinese immigrants, for example. We must continue to learn from all of the dark chapters of our history. Immigration is also vital to the functioning of our economy.
Take, for example, my province of Quebec. In 2024, for every 93 young Quebecers who entered the labour market, 100 people retired. According to the Institut du Québec, the roughly 1.2 million retirement-age Quebecers will outnumber young workers until 2031. Without immigration, our working population will no longer be able to grow at the pace required to meet our economic and social needs.
[English]Behind many of the essential services on which this country relies are workers who came to Canada through immigration. This is not conjecture; it is fact. Here are some of them: In health care, 37% of doctors, 43% of pharmacists, 45% of dentists and more than 40% of nursing and related personnel are immigrants.
In the scientific and technological sectors — those shaping tomorrow’s economy — 35% of computer programmers, 43% of engineers and 57% of chemists were born abroad.
In construction and infrastructure, the conclusion is the same: 41% of architects, 40% of civil engineers and nearly one quarter of roofers are immigrants.
More than half of those providing early childhood services are also from immigrant backgrounds. And across the country, immigrants represent 51% of business owners with paid staff in the food and beverage sector.
What do these figures tell us? Immigration is not peripheral to our economy; it is present in our hospitals, in our labs, on our construction sites, in our businesses and in our local services. It is part of our collective capacity, day after day, to keep this country running.
[Translation]Behind this major contribution is a Canadian paradox that too often escapes attention: We are good at attracting talent from around the world, but not so good at allowing that talent to achieve its full potential here in Canada.
Colleagues, that is where the debate on immigration needs to evolve. It’s no longer just a question of how many we take in, but what we actually do with the skills, experience and qualifications that they bring us.
[English]Yet, too often, those who arrive here are still met with a maze of barriers: credentials that are only partially recognized, administrative delays, professional hurdles and regulatory silos between provinces.
And then there is the infamous “Canadian experience.” How often do qualified individuals hear that they lack Canadian experience, even though they have led teams and international companies, practised in regulated professions or managed complex projects elsewhere in the world? Too often, that phrase conceals a form of discrimination.
At times, this logic becomes absurd. We tell people they need Canadian experience to obtain their first skilled job, while denying them the very opportunity that would allow them to acquire it.
[Translation]I encountered this invisible barrier when I arrived in Canada. I spent years working at jobs I was severely overqualified for so that I could support my family, and mine isn’t an isolated case.
We’ve all heard the mind-boggling stories of engineers driving taxis or doctors working as medical secretaries while waiting years to practise their profession.
Highly qualified professionals end up trapped in jobs far below their skill level, while our companies, hospitals and building sites experience worker shortages.
[English]Statistics Canada’s data confirms this: Immigrants with a university degree are twice as likely as Canadian-born workers to be employed in jobs below their level of qualification. This is not befitting a country like ours.
Do we sufficiently grasp what this situation costs us collectively? According to a study by the RBC Economics research team, the wage gap between immigrants and non-immigrants for equivalent work amounts to approximately 2.5% of Canada’s GDP, or more than $50 billion a year. That is the price the country pays when it does not make full use of the talent it has chosen to welcome. Worse still, some of that talent ultimately chooses to leave Canada.
[Translation]According to the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s report entitled “The Leaky Bucket 2025,” one in five immigrants leaves Canada within 25 years of landing. Furthermore, it is often the most highly qualified who leave first: Immigrants with doctorates are nearly twice as likely to leave the country as those with a bachelor’s degree.
Let me put it simply. We have a system that is effective at attracting people, but flawed when it comes to integrating and retaining them.
We must also be honest enough to acknowledge another reality. A growing proportion of the jobs our society is struggling to fill now rely on immigration. Jobs in maintenance, food service, hospitality, agriculture and elder care are all essential to the country’s functioning, but they hold little appeal for the local workforce. Any serious immigration policy must take this into account.
Recognizing the dignity of these jobs also means recognizing those who work in them. Based on all of the above, I have a simple conviction.
[English]For too long, our public debate on immigration has focused on a single question: How many? Today, the decisive question lies elsewhere: What are we truly doing with the people we welcome?
Are we able to recognize credentials and skills quickly enough? Are we able to bring professional bodies, employers, universities and provinces into real dialogue, to build pathways instead of labyrinths? In other words, we must move beyond simply attracting talent and build a model that allows people to succeed so that those who choose Canada can contribute fully, prosper here and choose to stay.
Then there is a dimension we too often forget: Work is a powerful driver of integration. It gives people a place, recognition and status. It is human dignity. It allows parents to look at their children and say, “This is what I do here. This is how I contribute.” Successful economic integration is the strongest foundation for social and cultural integration.
[Translation]Colleagues, standing up for immigration in Canada does not mean turning a blind eye to tensions. Those tensions are the very reason we need to engage in high-quality debate grounded in facts, not fears.
Standing up for immigration means demanding a policy that takes welcoming, integrating and retaining people as seriously as it does the intake process.
When I look at the numbers and recall my own journey, I’m convinced that this country can do a lot better, not by bringing in fewer people or by bringing them in thoughtlessly, but by working harder to welcome them once they’re here.
Immigration is neither a slogan nor a problem. It’s one of Canada’s greatest resources, provided we finally take the trouble to treat it as such. Thank you.