Xref: utcsri ab.general:4483 bc.general:16320 can.politics:71815 ont.general:25622 tor.general:21764 Path: utcsri!newsflash.concordia.ca!news.mcgill.ca!hookup!rover.ucs.ualberta.ca!news.bc.net!torn!fonorola!infoshare!whome!gts!kink!io.org!nobody From: mdfreed@io.org (Mark Freedman) Newsgroups: can.politics,ont.general,tor.general,bc.general,ab.general Subject: Re: Too Many Giveaways to Immigrants and Refugees Date: 15 Mar 1995 10:59:23 -0500 Organization: Internex Online (Data: 363-3783/Telnet: io.org) Lines: 56 Distribution: can Message-ID: <3k72sr$r3h@ionews.io.org> References: <3jvna6$6ve@ionews.io.org> <1995Mar13.023841.15197@paxcom.pax.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: bonk.io.org In article <1995Mar13.023841.15197@paxcom.pax.com>, Pax wrote: > >In case you haven't heard, there is a skills shortage in Canada. Maybe >we could actually use the abilities of the people that arrive on our >shores. Maybe they are prepared to work and contribute to our economy. > Thank you for the clarification. In my ignorance, I hadn't realized that Canada needs 250,000 highly skilled people every year, or that none of the people already in the country qualify for these jobs. In my ignorance, I thought that it made little sense to pay more than one million people in Canada not to work, while encouraging 250,000 people (plus many special cases) to immigrate each year. In my ignorance, I thought that downsizing in both private and public sectors had created a surplus of experienced workers in many fields and at many levels of expertise, from cleaners and clerks to internationally-respected scientists and medical doctors. The latter two aren't a problem - they just emigrate to a country where their skills are appreciated. In my ignorance, I thought there was a shortage of entry-level jobs for the people already in Canada; people displaced when natural resources run out, people who lack the skills and experience to compete for more desirable jobs, people willing to accept any job to make a few dollars. I grow nostalgic for the time when students could easily find work pumping gas or flipping burgers to pay for tuition and supplies (I remember when one didn't need a PhD in nutrition to flip burgers). I grow nostalgic for the time when welfare was not more lucrative than a minimum-wage job. But I digress .... You're absolutely right about the shortage of experienced EDP workers. It's always been hard to find people with five years of experience in a technology which left the laboratory six months ago. We are indeed fortunate that we can attract 250,000 immigrants with leading-edge technical skills each year. This certainly bodes well for Canada's future. btw I must also acknowledge my continuing inability to understand the need for foreign criminals in Canada. In my ignorance, I cannot see the need to keep someone convicted of eight or nine serious crimes in the country. We are indeed fortunate that Immigration Canada has a deeper understanding of these matters than many Canadians. -- mdfreed@io.org Mark Freedman (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)