Right now, there is a six-year waiting time and almost 900,000 applicants who are hoping to immigrate to Canada. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has stated that if something isn't done soon, the backlog will soon increase to 1.5 million people waiting to enter Canada with an average wait time of 10 years.

In 2006, it is estimated that nearly 56,000 people from India immigrated to Canada, favoring enclaves in close proximity to large metropolitan cities. Perhaps this is why Harper laid out the plans of his Conservative party to decrease and carefully select the amount of immigrants allowed entrance into Canada via reforms (Bill C-50) at a recent event for the Canada-India foundation.

In a few years, he said, Canada will be solely dependent on immigrants for labor, and proposed changes were the only way to "get skilled workers into the country earlier, help families get reunited sooner, provide the Canadian economy with the human capital it needs", he said. The prime minister said the immigration system is in a crisis and his government is prepared to face elections if the immigration bill is defeated.

True, there should be changes made. But what are the real reasons? I do agree that for any country, the immigration policy must be adequate in order to ensure that new residents can access jobs and housing in an appropriate manner. That people will be able to make a living and participate fully in the country they choose to reside. We cannot have an influx of people who will then find themselves jobless and homeless and in turn, are forced to turn to desperate and sometimes illegal means to survive. What is the point of making that huge transition to living in a new country and most often, a new culture?

But there is a different, more insidious side to this proposed legislation by the Conservative party. This article in last Saturday's Globe and Mail (while I fervently disagree with the columnist) does present a very good analysis of the history of Canada's immigration system, goes on to say this:

After three years as residents they may, if they wish and satisfy a minimal test, become citizens. But if not, their permission to reside and work here continues. So does access to the hospitality of our multiculturalism. Legally, we minimize the meaning and responsibilities of citizenship. We give substance to the jibe that, by making so light of being Canadian, we are the hotel among countries: a place to which you come and go at your convenience, in escape from the obligations of a household.

I am a bit concerned about this policy, as in my opinion (only) that if Canada decides to only let in professionally-skilled or higher-educated applicants ( which in theory does make sense) this will eventually change the cultural diversity of the country. People who have not been able to access education or professional opportunities because of the country they are emigrating from, will never have the chance to come here. It will also alleviate the amount of 'visible minorities,' and I think that the Conservatives think that immigrants from, let's say European countries are more easily to assimilate into the 'visuals' of Canadian society( I'm trying to be gentle here!)

A couple of weeks ago, Canada's CTV conducted a survey which concluded that 61% of Canadians polled felt that minorities get too many accommodations, or to directly quote the survey, 'do too much.' I'd like to know exactly what that means, but whatever. According to Blogging Canadians, might this be an indication for the proposal and what looks like the passing of bill C-50?

No, nobody says that newcomers should forget their mother tongue, change their names to John or Jane Doe and start avoiding people from their home country. But when we get tens of thousands of immigrants voluntarily isolating themselves in their neighborhoods and trying to recreate the very same living conditions they supposedly wanted to avoid by leaving their home country - then anyone witnessing this might ask why did they leave their home countries in the first place. And that's a perfectly valid question, which has absolutely nothing to do with racism.

For first person accounts about the experiences of some new Canadians, please check out A Canada Immigrant's blog.