Achi news desk-
Housing Minister and former immigration minister Sean Fraser says Canada’s permanent residency numbers are “in the right place.”
“We’re growing our permanent population at a pace we can handle,” Fraser said in an interview Tuesday on CTV News Channel’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos.
The minister’s comments were in response to a question about comments made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier in the day, when he admitted that a “big spike” in temporary immigration levels under his government “has grown at a rate far beyond to what Canada has been able to. to absorb.”
“So we want to get those numbers down,” Trudeau said at a press conference in Dartmouth, NS, insisting it was a “responsible approach” to maintaining permanent residency levels while reducing the numbers on the immigration side over turn
The federal government faced criticism earlier this year, after The Canadian Press – citing internal documents obtained through an access to information request – reported in January that the federal government had been warned by public servants two years ago that the its ambitious immigration targets could jeopardize housing affordability.
Two weeks later, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced plans to reduce the number of international student permits by around 35 per cent from 2023 levels.
Last year, the number of international students studying in Canada reached more than 900,000, triple that of a decade ago, according to the Canadian Press.
Then, at the end of March, Miller announced that Canada would put a “soft cap” on the number of temporary residents arriving, with targets to be set in September.
Asked if he believes permanent immigration levels need to be readjusted as well, Fraser told Kapelos that the federal government is continuing to “accommodate longer-term population growth through a planned continued permanent residency, immigration strategy.” n good.”
He also insisted that the federal government consider imposing limits on the number of temporary residents before last summer’s cabinet reshuffle when it was moved from the immigration portfolio to housing, and before media reports about those numbers affecting affordability houses. However, no announcement was made to that effect until this year.
But in terms of the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes, Fraser said there are no plans to move targets.
“We have demographic challenges and economic challenges that immigration can help solve,” Fraser said. “The challenges we’ve experienced have largely been on the temporary side of the equation.”
“These are programs that are not subject to a level typically set by the government, but are driven by demand either from institutions such as colleges and universities, or from employers who take advantage of the temporary foreign workers program,” he added.
The Liberals have set targets aimed at bringing in 485,000 immigrants this year, and 500,000 in 2025 and 2026.
Ad blocking test (Why?)
Source link
Related
