The opposition parties have been lambasting the Conservatives for wanting to fast track skilled workers into Canada, but passed the bill anyways. So, how do Canadians feel?
It appears that Canadians, and especially people in Quebec line up with the Conservatives not the opposition on this issue.
CPAC had Nic Nanos do a survey about immigration, and people want immigrants with skills first, then family reunification and last refugees, which is the opposite of what we have now.
Here in Alberta, we need skilled workers, and immigration can help if done properly. I think a joint business/government alliance could work really well. Let the businesses do the headhunting and hiring. Let the worker in on a six month or year working visa. If the worker does their job, allow them to apply for citizenship and bring their family to Canada. Makes sense to me, they are already working, they have a year to adjust to being in Canada, and they prove themselves to be good qualified workers. This way the companies get exactly who they need, and the government doesn't have to do as much on the file. If the worker doesn't work out, back to their country they go.
We get a skilled worker, and reunify a family in one step. Instead of the government trying to figure out whether a worker has the proper qualifications, the employer does that for them. Bureaucrats will not like this idea, because they will become obsolete.
But, before all this will work, can we please get provinces to agree that a gas fitter from Quebec can go to work in BC without having to re-qualify for their gas ticket? BC and Alberta have now signed an agreement to that effect, would it be too much for other provinces to sign on? Or are Ontario and Quebec too busy with their cap and trade money laundering scheme?
4 comments:
It's funny how Nic Nanos, the left wing loon, asks his question.
Instead of asking you a yes-no question, he gives you 4 possible answers.
This so the question gets watered down and the answer isn't what the leftist loons don't want to hear.
I would have loved to have seen the following immigration question.
1. Should Canada import muslims from the middle east?
Yes or No
I wonder what the answer would have been outside Montreal and the Toronto area.
NO>
cheers bubba
I have become very skeptical of poll results and would like to propose that all polls not only list the sample size and margin of error, but specifically list the actual question asked. I would be able to assess the "spin" that the pollster puts on their work.
Like Johnathon said Yes/No questions are best but they too can be twisted by how or the order that a question is asked.
In my industry (seniors health care) we need skilled workers to care for the basic daily living needs of our clients. The unions priced themselves out of the market verses tax payer funding. We have now gone to off-shore workers who are "cheaper" but just as skilled and just as compassionate - they all work more than one job, live communally due to lack of rentals, and don't complain about reasonable working conditions. I used to spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with union contract issues.
Don't be too quick to jump on the immigration bandwagon as a means to address the problem of a shortage of skilled workers. I worked for a time in a small shop (50-60 employees) in Calgary that supplied fabricated products for the housing construction industry. There were workers in that shop who were putting in 60 and 70 hours a week yet had to move every year, and sometimes more often, to find affordable rental accomodations in the superheated housing market. The owner of the shop refused to increase the wages of his employees and could not find additional local help since he was only paying about two thirds of the prevailing rate for this level of skill. He turned to the Calgary Home Builders Association which promptly sent him a host of Mexican workers.
I don't begrudge the Mexicans the jobs. They were very nice people and were only trying to better themselves.
The problem, however, was that this practice allowed the owner to keep to his substandard pay scale. Personell in the shop who were at the top end of the scale and could, therefore, afford cars were leaving in droves. The ones left behind were stuck, since they had to live close to where they were employed due a lack of transportation as well as the fact that they couldn't afford take a week off to find a new job.
Most of the Mexicans that were brought in had no skills and could not speak English. The owner let it be known that the regular employees would have to train the people who were being used to depress wages.
Since I can speak enough Spanish to get by I, was informed that part of my new duties would be to instruct these guys in the fabrication process and to make sure they didn't cut off their fingers or shoot out an eye with a nail gun.
No thanks! It didn't hurt me one way or the other since I was already retired and drawing pensions, but I'll be damned if I was going to help some jerk put the squeeze on Canadian workers while he was raising the prices on his products. I quit and he continues to bring in unskilled workers!
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