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| Election Issues: We Asked - They Answered |
| Social Issues |
| York Region is a community of immigrants. Services to assist new Canadians are overcrowded, creating lengthy waits. What are you going to do to improve things? Give us a detailed plan explaining where the funds would come from? |
 Duncan Fletcher Conservative Party Markham-Unionville
Much of the money has been approved already! After 13 years of Liberal rule where line-ups climbed to over 800,000 and wait time of between six and 10 years, we delivered $1.4 billion in new settlement funding (including agency to assess foreign credentials), introduced improvements to streamline the process. The wait for family unification claims have decreased more than 30\% and we can now move skilled professionals in faster. It's worth noting Liberals opposed our moves. We don't pay lip service to immigrants, we take action for them. I would be at the forefront continuing to push for more action as a Conservative Member of Parliament.
» View all of Duncan's responses to the issues |
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 Nadine Hawkins New Democratic Party Markham-Unionville
In 2003, 2004 and 2006 Canada earmarked $86 million for the Foreign Credentials Recognition Program. In addition, $307 million was to be shared provincially for immigrant settlement. $920 million was allocated to immigration under a Canada-Ontario agreement for 2005-2010. Olivia Chow's plan would provide immediately for recognition of foreign credentials through national standards for credential assessment, settlement, training and bridging programs, and international reciprocity programs. New Canadians would have fact based appeals, an extended family definition for reunification, reformed visas for visitation, a national literacy program, higher social services, and lower processing fees on a balanced Federal budget.
» View all of Nadine's responses to the issues |
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 John McCallum Liberal Markham-Unionville
Over the next five years immigration will account for 100% of Canada's labour force growth making it not only a moral imperative that we ensure new Canadians succeed when they arrive here, it is an economic imperative as well. A new Liberal government will create a New Beginnings Canada program which would provide $200 million to help newcomers master the language skills necessary to get jobs that match their qualifications. We will also create a $200 million Bridge to Work program that will better prepare newcomers for the workplace through the use of internships, mentorships and work placement opportunities. We will also provide direct assistance to foreign trained doctors and other professionals to help them obtain their Canadian qualifications. In addition we have committed $400 million to streamline the immigration system to get new Canadians here faster. The Conservatives approach to the backlog, which is to accept fewer applications and reject entire classes of immigrants without opening their files, is not the answer. Since 2006 the Conservatives have been reducing the number of permanent residents accepted to Canada.
» View all of John's responses to the issues |
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 Allen Small Libertarian Markham-Unionville
Libertarians believe that all individuals have the right to choose where to live, provided they do not do so in violation of the rights of others. Therefore we advocate open immigration policies, along with the elimination of all government programs which subsidize immigration. Immigrants to Canada should be prepared accept the economic responsibility and consequences of emigrating. There are many religious and secular organizations that would voluntarily assist immigrants in their transition to Canada.
» View all of Allen's responses to the issues |
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 Dorian Baxter Progressive Canadian Newmarket-Aurora
It should be remembered that most immigrant families are not wanting assistance or hand-outs by the government. They have proven time and again over the decades that they want the opportunity to work and earn their own living asap. The funding to relieve the current financial situation is largely a matter of priorities. In essence, I choose to see immigrants as part of a solution not part of a problem. Streamlining and speeding up the entire immigration process will enable us to see immigrants for what they really are: "contributers" not takers.
» View all of Dorian's responses to the issues |
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 Lois Brown Conservative Party Newmarket-Aurora
The Conservative Party is the pro-immigration party: We value the contribution newcomers have made in building Canada. We have recognized that services designed to assist newcomers integrate into their new communities are important. That is why, after a decade of neglect and inadequate funding provided by the previous Liberal government, the Conservative Government committed $1.4 billion to assist in the settlement and integration of newcomers to Canada, an example of our prudent economic plan of targeted spending. York Region immigrants are beginning to see improvements in services and will continue to do so in the future. Conservatives also cut the Liberal immigrant head tax from $975 to $490 and passed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) that modernize Canada's immigration system and shortens the time it takes to immigrate to Canada. These legislative measures, combined with increased resources, will do a much better job of responding to our economic and regional needs, reducing wait times for new applicants, reducing the backlog and allowing newcomers to provide a better life for themselves and their families.
» View all of Lois's responses to the issues |
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 Glenn Hubbers Green Party Newmarket-Aurora
Canada's multicultural diversity is an essential part of our national identity. New Canadians are a source of incredible skills and potential for our country. Immigrants and refugees come to Canada in search of a safer, more fulfilling life for themselves and their families, and to be full participants in Canadian society. We must make sure they are supported in achieving their hopes and ambitions as new Canadians. Our national tradition of welcoming newcomers and embracing social and ethnic differences gives us a unique opportunity to exert a positive influence on the rest of the world. The Green Party will press professional societies to remove unnecessary barriers recognizing the professional credentials of immigrants, allocate much greater funding for training in official languages ESL and FSL for new immigrants through earmarked transfers to the province for primary, secondary public school and free night school programmes. The Green Party will work with municipalities and provinces to improve the integration of new Canadians into the multicultural fabric of our country and support multicultural communities by assisting cultural organizations to obtain charitable status.
» View all of Glenn's responses to the issues |
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 Tim Jones Liberal Newmarket-Aurora
A successful immigration plan is built on the sound principles of fairness, accountability and opportunity. To help New Canadians reach their full potential, we will invest $200 million over four years in New Beginnings Canada - an enhanced language training initiative designed to help newcomers master the language necessary to get jobs that match their qualifications. We will commit $200 million over four years to Bridge to Work - a new initiative that will better prepare newcomers for the workplace through the use of internships, mentorship, and work placement opportunities. All of the Liberal commitments have been fully costed and can be seen at liberal.ca
» View all of Tim's responses to the issues |
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 Ray Luff Christian Heritage Party Newmarket-Aurora
As we allow 110,000 more Canadians to enter our country through the birth canal, we will be able to reduce the number of Canadians entering through immigration, currently 250,000 per year. Then our existing services will better able to absorb and acclimatize these individuals to the culture of our society which offers freedom of religion to all who come to our country. We have a situation now where immigrants are packed in ghettos within our cities where we have drive by shootings and other types of violence springing up because of the difficulty of helping these folks to be upwardly mobile in our society. The other benefit we will have to our economy in future years will be the lowering of the average age of Canadians. Currently the average immigrant is age 30. Babies enter at age 0. In order to help Canadians to raise families we need to allow a significant number to opt out of the work force. We need to show care and compassion for those that need help to fit into our society. I am speaking of Immigrants, babies, mothers, families and the impoverished. Anyone who needs a helping hand ought to find one in our society.
» View all of Ray's responses to the issues |
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 Andy Arifin New Democratic Party Oak Ridges-Markham
The perennial issue of foreign accreditation is the solution. If we do not provide adequate employment opportunities to highly skilled immigrants, we all lose in the end. Our plan, spearheaded by Olivia Chow, contains specific details. The NDP’s Foreign Credentials Recognition Agency, integrated with Service Canada and international visa offices, will provide information about assessment criteria and processes; educational institutions for those who need to upgrade their skills; mentorship, bridging programmes and training for Canadian experience. The agency will also create a uniform assessment process for the entire country. We are committing $25 million for this plan.
» View all of Andy's responses to the issues |
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 Lui Temelkovski Liberal Oak Ridges-Markham
I am very familiar with the challenges facing immigration services in York Region. My constituency office has dealt with hundreds of immigration, citizenship, and refugee cases - in fact, the sheer volume of work means that my staff are dealing with these cases on a daily basis. So we see the human face of the challenges newcomers face. Also, for two years I served on the House of Commons Immigration Committee, and we delved into the issue of service shortages extensively. Having worked with COSTI, the immigration services agency, before running for office I experienced first-hand the demands placed on services for new Canadians.How can we improve this situation? My party has advancedproposals forprograms to help integrate new Canadians more effectively. Through New Beginnings Canada we willtailor language training to the job market, so that newcomers can developthe language skillsnecessary for the jobs that match their qualifications. Turning to the job market itself,our Bridge to Workplan will smooth the transition to the Canadianlabour market throughthe use of internships, mentorship programs, and work placements.
» View all of Lui's responses to the issues |
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 Wess Dowsett New Democratic Party Richmond Hill
The NDP has already proposed the Creating Fair Opportunities plan to recognize foreign professionals-with national standards for credentials assessment; permanent training and bridging programs; and international reciprocity agreements. Helping immigrants before they arrive will reduce some of the strain on York Region's resources in the future. The NDP is planning on not implementing $50,000,000,000 worth of tax cuts to profitable companies, so unlike other parties, we will have some revenue room to invest in municipalities. By helping fund the municipal level, the financial strength of the federal government can be leveraged with local knowledge of the unique requirements of each municipality. Part of this help will come in the form of budget relief in other programs aimed at helping municipalities (such us infrastructure help), which will enable York Region to allocate resources to the changing needs of its residents.
» View all of Wess's responses to the issues |
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 Chungsen Leung Conservative Party Richmond Hill
Funding for immigrant services comes from many sources. The resettlement services is delivered by many immigrant groups as well as different levels of government. These former immigrants helping new immigrants is the best way for the resettlement services to be delivered effectively overcoming barriers to language and with an understanding of the respective cultures. The federal government has committed to increasing funds for these service providers.
» View all of Chungsen's responses to the issues |
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 Dylan R. J. Marando Green Party Richmond Hill
I feel that I am extremely privileged to be part of one of the most multicultural communities in the world and, therefore, I will strive to make my community a more welcoming place for immigrants. If elected, I will make the transition from a foreign nation to Canada more convenient by:
- Encouraging professional societies to remove barriers that prevent immigrants from having their credentials recognized.
- I will support the allocation of greater funding for language training programs.
» View all of Dylan R. J.'s responses to the issues |
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 Susan Kadis Liberal Thornhill
A new Liberal government will reverse the irresponsible immigration measures introduced by the Conservatives last spring and invest $800 million in new federal funding to deal with the immigration backlog and ensure new Canadians receive the support they need to fully participate in Canadian society. Immigration will account for all of Canada’s net labour and population growth within the next five years and is a key pillar of the Liberal plan for Canada’s future success. A Liberal government will make the necessary investments to increase the number of permanent residents to Canada every year and ensure they have the necessary tools to succeed. New Liberal measures include:
• $400 million over four years to modernize the immigration system’s information, data gathering and processing procedures to streamline the system and reduce backlogs;
• providing a more timely and efficient refugee determination system, while respecting Canada’s international commitments to refugees;
• revamping the immigration points system to give greater weight to skilled trades, to better align Canada’s immigration policy to the needs of the labour market;
• creating In-Canada Fast Track, a new program to allow temporary workers, international students and live-in caregivers to apply for permanent residence.
» View all of Susan's responses to the issues |
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 Norbert Koehl Green Party Thornhill
We need to better recognize foreign credentials to ensure immigrants can use their skills in a way to succeed in Canada and to contribute effectively and meaningfully to the workforce in their communities. We need to develop qualification standards and on-the-job mentorship programs to fast-track certification of foreign trained health care professionals. Other professional societies will be pressured into removing unnesessary barriers to recognition of foreign credentials held by immigrants. We also need to ensure that proper language training is available to all immigrants. I would allocate greater funding for English as a Second Language training for new immigrants through earmarked transfers to the province for primary, secondary school and free night school programs.
» View all of Norbert's responses to the issues |
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 Maurizio Bevilacqua Liberal Vaughan
As the co-author of the Liberal Immigration Policy for this campaign, Michael Ignatieff and I have recommended a progressive and detailed plan to address the challenges that New Canadians face in York Region and beyond. Immigration will account for 100 per cent of Canada's net labour force growth over the next five years. We are in fierce global competition for skilled and talented people. And our immigration system is currently not up to the task. A successful immigration plan is built on the sound principles of fairness, accountability and opportunity. A Liberal government will make major investments to modernize the immigration system, reduce the backlog, and streamline its information, data gathering and processing procedures. To help New Canadians reach their full potential, we will invest $200 million over four years in New Beginnings Canada, an enhanced language training initiative designed to help newcomers master the language necessary to get jobs that match their qualifications. We will commit $200 million over four years to Bridge to Work - a new initiative that will better prepare newcomers for the workplace through the use of internships, mentorship and work placement opportunities.
» View all of Maurizio's responses to the issues |
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 Adrian Visentin Green Party Vaughan
It's kind of pointless to bring new Canadians here, and then not be able to assist them isn't it? That's just bad management that is good for nobody. Since the federal government sets immigration rates, the federal government should pay whatever it costs to quickly integrate these new immigrants into Canada. There would be immediate payback in reduced crime rates and lower welfare dependency. End of story.
» View all of Adrian's responses to the issues |
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 John Dewar Green Party York-Simcoe
Immigrants to Canada have helped to shape and build this country into a strong, diverse and peaceful country. Unfortunately, many new immigrants are given a false impression of our country and many are unprepared for the expense and difficulty they experience trying to adjust to our system. Our immigration system uses a points system that selects candidates for immigration based on skills, education and aptitude, but remarkably it does not address our own labour market needs. A review should be undertaken to determined if pre-immigration services can be provided as part of the overseas screening process. These pre-immigration service could include such as thigs as, English as a second language courses, introduction to our labour standards, our legal system and any current employment opportunities and requirements that they might qualify for. This would allow successful immigrants to have a better opportunity to prepare become a productive citizen before actually immigrating to Canada, while minimizing the impact on our social services and the taxpayers.
» View all of John's responses to the issues |
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 Sylvia Gerl New Democratic Party York-Simcoe
Jack Layton and the NDP launched the "Creating fair Opportunities" plan to recognize foreign professionals, with national standards for credentials assessment, permanent training and bridging programs, and international reciprocity agreements. We are leading the campaign to end punishing processing fees imposed on refugees and on immigrant women and children escaping domestic violence. We would hire people to fill the 50 empty seats on the Immigration Board. We have also tabled legislation to speed up family reunification by permitting any citizen or landed immigrant to sponsor for immigration one family member from outside the "family" classification. We would also launch the Refugee Appeal Division that Parliament mandated in law in 2002, which has been ignored by subsequent governments. This action would see the immigration process not only improved, but sped up. Any costs are included in our balanced budget.
» View all of Sylvia's responses to the issues |
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 Vicki Gunn Christian Heritage Party York-Simcoe
Our plan to repay the national debt, currently at $600 billion, would further protect Canadians, now and future generations. At our present rate of repayment, it will be 125 years before our national debt is paid off. We are mortgaging our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We would commit $4 billion, per month to our national debt. This is the same way a homeowner repays their mortgage. This would have our national debt repaid in 25 - 30 years depending on interest rates. The money which would be saved on election promises, which other political parties are offering, would be more than enough to cover this payment. With the interest we are paying each year, it is simply an increase of $12 billion per year. The purpose of our Infrastructure improvement loans is to assist municipalities in providing resources within our communities. Should a municipality require additional services to assist new Canadians then they would develop a plan and apply to the federal government for an Infrastructure Improvement Loan.
» View all of Vicki's responses to the issues |
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 Judith Moses Liberal York-Simcoe
The immigration system is currently nowhere near its' peak efficiency, and that's a shame because we'll need skilled immigrants both for our workforce and to further enrich the cultural fabric of Canada. A Liberal government would inject $400 million over 4 years to modernize Immigration Canada's structure. Furthermore, the Liberals will introduce the Welcome Canada Pass, a five-year renewable, multiple- entry visitor visa for individuals sponsored by Canadian citizens and landed immigrants. Under this visa, the financial and personal responsibility for visitors will be borne by the sponsor, not the taxpayer. In addition, we will create a Canada Express Pass for frequent business visitors to reduce processing times and promote trade and commerce. To help New Canadians reach their full potential, we will invest $200 million over four years in New Beginnings Canada, an enhanced language training initiative.
» View all of Judith's responses to the issues |
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 Paul Pisani Progressive Canadian York-Simcoe
Immigrants enter Canada as a result of Federal and provincial policies. In my view the provision of reasonable services are their funding responsibility, not those of municipalities. That said a determination must be made as to the services most needed and who among those seeking them are prepared to benefit from them by effectively employing them to integrate into the broader community. Again a detailed plan is beyond the scope of this questionnaire.
» View all of Paul's responses to the issues |
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 Peter Van Loan Conservative Party York-Simcoe
Like all Canadians, new Canadians want a chance to work hard and get ahead, to live in a safe community and a peaceful society, to raise their children and help them in turn to realize their dreams and to be welcomed as equals in the Canadian family. The Conservative Government has taken action on the priorities of new Canadians: we cut the right-of-landing fee in half; we invested nearly $1.4 billion in immigrant settlement programs; we launched the new Foreign Credentials Referral Office; we have allowed those with Canadian work experience the chance to apply for permanent residence from within Canada; and we are trying to modernize the immigration system through amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Looking ahead, we know we need to do more to recognize the work and educational experience of immigrants in the Canadian job market. For the most part, the issue of foreign and professional credentials is under the authority of the provinces. But, if we are re-elected, we intend to place the issue of standardizing and recognizing foreign, professional credentials on the agenda of the next meeting with Canada’s Premiers.
» View all of Peter's responses to the issues |
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