On April 10th of 1978, the Immigration Act was passed by Pierre Trudeau of the Liberal Government of Canada. This piece of legislation had three main objectives. It promoted the reunification of families that had been separated by immigration, accepted persecuted people for humanitarian value to the nation, and strengthened a currently strong and viable economy in Canada. The Immigration Act of 1978 outlined three distinguishable classes of immigrants: Independent, Family, and Refugee. In order to be accepted, the Independent Class had to satisfy a new Point System, which enabled immigrants to score marks from each category: Education, Skill, Language, and Resources. The Family Class was mainly for immigrants with close relatives who were already living in Canada as a citizen or as a permanent resident. This unprecedented act primarily allowed a humanitarian category for refugees. The Immigration Act of 1978 impacted Canada as it permitted the nations to strengthen its economy and population, provided ethnic composition of population, and fulfilled Canada’s obligation to refugees. The Immigration Act of 1978 had a ground-breaking effect on the society and economy of Canada. This act impacted the size and the composition of the population. The yearly population increased from 22,809,000 in 1974 to 29,303,000 in 1995.This reinforced the pre-existing trend for the rural population to relocate to the cities, where the industrial bloom brought abundant employment opportunities. Witnessed by past censuses, the new immigrants to Canada began with wages equivalent to about 80% of the wage of native citizens. However, within a 10 to 20 year period, the average wages of the newly arrived immigrant reached or went beyond the average wa... ... middle of paper ... ...slation, such as the Boat People. The Immigration Act of 1978 has impacted Canada greatly in a positive manner. Works Cited “Immigration Policy in Canada: History. Administration and Debates l Mapleleafweb.com.” http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/immigration-policy-canada-history-administration-and-debates (accessed December 29, 2011). Ninette Kelley and M. J. Trebicock, The Making of the Mosaic: a history of Canadian immigration policy. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1998). “ Immigration Policy in Canada: History. Administration and Debates l Mapleleafweb.com.” http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/immigration-policy-canada-history-administration-and-debates (accessed December 29, 2011). McDonald, Ted, In Canadian immigration: economic evidence for a dynamic policy environment. (Montréal, Quebec: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2010), 128-134.
Historically, Canada has held a world renowned reputation as nation with a magnanimous ideological approach to providing asylum to those individuals subjected to marginalization and persecution in their homeland – regardless of their nation of origin (Ismaili, 2011, p.89 & 92). Indeed, providing sanctuary to refugees who would otherwise experience significant hardships ranging from blatant discrimination and racism to torture and genocide, has very much become an institutionalized aspect of Canadian society. However, recent changes to Canada’s immigration policy delineated in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Bill C-31 may have perhaps put this ideology in peril (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, 2001).
The purpose of this letter is to promote Sir Clifford Sifton for the wall of fame and as being one of the significant Canadians ever. No one has changed western Canada’s history like this man. Canadian immigration policy in the first decade of the century is associated with no one individual more than Clifford Sifton.
The development and implementation of John A. Macdonald’s National Policy was able to accomplish it’s three main goals: completion of the Canada Pacific Railway, the increase in tariffs and import duty to protect resources and industrial interest, as well as expanding immigration to the West of Canada. However, this period of success was also met with many disadvantages as well. The policy put forth for western immigration was discriminatory to francophone Canadians, causing massive emigration to the United States. In addition, the only areas to benefit from the National Policy were the heartland areas from Windsor to Montreal, causing regional innequality in Western Canada and the maritime provinces.
The period of 1914 to 1939, Canada’s immigration policy got very unfair. Changes were made to the Immigration Act in 1914 that allowed the rejection of anyone from any race that was deemed unsuitable for Canada’s requirements. Also, in that same year, the Komagata Maru came to the coast of Vancouver. It was a ship that carried many from Punjab, India. The ship wasn’t allowed to dock and passengers weren’t allowed to disembark off the ship. The ship hadn’t sailed directly to B.C. from India so only 24 passengers were allowed to disembark; most of them were doctors or Canadian citizens already. Another act to keep out unwanted immigrants from Canada was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923. This act came into effect on July 1st, 1923. It banned all Chinese immigrants from entering Canada, except merchants, diplomats and foreign students. Before the Chinese Exclusion Act was put into place, the Chinese had to pay a head tax of $500 just to get into the country. The numbers of Japanese immigrants were also restricted. The Canadian government restricted only 150 Japanese immigrants to come to Canada in a year. In 1925, the government relaxed restrictions on immigrants coming from many countrie...
Parr, J. (1994). Labouring children: British immigrant apprentices to Canada, 1869-1924. (pp. 11-141). Toronto, PQ: University of Toronto Press.
Approximately 250 000 people from various areas around the world enter Canada each year, as opposed to the 2000 that go to Iceland. People migrate seeking a better life and for more opportunities. Not all places can provide what people want or even need. Comparison will be made between Canada and Iceland, including the number of immigrants received every year. Canada has a drastically larger number of immigrants than Iceland. Many reasons contribute to this increased amount of immigrants, including Canada providing universal health care, access to education, and having decent weather. On the other hand, Iceland has very few hospitals for the average citizen, a lack of diversity, and unbearably cold winters. In addition, migration, whether
Stevenson, Garth. "Canadian Federalism: The Myth of the Status Quo." Reinventing Canada: Politics of the 21st Century. Ed. M. Janine Brodie and Linda Trimble. Toronto: Prentice Hall, 2003. 204-14. Print.
Robert, Jean-Claude, Dr. "Immigration Acts (1866 - 2001)." Canada in the Making. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. .
The Family class makes up approximately 28% of people immigrating to Canada. This is a class of people who are wanting to immigrant to Canada in order to be with a relative or spouse who is a Canadian citizen or recent immigrant (also known as a Sponsor). There is no point system required to be accepted as an immigrant, but they must prove that their Sponsor is able to meet the minimum necessary income for them until the applicant can find an employment. Accepting these types of immigrants not only allows Canada to stay on good terms with its immigrants but, also keeps the money that the original immigrant would have been making, and sending back to their family in their home country, to stay and be spent in Canada. The Canadian government has many laws and policies for immigrants and immigration. For example, in 2002 the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was instituted. It has four main objectives: to pursue social, cultural and economical benefits for all Canadians, to reunite families in Canada, to promote successful integration of immigrants and to respect the bilingual and multicultural character of Canada. Another example of a policy impacted by immigration was the Sign Decision in 1985. This was the ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada that the Immigration Act (1976) was a violation of our Section 7 rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In this case, Santam Sign was not permitted to appeal the government's refusal to his immigration proposal in court. As a result the Supreme Court ruled that this did not allow Sign the right to liberty, life and security- our basic Section 7 rights. People applying for refugee status in Canada now how the right to a quick and fair hearing with them in attending and any life necessities they may need while in Canada during this process. So as you can see, politics has
Ngai, Mae M., and Jon Gjerde. "Refugee Act of 1980." Major Problems in American Immigration History: Documents and Essays. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. 525-526. Print.
Newman, Garfield et al. Canada A Nation Unfolding. Toronto: Mc Graw – Hill Ryerson Limited, 2000.
The integration of immigrants in Canada (or any country for that matter) involves integration into three different domains: the social sphere, the economic sphere, and the institutional sphere. (12) Integration into the social sphere refers to immigrants’ ability to create relationships and have social interactions with other Canadians. Integration into the economic sphere refers to immigrants’ ability to enter the labour force and work in jobs that match their qualifications, while integration into the institutional domain refers to immigrants’ ability to become “fully functional citizens, without facing systemic barriers emanating from the structure and functioning of major institutions. A well-integrated immigrant group is one which faces no institutional obstacles, no market disadvantage, and no social isolation.” (12)
The Canadian Constitution, is the supreme law of the land, has evolved countless of times throughout history. Within this paper, I will focus on two vital dates: The Constitution Act of 1867 and 1982. Canada’s Constitution Act is made up of written laws (statutes), conventions and Canadian court decisions (Mcconnell, W. H. 2015). The Constitution Act of 1867, was formerly known as the British North American Act (NBA), together with amendments made to it since enacted, became the Constitution Act of 1982. Immigration is one of the few areas covered in the Constitution that gives both federal legislators and provincial legislators to enact laws.
Thompson, John Herd, and Mark Paul Richard. "Canadian History in North American Context." In Canadian studies in the new millennium. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008. 37-64.
The point system which was first introduced in 1967 had played a vital role for the change in immigration policies and also for the changes in Canadian's thoughts for other races. Instead of judging people on their race and cultural background like before (e.g. the Chinese Exclusive Act), the point system judged people on their qualifications such as; language skills, work skills, and level of education. Both people with a family or a single independent individual could apply for the point system. The introduction of the point system was also an attempt to remove all discrimination and prejudice in the immigration department of Canada and the government tried such an attempt because after WWII, Canada was a part of the United Nations (UN) and was involved in Peacekeeping of the world. The point system didn't stay the same, for it was modified few times after it was put into place. The first time it was modified was in 1978, it focused on individuals more, there was more requirement of educational and occupational qualifications placed on the individual than people with families. It was again reviewed ...