I. Introduction-The same question holds true: Why do people migrate? But the answer to this would not be perfect unless it is known why countries admit immigrants. Migration, which involves the complete emigration and immigration process, is not new to human life. It has been carried out since the beginning of time. In fact even animals did, and are still doing it for the sake of better living and survival. In these modern days, however, migration involves more defined reasons such as "political, social, institutional, ideological and technical circumstances that motivated and enabled migrants to leave" (Bauder, 2006) or emigrate from their country which demonstrates disadvantages on these factors and immigrate to another country where those mentioned factors are more favorable.. 
To immigrate in one country is not a simple thing to do, be in the part of the immigrant or in the side of the admitting country. For the aspiring immigrants, they have a great deal of serious decision making to make if they plan to immigrate to a certain country and leave their own place. Moreover, there are lots of factors to be considered when choosing a country upon which one or the family plans to move to. Why is it more advantageous to migrate to the United States of America (USA) or Canada than to migrate to Dominican Republic or to China or vice versa? This is where the role of networking and the power of media and information dissemination come in. According to Palmer (1990, p.7), the sources of information may include friends and relatives abroad, movies, television, magazines, books, newspapers, and, in some cases, potential employers. The information that have been gathered may/can greatly affect peoples’ assessment of “the push factors”. Thus, the aspiring immigrants may feel that their household condition is worse than that of the country they are planning to move to or that their planned country of destination is better than where they are currently living and these information develop in them a greater urgency to migrate.

Put in detail, these information that the aspiring immigrants must know involve programs and policies of their planned country of destination. Moreover, these information vary for the different classifications of immigrants: for a professional or a high skilled worker, a different set of programs are applicable as to that of a refugee or petitioned family member but all of them are under the general policy making body on immigration for that certain country.

It has been noted that Canadian immigration policies are among the best. In fact, as one refugee Canadian immigrant have noted, there is something so special about Canada and the treatment of the citizens are based on shared ideals and values, and not on ancestry or geography alone, instead, it “flows from a single, fundamental principle: respect for the dignity of human life” (Reiser, 2001). Whether the contention of Reiser is true or not, it would be left to the conclusion of this paper.

To examine the efficiency and effectiveness of Canadian immigration policies, both for immigrants and to Canada itself, this paper will see through many factors such the goals of these policies, related regulations for immigrants such as labor rules, economic and financial status of immigrants, the attitude of policies upon immigration, the immigration qualification and process itself, and the programs available and implemented when immigrants need some assistance in terms of housing, education, initial settlement and immigrants’ social and community integration. Lastly, a set of additional examination will also be done on the factors that make Canada admit immigrants, what does it gain and what does it lose? The same is true for the immigrants’ side, what they contribute to Canada, their country of dreams and prior their immigration, the country they have thought to provide them a greener pasture.

To determine if indeed the Canadian government and environment are very good for immigrants, such as the claim of Reiser, this paper would be making a stand to conclude this issue, and if it is applicable, make some recommendations.

So, how good is Canada in handling the aliens?

II. Overview of Current Canadian Immigration Policies, and their Goals and Objectives

These answer the “why” questions regarding the policies for immigration, the objectives and goals. Since it is a little awkward to understand the policies and its objectives before knowing the policies themselves, it is therefore important to have a brief overview of what these policies are.

Canadian immigration and citizenship center (About Us, 2008) claims to have a proud tradition of welcoming immigrants with their world-best immigrant and refugee system and network of organizations to help newcomers settle and integrate. It further states that one out of every six or almost 17% Canadian residents was born outside Canada and that immigration has aided the country to make itself “culturally rich, prosperous and progressive nation” (About Us, 2008). The general policies of Canada on its immigration are the following:

Admission of immigrants and temporary workers who help the country’s social and economic growth;
Resettle and protect as well as to provide a secure refuge or shelter to refugees;
Help new arrival immigrants and/or refugees and/or temporary workers adapt to the country’s society and eventually become citizens; and
Manage access to Canada in order to preserve the security and health of Canadians as well as the integrity of its laws.
Moreover, it was stated in the journal piece by Green & David (2004) quoting Mackenzie King's statement before the House in May, 1947 that the policy of the government is to foster the growth of the population of Canada by the encouragement of immigration while it (the government) will seek legislation, regulation and vigorous administration, to ensure the careful selection and permanent settlement of such numbers of immigrants as can advantageously be absorbed by the national economy of Canada. Thus, it can be derive that old policies are very relevant to the new ones these days having similar goals and aspirations for immigrants and for the Canadian community.

Stated in its Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of 2001, the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has its objectives and application to its immigrants. (Objectives and Applications, 2008) These involve the following:

To permit Canada to pursue the maximum social, cultural and economic benefits of immigration;
to enrich and strengthen the social and cultural fabric of Canadian society, while respecting the federal, bilingual and multicultural character of Canada;
to support and assist the development of minority official languages communities in Canada;
to support the development of a strong and prosperous Canadian economy, in which the benefits of immigration are shared across all regions of Canada;
to see that families are reunited in Canada;
to promote the successful integration of permanent residents into Canada, while recognizing that integration involves mutual obligations for new immigrants and Canadian society;
to support, by means of consistent standards and prompt processing, the attainment of immigration goals established by the Government of Canada in consultation with the provinces;
to facilitate the entry of visitors, students and temporary workers for purposes such as trade, commerce, tourism, international understanding and cultural, educational and scientific activities;
to protect the health and safety of Canadians and to maintain the security of Canadian society;
to promote international justice and security by fostering respect for human rights and by denying access to Canadian territory to persons who are criminals or security risks; and
to work in cooperation with the provinces to secure better recognition of the foreign credentials of permanent residents and their more rapid integration into society.
Although there is a different set of objectives for the country’s refugee program, another nine (9) in total, the main topic of this paper is on immigration, thus, only the first and foremost objective of refugee program would be included by this paper. The primary goal of Canada for providing safety and haven to refugees is “to recognize that the refugee program is in the first instance about saving lives and offering protection to the displaced and persecuted”.

Observable from its general policies and programs that Canada (although it is too early to conclude yet) has a very conducive environment for immigrants. Yet, Canada is so careful that although it encourages immigration and respect with human rights, it never missed in its objectives the safety of the whole Canadian community for it has also provided security measures both in health and against criminal and security risks. In fact the good intentions in its objectives can be verified with the portion of a speech that was given about Canadian immigration in 2001. “Canada wants and needs immigrants, for all the reasons so often put forward -- to refresh the workforce, to add to the talent pool, to bring families together, to rescue and provide a new life for the hopeless and terrorized of other lands.” (Mcdougall, 2001, p. 0)

Those perfect objectives would sound so good to be true without flaws. One of the criticisms of those objectives is on its security measure. In one of the recently published journal article by Granatstein, (2008) he claimed that Canadian immigration and refugee policies are “notoriously flawed with a broken refugee determination process and the screening of immigration applicants all but non-existent.” He further claimed that eighty percent (80%) of immigrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan, the “two hotbeds of Islamic militancy”, are not properly screened at all. Security related issues are further elaborated in the succeeding discussions specifically devoted on security issues after the 9/11 incident.

Since the objectives have been clearly laid out, it is now possible to further and closely examine the policies and their respective objectives in the later section of this paper.

III. Notions on the Labor Policies for Immigrants

The CIC encourages “skilled workers” to be part of their environment. In fact, in its permanent residence statistics, (See Table 1) more or less, fifty-five percent (55%) in 2006 comprises the economic class immigrants. Generally, for aspiring immigrants, they must have at least some minimum requirements necessary to be in this classification. These include at least a continuous full time experience for one year of a paid work or its part-time work equivalent, having the skill type of managerial, professional, technical or occupational and skilled trades classifications “within the recent ten years” (Skilled Workers, 2008). The authority in identification and classification of individuals into this category is the Canadian NOC or the National Occupational Classification. Another is to be in the business class, which will be explained further in the following sections.

As two authors about labor policies and economics in Canada have noted, one of the most serious imperfections in the labor market arises from lack of knowledge, especially on the part of workers. Although this observation was made decades ago, it is obvious that even these modern days the same problem arise. The same authors, Woods & Ostry (1962, p. 354) noted that worker typically takes a job with only the barest bones of information about wages, working conditions, and the social 'climate' of the work-group with whom he will have to spend his days and this can prove very disadvantageous and dangerous to an immigrant who flew from thousands of miles away to work in Canada.

As early as the post World War II (WWII) period, Canada had already acknowledge how important it was/is to protect workers, the more so if they are as vulnerable as the immigrants. Immigrants are considered as an “important group of new entrants to the Canadian labor force” (Woods & Ostry 1962, p. 357) and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration distributes occupational and employment literature both through its offices in foreign countries and at the ports of entry into Canada to educate and disseminate information to workers. That was decades back but presently, with the power of the internet, the current CIC website (found at www.cic.gov.ca) surely helps millions of aspiring and successful immigrant workers. In fact, according to Schmidt (2007), it shows a stance toward immigrants that is relatively "warm" and inviting of dialogue helping them in the process.

IV. Are immigrants getting poorer?

Another issue that is being faced by the Canadian immigration policies is on the “broken hope” side of the story. This means that those who dreamt of a “greener pasture” and thus immigrated to Canada in order to attain this dream did not succeed in doing so. This further means that the “better life” they wanted did not happen due to some conditions and circumstances beyond their control. Are there really cases of immigrants getting poorer (than what they have expected) in Canada?

According to Palmer (1990, p.6) the gravitational pull of a large developed industrial country in close proximity to small developing economies dictates that there will be a flow of workers from the lower-income developing countries to the higher-income developed country. This proves that economic reasons are the leading factors for immigrating and in fact, as previously mentioned, the bulk of Canadian immigrants are on the working classification. (See Table 1)

The worse side of the story about immigrating is that, according to Reitz, (1998, p. 16) poor immigrants are more likely to find their culture negatively stereotyped and where these negative features do exist, these immigrants might at least arguably be products of poverty, demoralization, and social disorganization. The same author further presented in his book that racial minority immigrants (those that do not have European origins) earn between fifteen (15) and thirty (30) percent lesser than might be expected based on such trends (the author based this analysis on studies by Chiswick 1986, Tienda and Lii 1987, Model 1991, and others).

The idea of getting poorer or having a not very good income may as well be attributed to the slow integration of immigrants. They need time and space to adjust in their new environment

In fact, according to Reitz (p.17) “studies of immigrant integration based on the usual snapshot surveys or on the census may underestimate how slow the immigrant integration process really is.” Therefore, if the immigrants already adjust to the new society there is a tendency and correlation that they likely improve their position, which includes their economic status

On the other hand, persistently poor economic performance in the extreme case tends to reinforce itself and to be reproduced over time, as Reitz further explained, and a below-par standard of living means less ability to provide basic necessities for oneself and one's family while fewer resources will be available to find appropriate employment, to pursue economic opportunity, to gain necessary training, to provide education for children, and to secure a proper living environment for members of the community. Are there cases like these happening to immigrants? This question is not answerable in a very distinct manner. Studies and various authors hold similar arguments as presented above, on immigrant integration and adjustments that immigrants eventually find economic success the longer they stay.

As there are apparent evidence of poor economic status of many immigrants, according to one of the more recent and relevant journal article, by Walters, Phythian & Anisef (2007), it is a matter of time and perseverance:

Upon entering the labor force, they earn substantially less than their native-born counterparts. Over time, these newcomers become increasingly like the native population, and their wages rapidly increase, eventually catching up with or even surpassing those of the native-born...

The economic stability therefore is a process that immigrants must persistently attain, not on a single basis or a one time success but it is a continuous development, similar to that of a ladder, where the first step must be made before one can reach the top.

It is worth noting as well that Kazemipur & Halli (2001, p. 217) made a strong stand on the issue at hand, stating that “immigrants were consistently over-represented among the poor, and that this over-representation had a clear ethnic and racial color, with visible minority immigrants experiencing the most severe conditions” when poverty in Canada is being out into discourse. Another proof that may support this contention is the speech of Monte Solberg, a CIC Minister in November 2006:

It is a fact that in recent years, success for newcomers has been harder to come by. In the 1980s, after a year in Canada, skilled-worker immigrants were earning one-quarter more than their Canadian-born counterparts. In 2003, their earnings were almost one-third less than their Canadian-born counterparts after one year. (The Honourable Monte Solberg, 2006)

Since various authors have varying claims, it is therefore very important to conduct more studies and postulate concrete evidence and conclusion on this issue on immigrants poverty in Canada and immigrants getting poorer with a lower quality of life. See Table 2 for more statistical facts.

V. Why immigration is encouraged? What are some problems with it?

Clearly stated in its objectives, one of the underlying rationale for admitting immigrants to Canada is for maximum social, cultural and economic benefits. Although there are humanitarian reasons for admitting immigrants, the Canadian government also benefit from this admission program. In fact, this would be the third time that this paper mentions having the economic class with the most number of representatives when immigration statistics be reviewed. (See Table 1)

Immigrants are considered as an asset and an investment as what the 2006 CIC Minister have stated in the speech delivered during the allocation of new funding for settlement programs stating that such funding is an investment in the partnership among federal government, provincial and territorial governments, and individual communities. New funding was released supporting immigration and foremost the fund is “an investment in newcomers, it is an investment in Canada” (The Honourable Monte Solberg, 2006).

However, aside from the previous issues and problems noted on immigrants’ economic status, another problem challenging the Canadian immigration is the concentration of arrivals to very few urban areas "particularly to the three immigrant magnets of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal" (Newbold, 2007). This might not sound so alarming if the effects are not examined closely because it can be reasoned out that dramatic shift in population composition on larger cities are due to the needs of those three cities themselves but the truth is, it “has important implications for the provision of many public services" (Heisz & Schellenberg, 2004) such as the public transportation system. Other problems according to Hou (2004) as stated in the journal article authored by Newbold, (2007) are immigrants “spatial distribution and their socio-economic and socio-demographic impact on receiving communities.” See Table 3 for statistical facts.

The Canadian government has acknowledged the aforementioned problems on over concentration of immigrants on very few Canadian cities and one of the actions the CIC made is to give out incentives to migrate out of these three huge cities.

The Government of Canada will invest more than $1.3 million in the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area (MAGMA). Funding will help newcomers access orientation and other services, including referrals to community resources and assistance, language training in both French and English, and help establishing contacts in their field of work. (Government of Canada, 2008)

The funding and incentives will encourage more newcomers to Moncton than to other cities that are already crowded by immigrants. In fact this case in Moncton is not alone. The government is also promoting Yukon and British Columbia using the same tactics. Yukon is an exciting territory with vast potential for growth according to the Minister Finley (Canada and Yokun, 2008) and in British Columbia, not only newcomers are benefiting from this program but also refugees. In fact the Minister Finley in her speech has reasserted Canada’s commitment “to helping refugees” (Government of Canada, 2008)

These flexibilities and positive acts that the government does are really taking up the morale of the public and of the immigrants as well, making the whole country benefit from immigration while reducing the concentration to selected cities which may prove disadvantageous to all except those who have interest in it such as the apartment owners and business establishments in the vicinity of highly immigrated cities who surely can gain much, and no genius or study is needed to determine this reality.

Another problem that may be associated with immigration is the unemployment in Canada. In fact there is no direct relation between the number of immigrants and joblessness according to Veugelers (2000, p. 95) but it does not help improve the unemployment situation as well. Veugelers further noted that in a poll conducted by a private association the majority of respondents indicated that "... restrictions should be placed on the number of immigrant entrants in times of high unemployment. And since it was stated that immigration is not really the main cause of unemployment, Canadian government is not compelled to reduce their immigration admissions (although it has measures related to this), instead, improve factors causing unemployment.

VI. Current policies, qualifying factors and effects to various classes of aspiring immigrants

The present immigration policies can be viewed to be having emphasis on the economic side above refugee program and family purposes. According to Green & David (2004), separating the administration of refugees from that of other immigrants and balancing economic and family class immigrants means that assessed immigrants are no longer a residual. Moreover these policies focuses on long run goals but tried to integrate short-term concerns proposes to bring in a large inflow but one that, unlike the policy of the late 1980s, places emphasis on careful selection of the economic component.

“Canada awards points to applicants who are highly educated; who speak English and French proficiently; who have work experience; who are between twenty-one and forty-nine years old; who have arranged for employment in Canada; and (under the category of "adaptability") who have an educated spouse or partner, have had prior work experience in Canada, or have a family relation in Canada” (Cox & Posner, 2007)

If the way to immigrate is to qualify for points, the following section explains relevant policies and issues on various classes of immigrant and Currently, there are five options to immigrate, not counting the refugee option.

Policies for high skilled workers and professional
Being the leading group of immigrants, it means that this category or immigrant classification is indeed in demand. (See Table1) The rules for admission and application also change from time to time to update and upgrade to a better processes. Generally, to qualify in this category, the Canadian policy requires the applicant or the aspiring immigrant the following at the minimum:

a. at least one continuous year of full-time, paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time continuous employment.

b. the work experience must be Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or Skill Level A (professional occupations) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades) on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC).

c. have had this experience within the last 10 years

According to the CIC, the skilled workers and professionals “are people who can become permanent residents because they are able to become economically established in Canada.” (Skilled workers and professionals, 2007) Moreover, stated in CIC’s Medium Term Strategic Research Frameworks, “immigration policies must be either directly supportive of Government priorities“ by facilitating entry of highly skilled workers to ensure that Canada has access to the expertise needed to compete in a knowledge-based society” (Medium term, 1998) which is one among these priorities. These skilled workers and professionals are thoroughly screened in order maximize the chance that “they will make an economic contribution of some sort and minimize the probability that they will become a burden on their host community.” (Medium term, 1998) Moreover, anticipated from this class of immigrants is the generation of economic benefits and measurable performance in terms of quantifiable economic benefits.

The focus on skilled workers in the new system was a policy, which potentially benefited both labour and business. Linking immigration to job vacancies was consistent with labour's interests since its first pronouncements on the subject in the late 19th century. By focusing on skills, the effect was potentially to enhance the relative position of unskilled and semi-skilled domestic workers. Business stood to gain as well since recruitment was aimed at exactly the type of workers it needed if a major expansion in manufacturing activity was to be accomplished. Finally, immigrants had gained a new voice in the development of policy. (Green & David, 2004)

Some of the more noticeable policies and programs are the newly changed point system for professionals (Green & David, 2004) where there is an increase emphasis on education, from 16 to 20% of total possible points; an increase in importance of proficiency in English or French from 15 to 20%; and an increase in points awarded for personal suitability from 10 to 16%. Personal suitability, which is assessed by the visa officer, has also been changed to emphasize flexibility in adjusting to labour market changes by adding factors such as job search skills, resilience, and positive attitudes toward personal growth, development, learning and change, Green & David further explained.

The policies for skilled workers and professionals have indeed paid off since Canadian businesses are gaining from it. Although it is the private sector to gain and benefit from the policies and programs first, the end advantage would be to government and eventually be back to the Canadian nation and its people. This is achieved through the process of business taxation and those earning immigrants are paying taxes as well, aside from those paying businesses.

Immigrating as a sponsored family
Reunification of families is never missed in the objectives of Canadian immigration policies. Specifically, it is the fourth objective, “to see that families are reunited in Canada”. How perfectly drafted this objective is but does it really sound so easy and favorable to family members of existing immigrants, Canadian residents or citizens?

The process to sponsor one’s family begins when one, as a citizen or permanent resident in Canada, apply to be a sponsor. This is according to the CIC. (Sponsoring your family, 2007) The burden of this process is more on the part of the sponsor because of the responsibilities that the rules for this kind of admission require him/her. Among these responsibilities are the following:

Signing of the sponsorship agreement, both by the sponsor and the sponsored family member committing the former to provide financial assistance to the latter if necessary. This agreement also signifies that the person becoming a permanent resident will make every effort to support themselves while children who are still dependent below 22 years of age are not required to sign. On the other hand, Quebec residents are required to sign an “undertaking” with the province of Quebec—a contract binding the sponsorship.
The sponsor must also promise to give financial support for the sponsored relative or family member and any other eligible relatives accompanying them for a period of three (3) to ten (10) years, depending on their age and relationship to the sponsor. The period stated begins on the date the sponsored and their eligible companions become permanent residents
Unlike in 1978, where family members and refugees were given more priority the current policies are different where the administration of refugees are separated from that of other immigrants and “balancing economic and family class immigrants means that assessed immigrants are no longer a residual” according to Green & David (2004).

There are repeated references in recent policy documents to severe restraints on the fiscal resources available for immigrant settlement. This is the source of new policy proposals, which would make immigrants pay for settlement services and make sponsors post bonds out of which any welfare use by the sponsored immigrant in the first 10 years after arrival would be subtracted. It is also a source of the push for more flexible workers since, in the "new" economy where constant change is to be expected, more flexibility will mean less time collecting social security. (Green & David, 2004)

In fact, this paper’s idea on this policy on admission of family members is affirmative. Canadian government learned from its prioritizing of refugees and families in the 1978 Immigration Act that did not give the department of immigration the authority to set limits on the number of immigrants in various components of the inflow, causing them no possibility of cutting off the number of family members processed in a year even if some target had been met for that group.

The policies are as well beneficial to those family members who want to reunite with their loved ones in Canada. To be together without a settled life and a life full of government social welfare assistance is not also good. Thus, better to stay in one’s own country poorer than to stay in a foreign country a poor.

Entering Canada as refugees
As previously mentioned, admissions of refugees is not anymore the core of Canadian immigration due to the shift to economic reasons for immigrant admissions. However, the strong will of the government for safety keeping of refugees is still tough. It is however not included in the objectives of the Canadian immigration. Instead, the refugee program has its different set of detailed policies and objectives. It is also in a different and independent section of the CIC Web site. In this connection, this paper makes some references to refugee programs in other sections of this paper but would not elaborate more on its policies and related issues.

Simply to give an overview what this program is all about, refugees and people needing protection are those in or outside Canada who fear returning to their home country. And Canada, to maintain its humanitarian tradition and international obligations, it gives protection to thousands of people every year as it offers refugee sanctuary to people in Canada who fear persecution or who may be at risk of torture or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment, and are unwilling or unable to return to their home country. Qualified foreign efugees may also be sponsored by groups and individuals.

Investors, entrepreneur and self-employed individuals
Relatively, business program as means of immigration to Canada is new. It was only added to the Canadian immigration program in January 1986. The applicants for this immigration class gain admission “by investing specified amounts in Canadian enterprises.” (Green & David, 2004) The two authors further noted that “while the business classes have never become more than a very small part of the inflow, this represents a philosophical shift toward an idea that immigration could be used as a source of capital and as a means of establishing trade links.”

The three classes of business immigrants include investors, entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals. The applicant must choose only one of these subclasses and the criteria for each one vary. For investors, C$400,000 is needed to be invested in the country’s economy. The applicants however specifically need to:

show that they have business experience
have a minimum net worth of C$800,000 that was obtained legally and
make a C$400,000 investment
The “investment is managed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and is guaranteed by the Canadian provinces that use it to create jobs and help their economies grow.” (Investors, 2007) and CIC will thereafter return the C$400,000 investment, without interest, approximately five years and two months after payment.

Although the rules are not the same and the criteria are also different, the aims and goals of having these three classes all end in one point: to benefit the Canadian nation through business expertise and capital. Another author that argues similar to the contention of Green & David above is Macdonald (2000, p. 403):

The concept of economic citizenship-- granting citizenship or residency status to foreigners who have capital to invest to create jobs in the host country--became the new strategy to attract foreign investment during the 1990s. Immigrant investor programs are expected to facilitate investment flows into the host country and to maintain the capital in the country by offering citizenship to the investors. Both developing and developed countries have begun to use this strategy to attract foreign investment.

The program is both beneficial to aspiring immigrants and to the Canadian nation. It ease entrance and admission in the part of those who can be qualified and at the same time it helps and benefits the Canadian government. It was a very good move to add this kind of immigration class and new way for admission.

Provincial nominees
Provincial nominees are persons belonging to a specific class of Canadian immigrants composed of individuals with skills, education and work experience needed “to make an immediate economic contribution to the province or territory that nominates them”(Provincial Nominees, 2007) and they are all ready to establish themselves successfully as permanent residents of the country. These provinces (and one territory) include Alberta, Mantinoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Sakatchewan, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Yukon. Assessment on the six selection factors of the Federal Skilled Workers Program is not applied to applicants for provincial nominees. In the case of Yokun as an example its Yukon Nominee Program (YNP) was developed to allow the Government of Yukon to nominate “potential immigrants based on industrial and economic priorities; labour market conditions; and who, based on Yukon’s assessment, have a strong likelihood of successfully establishing themselves in Yukon society.” (Yukon Nominee, 2007)

Quoting Andrew (2002) from the journal piece of Schmidt (2007), "the federal government and other provinces have made efforts at a more even geographic distribution of immigrants” and while there are variations among the provinces, most of the "street-level" implementation programs are operated--with a mixture of funds from federal, provincial, and third-sector sources--by a two-tiered system of NGOs.

Based in its programs for immigrants and for the benefit of Canada in general, there is nothing more that can describe the policies of Canada as being proactive. Not only the federal government is involve but everyone around.

Quebec selected professionals
Under the Canada-Quebec Accord on Immigration, Quebec establishes its own immigration requirements and selects immigrants who will adapt well to living in Quebec. The process for this program is considered to be more straightforward. Although the reasons and goals behind are similar to that of previously mentioned, which is for economic and work-resources purposes, this classification is distinctly listed as one and separate from the rest of the classes of immigration previously discussed. Also the applicants in this class are not assessed on the six selection factors of the Federal Skilled Workers Program just like the ones for provincial nominees.

Wrapping up all those programs for potential immigrants or existing immigrants and their respective classifications, the Canadian policies on this aspect can now be assessed. In fact the 2008 budget for immigration recommends changes for modernization of the system in order to hasten the overall process, both in the part of applicants and immigration officials themselves. In can be understood from the following:

Budget 2008 propose changes to modernize the immigration system including shortening the time it takes to bring newcomers and their families to Canada. Under this proposed system, instructions would be issued to immigration officers related to the processing of applications, including in relation to the jobs available in Canada, so that people with those skills and experience can be brought to Canada more quickly. (Government of Canada, 2008)

Whatever the trouble in immigration process can be, the efforts of Canadian government are always visible in supporting and improving anything they can. What can aspiring and successful immigrants more to ask for? That they too be safe and secure in Canada!

VII. Policies with regards to security after the 9/11 incident

In two of it’s immigration objectives, it is specifically stated to ‘protect the health and safety of Canadians and to maintain the security of Canadian society’ as well as “to promote international justice and security by fostering respect for human rights and by denying access to Canadian territory to persons who are criminals or security risks. In any of those two, Canadian immigration policy did not miss the importance of security and safety to its people and even to the whole world in general (in its human rights and refugee related objectives).

Although Canada has emphasis on its security, there are criticisms as to how the country treats immigrants from the so-called “hotbeds of Islamic militancy”(Granatstein, 2008). Claimed to have very lax screening process for Afghanistan and Pakistan immigrants, Granatstein further opined that Canada simply integrate them into Canadian society. And the revelation?

And Americans have begun to notice Canada. Canada and Canadian policies, after decades of being ignored by US media, are now attacked regularly on the increasingly powerful Fox Cable New. (Granatstein, 2008) However, to listen to one person’s idea, such that of Granatstein and his Canada anti-US views would not be enough to assess Canada’s policies when it comes to security purposes. Nevertheless, another set of authors support the claims of Granatstein, Chalk & Rosenau, (2004, p. 48) states:

CSIS has been consistently criticized for failing to adequately penetrate terrorist logistical cells that have been established on Canadian soil… More seriously, the service conspicuously failed to act on information provided by French intelligence that Ahmed Ressam, a resident Algerian national with links to al Qaeda and the GIA, was planning to carry out attacks in North America…

"The perceived danger of access by terrorists to the USA through Canada prompted the US government to seek measures to make secure all of the North American landmass, including Canada." (Buckley & Fawn, 2003, p. 85) And in fact, the above accusations against Canada received a response from the CIC itself. The response (Government Response, 2002) states that negative contentions, such as the aforementioned, are “misperceptions” and that Canada is working closely with the US in protecting the North American nations. In fact there are sixty-seven responses made by the Canadian government regarding this issue. These sixty-seven are made available by the Standing Committee in its report, Hands Across The Border: Working Together at our Shared Border and Abroad to Ensure Safety, Security and Efficiency in May 2002. On top of the list is the following:

Since September 11, the Government has encouraged Canadian missions in the United States to take a proactive stance to educate the public regarding misperceptions about Canadian policies, management of the border and alleged threats to U.S. security coming from Canada. Our missions have been actively engaged in a forceful advocacy campaign to effectively deliver our message that Canada is not a haven for terrorists. (Government Response, 2002)

The use of biometrics has been proposed that time numerous Canadian provinces are considering their introduction, including some that are thinking of using retinal scans and fingerprints on driver's licenses. There is a growing lobby in the United States that wishes to see the implementation of a standardized license with biometric features in every state. Measures are also being taken in the context of airport security. (Biometrics: Implications, 2003) There are therefore varying sides on this issue and it needs more examination and studies as to what really the fact is. As far as Canada is concerned however, its policies and actions contribute well in its responsibilities in this issue.

VII. Immigration Integration and Assistance

To immigrate is a long and serious process and more often than not, assistance from the admitting country are like blessings from heaven, especially during the time those immigrants still adjust in the new environment. Assistance for this this paper’s discussion purposes include settlement assistance for social adjustments; educational, housing and social support system; and social and most importantly community integration assistance that Canadian government offers.

There are flexibilities as well. With the present policies, especially with regards to sponsoring family members, Canadian immigration has made some revisions such as explained above (Immigrating as a sponsored family) “This is the source of new policy proposals which would make immigrants pay for settlement services and make sponsors post bonds out of which any welfare use by the sponsored immigrant in the first 10 years after arrival would be subtracted.” (Green & David, 2004) This is another measure towards economic maximization from immigration and minimization of welfare assistance that can be possibly offered to immigrants.

To actually determine the situation, the Canadian government instituted the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC) which is designed to study the process by which new immigrants adapt to or integrate into Canadian society, including the stages of the integration process, the factors that influence integration and the impact of services on integration. Even though there is a disclaimer upon its full reliability, conclusions can be drawn from it how immigrants survive and how they access to the things they need right after immigration/arrival. What the survey have found out is that “family and friends not only decidedly influence where immigrants settle, but are also critical sources of support in other areas of the integration process, such as finding a place to live, accessing health services, strengthening skills and finding a job” (The first six months, 2004)

With the scattered immigrants, also with the support of provincial nominees program, with "uneven disbursement of immigrants across Canadian communities serves to increase such diversity" (Mulder & Krahn, 2005) making it easier for immigrants to integrate socially and as community members. When promoting certain communities to immigrants, or when choosing destinations for government-sponsored refugees, Citizenship and immigration should are taking community characteristics into consideration, such as in the case of provincial nominees. In addition to the availability of housing, services and employment, community size and the rate of population growth are also being considered in the provincial nominees program. It is important to note that these programs are new and part of the proactive action that the government is taking when immigration is the issue.

As can be based from the preceding paragraph, the burden still rests on the immigrants themselves. It is worth noting however that immigrants may ask assistance from those volunteer groups offering help. In fact, this is being encouraged by the CIC web site, to help individuals who have immigrated. There are actually many success stories on this matter.

In fact Canada's immigrant settlement policy is generally best distinguished “as relatively comprehensive in scope, proactive, and aiming for a pluralistic integration of immigrants.” (Schmidt, 2007) By "relatively comprehensive" it is meant that Canada's federal and provincial governments, as can be seen in both the provincial nominee and the Quebec nominee programs that many sectors of Canadian government as well as the society represented by the NGOs “have articulated a relatively broad range of settlement services, from economic, to social, to cultural services for immigrants integration. It is a "proactive" policy approach as well according to Scdmidt in that it provides means for interaction and dialogue between immigrant communities and the agencies responsible for formulating and implementing the policies and programs under its rubric.

IX. Conclusion

Discussing with so much facts and varied views regarding the way Canadian government handles immigration enables this paper to conclude on some facts. Refugee programs set aside, Canadian immigration policies are among the best internationally. Although there is the recent shift to economic benefits from the government’s immigration programs, from refugee and family classes priority, the effects are still favorable to immigrants. In fact this move to shift the strategies employed have gained commendations from spectators.

Any aspect of the immigration issue, the CIC and the Canadian government has ready answers and active responses to improve the situation, whatever unreasonable hindrances present. With the current goal to maximizing the economic benefits, aside from shifting the emphasis to skilled workers and professionals, the Canadian government have devised means to obtain capital and investments from its immigration policies. This is the addition of a new class of immigrants which is the “business class”. Moreover, to answer to the growing problem on immigration congestion over few cities, the answer was to give emphasis and benefits for immigrants to settle in less immigrated yet suitable provinces. This is where the “provincial nominees” class comes in.

Security is one of the most criticised aspect of Canadian immigration policies. However, as the Canadian government have claimed, this is only a matter of misinformation and misperception that immigrants are not thoroughly screened. On the integration side, there are ready programs, both by private, NGOs, and from government itself that support immigrant needs if they find heavy troubles upon immigrating. Moreover, the burden to migrate still lies on the hands of aspiring and successful imigrants. The policies are only to make their process easier and to make immigration of deserving individuals to canada burden free and fast.

If tied up with the objectives set out for its immigration policies, this paper concludes that Canadian government fulfills its promises and attain its objectives, not only to the respective immigrants, both aspiring and successful, but also to the Canadian nation in part and to the world in general. Indeed, Reiser’s contention in the introductory section of this paper holds true.

X. Recommendation

There is only one aspect of the policy that the Canadian government needs to improve as fast as it can. This is on the security aspect of the immigration policies and processes. Since most of the authors of the facts presented are all looking negatively the way Canada handles its security matters with the immigrants or pertaining to immigration, it is therefore important to make more awareness as to what really is the truth since the government of Canada claims that all the negative contentions are simply “misperceptions”.

Aside from the slight problem and its recommendation, the Canadian policies on immigration only needs to further its good governance and function helping millions of aspiring and successful immigrants, making families reunite and benefiting from these in return.

References

Books

Buckley, M. & Fawn, R. (Eds.). (2003). Global Responses to Terrorism: 9/11, Afghanistan and beyond. New York: Routledge.

Chalk, P., & Rosenau, W. (2004). Confronting "The Enemy Within": Security Intelligence, the Police, and Counterterrorism in Four Democracies. Santa Monica, CA: Rand.

Cox, A. B., & Posner, E. A. (2007). The Second-Order Structure of Immigration Law. Stanford Law Review, 59(4), 809+.

Palmer, R. W. (Ed.). (1990). In Search of a Better Life: Perspectives on Migration from the Caribbean. New York: Praeger Publishers.

Reitz, J. G. (1998). Warmth of the Welcome: The Social Causes of Economic Success for Immigrants in Different Nations and Cities. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Woods, H. D., & Ostry, S. (1962). Labour Policy and Labour Economics in Canada. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada.

Journals

Bauder, H. (2006). A History of Migration from Germany to Canada, 1850-1939. The Canadian Geographer, 50(4), 526+.

Granatstein, J. (2008). Canada and the United States: Security and Strategic Interests after 9/11. Jack Granatstein Suggests That Canadians Should Put National Interests before Values in Their Approach to Their Giant Neighbour. New Zealand International Review, 33(1), 11+.

Green, A. G., & David, G. (2004). The Goals of Canada's Immigration Policy: A Historical Perspective. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 13(1), 102+.

Heisz, A., & Schellenberg, G. (2004). Public Transit Use among Immigrants. Canadian Journal of Urban Research, 13(1), 170+.

Kazemipur, A., & Halli, S. S. (2001). The Changing Colour of Poverty in Canada [*]. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 38(2), 217.

Macdonald, B. (2000). The Immigrant Investor Program: Proposed Solutions to Particular Problems. Law and Policy in International Business, 31(2), 403.

Mcdougall, B. (2001, January/February). Make It Easier for Immigrants to Get Here Legally; Harder to Arrive Illegally. Canadian Speeches, 14, 0.

Mulder, M., & Krahn, H. (2005). Individual- and Community-Level Determinants of Support for Immigration and Cultural Diversity in Canada. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 42(4), 421+.

Newbold, B. (2007). Secondary Migration of Immigrants to Canada: An Analysis of LSIC Wave 1 Data. The Canadian Geographer, 51(1), 58+.

Schmidt, R. (2007). Comparing Federal Government Immigrant Settlement Policies in Canada and the United States. American Review of Canadian Studies, 37(1), 103+.

Veugelers, J. W. (2000). State-Society Relations in the Making of Canadian Immigration Policy during the Mulroney Era [*]. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 37(1), 95.

Walters, D., Phythian, K., & Anisef, P. (2007). The Acculturation of Canadian Immigrants: Determinants of Ethnic Identification with the Host Society. The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 44(1), 37+.


Citizenship and Immigration Canada Publications

“About Us.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 30 March 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008. .

“Biometrics: Implications and Applications for Citizenship and Immigrations.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 30 November 2003. Retrieved 27 May 2008. .

“Canada and Yukon announce new agreement on immigration; launch new web portal aimed at attracting newcomers.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 24 may 2008. .

“Canada – Annual Flow of Foreign Workers by Province or Territory and Urban Area.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2008.

“Canada – Permanent Residents by Category (No Backlog Reallocation)”. Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2008. .

“Canada – Permanent Residents by Top Source Countries”. Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2008. .

“Government of Canada announces funding to help refugees and other newcomers in British Columbia.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 21 May 2008. Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 24 may 2008. .

“Government of Canada invests in services to help newcomers settle in Moncton.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 24 may 2008. .

“Government Response to the Report of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, "HANDS ACROSS THE BORDER: Working Together at our Shared Border and Abroad to Ensure Safety, Security and Efficiency.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 12 May 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2008. .

“Immigrants by period of immigration and Canadian-born—15 years of age and over, employed mostly full-time—average earnings from wages and salaries, and earnings as percentage of overall Canadian average, Canada, 2000.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 01 April 2005. Retrieved 25 May 2008. .

“Immigration and Refugee Protection Act ( 2001, c. 27 ).”Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 20 May 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008. .

“Investors.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2008. .

“Medium term strategic research framework.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 1998. Retrieved 25 May 2008. .

“Objectives and Application.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 25 May 2008. .

“Provincial Nominees.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 31 march 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2008. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/provincial/index.asp >.

“Skilled workers and professionals: Who can apply.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 31 May 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2008. .

“Skilled workers and professionals.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 15 April 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2008. .

“Sponsoring your family.“ Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2008. .

“The First Six Months in Canada:The Importance of Family and Friends.” The Monitor, Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 26 February 2004. Retrieved 27 May 2008. < http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/statistics/monitor/issue04/06-feature.asp>.

“The Honourable Monte Solberg, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, for the announcement of the allocation of new funding for settlement programs.” Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 10 November 2006. Retrieved 24 May 2008. .

“Yukon Nominee Program (YNP).” Yukon Education. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2008. .

Instructions
The proposal will require some library research and you must include a bibliography that includes at least four books and four scholarly journal articles that you have consulted so far.
There is no one format that will bemost appropriate for theproposal, rather the proposal should clearly communicate to a reader what you intend to write about. The length of the proposal should one page, in addition to the bibliography.
An annotated bibliography is a document that lists the books and articles that you have consulted to-date in preparation for writing your reseach essay.For each item ( book, article, etc) there must be a 150 words (minimum) summary and evaluation-in your own words- of the contents of the book or article.
So I will expect 5 pages for total for the proposal andannotated bibliography.Note: it has to be finished and send to me in the two days.

Part 2 is the research paper you send to me on the 7th day after my order. It must be professional in all aspects. As such, it must hv a cover page,title, four or five sections(such as introduction, thesis statement, body, summary/conclusions, etc.) bibliography and , if you wish, appendices. You are encouraged to use a few visual aids: graphs, charts, photos, diagrams, tables,etc. These must be clearly labelled and referenced. You must have page numbers.The research essay must be aholistic work that demonstrates considerablsresearch, writing and thinking and should include at least 6-8 books and 6-10 scholarly journal articles.