Thank you.
I'm going to start with the temporary foreign workers issue, and then I will address the issue of so-called undocumented workers.
I've prepared a few notes, and I'm going to go step by step. I'm not going to go into a lot of details, because everybody knows what is required and what has to be done. I'll make suggestions on behalf of our association.
In our view, the CIC should compile a list of the professions and trades that are meeting the demands of the labour market. There's no need to bring here, under the point system....
In the last three or four weeks, I had two people come to my office. One of them was a lady who has a master's degree in psychology, and the other one has a PhD, I think, in agriculture or some profession. The lady is working in a factory, and the guy with the PhD retrained himself as a car mechanic. I'm not saying that a car mechanic is not a good profession, but the fact remains that this person who has done a doctorate, Dr. So-and-so, is now a car mechanic. What is the use of bringing in these people who cannot find jobs in Canada in their own professions?
I would recommend that CIC should, from time to time--maybe every six months--compile a list of the professions that are in high demand and that the selection of immigrants should be geared towards that list. That will also help the employers. If we want 1,200 carpenters or 700 nurses or 450 doctors, those are the people we want to bring here.
Also, when they are being brought here on temporary work permits, of course we need cooperation from the human resources department. HRSDC should consider exempting certain caregivers, for example. I've rarely heard that a caregiver request for LMO is denied. Most of them are approved. It's a recognized fact that we are short of caregivers in Canada.
Similarly, maybe the human resources department should give consideration to making a list of the professions that are in high, high demand. Then the potential immigrant doesn't have to go to the long waiting line to get the LMO, labour market opinions. This is how it should be done, in our view.
In our view, the temporary workers who come to Canada should be allowed to become permanent residents. If we bring somebody here and they work for two or three years and they contribute to the economy of this country--they are employable, able, their qualifications are recognized--there is no need to send them home. If we need them, then they should be allowed to stay. With the situation of permanent residence, there will be certain criteria, that they already have a job and the employer likes them and all that. Obviously they are not going to take a Canadian's job, because they were initially brought in to fill that vacancy because there was no Canadian available.
Concerning the fear that Canadians will lose jobs to these foreign workers, I don't think it is justified to say it like that, because this is why we have a human resources department here. They issue labour market opinions, and of course they have the idea of who to give one to or not.
I'm going quickly so that we can get through all these points I have.
We also suggest that CIC should publish a negative list of professions and trades. If we do not need PhDs in agriculture, then that should be listed in the negative list of professions. This will only help people overseas, because then they will know that if they go there, they're not going to get a job.
Also, regarding credentials, CIC should have some kind of guidance mechanism in overseas posts, and the potential immigrants should be advised, if they're engineers, that they have to come and do the papers again here, so that they don't complain that they had to drive a cab for three years before they got the papers.
I do respect professionals from overseas, and also, of course, the tradespeople, but again, CIC should advise them overseas.
I personally came to Canada 36 years ago. I worked for a Canadian company in Kenya, east Africa. I worked for Falconbridge, and they helped me come to Canada. My boss was the chairman of the board of directors. I went to see him, this old man—of course, at that time I was a young boy coming to Canada—and I asked him, “Sir, I'm going to Canada and I need your advice and guidance.” I remember his words. He said, “Ramesh, if you are not ashamed to work with your two hands, you will be successful in Canada.” I remember his words, after 36 years. And when I came to Canada, I was just lucky and I got a job in my profession. I was very lucky, but I know it doesn't happen to everybody. It's luck from God.
But what I'm saying here is that in this country there is a lot of dignity of labour. The people who claim, “I was a big shot back home, and now I'm doing this here,” I tell them, “With all due respect, if you were a big shot back home, then what are you doing here?” That's number one. But at the same time, I do understand their dilemma, so I think CIC should have some kind of mechanism back home, in the overseas post, to give people the right kind of advice regarding their credentials and their recognition.
I don't know if it's true--I read a lot of things in the newspaper—but the Minister of Immigration may be given some kind of discretionary powers to be able to cancel or whatever some of the people who may have been approved by your visa officers overseas. But I also have some information—I cannot disclose any names and all that—that this may not be true. I hope it is not true. Our humble request is that the minister not be given this kind of power, because it is contrary to our democratic rules in this country. I hope our request will be listened to.
The other thing is—