Citizenship and Immigration committee  No, I haven't. The government said, when it took office, that it wanted evidence-based policies. I think this is a good example of where I can't find any evidence on which this policy is based. I think it's a mistake. Someone asked me what evidence there was that the government

Citizenship and Immigration committee  They're basically locked into jobs in their ethnic communities, where you don't need anything but your existing language, and you don't get involved in the broader economy. You are limited, and probably fairly impoverished for the most part, for the rest of your life in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Well, I am very concerned about the language issue, Mr. Tilson, particularly at the 55-to-64 level. I mentioned that I was citizenship adviser to the Ontario government for a while. I was in charge of services to English teachers for immigrants, and then spent five years on the

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I think there's quite a bit of evidence, going back a long way, that certain policies over the years by the Liberals were to benefit specific communities. Now, in the previous election, in 2011, the Conservatives obviously courted immigrant communities as well, but they did it on

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I wouldn't say all of it's about getting votes. It certainly makes it much easier to get citizenship then at present, and I think unduly so. I think a fairly strong case can be made that's it's related to getting political support. I don't think there's time to do it here, but

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, I think there should be some flexibility for people when they have received their citizenship in being able to go abroad. Simply saying we don't expect you to stay in Canada is a major mistake. I think at least there should be a general commitment. Removing that raises quest

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Those are two questions. Thank you, Ms. Wong. First of all, simply giving people admission to Canada as permanent residents doesn't mean they have to be fluent in English. They do need to have some competency if they're economic migrants and they're going to have to go right int

Citizenship and Immigration committee  First, may I say that's a good question. Thank you. I'm more concerned about those between 55 and 64. I think the younger ones will probably learn enough English, so I concentrated on the older ones. It is very clear that if you don't speak enough English, you're going to have

Citizenship and Immigration committee  I am still a senior fellow, but I'm not speaking on their behalf, because I'm not a staff member. I can speak more freely without having to clear everything.

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you, Chairman. I've appeared before this committee more than a dozen times in the past, but I think Mr. Tilson is the only one who's heard me before. I'll just mention as background my interest in this area. I was a citizenship adviser to the Ontario Ministry of Educatio