Maxime Bernier’s controversial campaign billboard
The government of Canada is likely to make significant adjustments
to the mass immigration of Nigerians and nationals of other countries of
the world to her country via the popular Express Entry, Provincial
Nominee and refugee settlement programs.
The current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who favours mass
migration with a target of an additional one million immigrants in the
next three years is heading to the polls on the 21st of October, 2019.
Should he fail to secure another term in office, mass immigration via
both streams including the refugee settlement program might be either
stopped or highly restricted by the candidates of the other political
parties who have more conservative approaches towards mass migration to
Canada.
Canada – a bilingual country in North America presently has 5 major
political parties namely the Liberal Party that currently forms the
government, the Conservative Party who are the official opposition, the
New Democratic Party, the People’s Party Of Canada, and the Green Party
of Canada.
Immigration just like in the United States of America has become a
hot topic among indigenous Canadians who feel foreigners are gradually
taking over their country and politicians jostling for the number
position in the country have continued to latch onto it with varying
immigration policies to boost popularity. The issue of mass immigration
continues to fuel negative sentiments amongst the natives. The election
day which is about three weeks away will determine if the immigration
will stop, reduce or be increased. According to local policy analysts,
the current immigration policy is likely to be maintained if Trudeau
wins.
The New Democratic Party remains indifferent about immigration as
it focuses on reduction in the rising cost of living in Canada. This
can’t be said of the conservatives who are focusing on the loopholes in
the present immigration system with reference to the number of asylum
claimants coming into Canada.
In the same vein, the leader of the People’s Party of Canada,
Maxime Bernier has been very vocal about the immigration level,
multiculturalism, and diversity. In fact, his campaign billboards with
the inscription “Say No To Mass Immigration” have been erected across highways in Canada by a third party. Bernier wants a maximum of 150,000 into Canada in a year.
“We want fewer immigrants, a maximum of 150,000 a year and you
know we are not for mass immigration. For me, mass immigration is
350,000 in a year. If you look at it after two years, that will be a
million new Canadians and the equivalent of the population of Nova
Scotia (a province in Canada)” he recently said at the sidelines of a campaign rally.
It should be noted that asylum claims in Canada have witnessed an
unprecedented increase since 2017 thereby causing worries for the
country. People have been regularly crossing the borders to claim
asylum.
Ralph Goodale, the Public Safety Minister expressed the commitment
of the government towards plugging the loopholes exploited by the asylum
claimants.
“Let me make the point emphatically, the coming across the
border in a way that tries to circumvent the law or defy proper
procedure is no free ticket to Canada. Seeking asylum is not a shortcut
to get around normal immigration rules and procedures. There must be
legitimate reasons why asylum is necessary or it will not be granted” Mr. Goodale said.
It is worthy of note that Nigeria and other countries of the world
have benefitted immensely from the challenges of ageing and population
implosion faced by Canada. This necessitated the encouragement of the
mass immigration policy to help grow the local economy. Immigrants are
given Permanent Residency status on arrival to Canada and are eligible
to apply for citizenship after spending 1,095 days in the country.
Written exclusively for Tori News by Osayimwen Osahon George