DID YOU KNOW? —–13 IMMIGRATION FACTS
1. Immigration increases the size of Canada’ s population and economy but does not improve Canadians’ standard of living.
2. It is estimated that recent immigrants receive billions of dollars a year more in benefits than they pay in taxes.
3. Only 17% of immigrants admitted each year are fully assessed on the basis of their employment and language skills.
4. While the average age of Canadians is increasing and the proportion of seniors will almost double in the next few decades, immigration will do very little to offset this trend despite the widely held belief that it will do so.
5. There are more than 100,000 parents and grandparents of immigrants who have met requirements and are waiting to enter Canada. They will receive the benefits of our public health care system without having contributed to costs by paying income tax.
6. Most of the quarter of a million people who immigrate to Canada every year are not interviewed by a visa officer to determine if they are well-suited to integrate into Canadian society and its economy.
7. Far more Canadians want immigration levels lowered rather than increased. Despite this, and the lack of economic or demographic benefits to Canadians, we maintain the highest per capita intake in the world.
8. In terms of Canadians’ attitude towards a multicultural mosaic, a 2007 survey indicated that 18% thought that it is reasonable to accommodate religious and cultural minorities while 53% thought immigrants should adapt fully to Canadian culture.
9. The number of visible minority neighbourhoods in Canada‘s three largest cities increased from six in 1981 to 254 in 2001.
10. Canada‘s acceptance rate for refugee claimants is three times the average of other countries, suggesting that two-thirds of those accepted would probably not be considered genuine refugees by other countries.
11. In 2003, Canada accepted 76% of refugee claims by Sri Lankans while Britain accepted 2% and Germany 4%. That year, Canada accepted 1,749 refugee claims by Sri Lankans while all the other countries together accepted only 1,160.
12. Canada, uniquely among nations, allows nationals of many democratic countries with good human rights records to make refugee claims in Canada on the basis that they fear persecution in their homelands.
13. As cities have increased in population, largely because of international immigration, urban expansion has devoured a large amount of Canada’ s best, Class 1, agricultural land, consuming 7,400 kilometers between 1971 and 2001 and occupying 7% of the total during this period.
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This list was researched by the Centre For Immigration Policy Reform. See their web site at www.immigrationreform.ca
