The good immigrant
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According to Muhammedi, Prime Ministers Pearson and Pierre Trudeau had a specific type of person in mind when thinking about good immigrants. In the postwar economic boom, businesses asked the government to enforce liberal immigration policies to meet the market’s demands. Immigrants had to be ready to work as soon as possible when they arrived in Canada. The implementation of the point system in 1967 was a result of these demands. Prospective migrants’s evaluation is based on human and social capital. The criteria are age, education, training, occupational skills in demand, whether they speak English or French, whether they have relatives in Canada, arranged employment and employment opportunities in the area of destination, and finally, the personal assessment made by the immigration officer. These criteria respond to Canadian labour’s needs. It made me think of a personal anecdote. My dad told me that he wanted to immigrate to Canada when he was younger and be a physician there. However, after he had done the whole process, they told him that he could immigrate if he signed a sort of contract promising he wouldn’t practice medicine there. It showcases how immigration in Canada is regulated to the market’s needs. You could be highly qualified but still unable to migrate because of Canada’s labour needs. Furthermore, these criteria discriminate against people coming from the ‘developing’ world. The point system allowed more diversity but the emphasis on skills and education was also a form of discrimination. It is still the case today. Allowing immigration for humanitarian reasons comes after the needs of the labour market. Therefore, the ideal immigrant does not live off social services, has a job which enhances the Canadian economy, and does not ‘take’ Canadian jobs away.