Rexdale, Ontario, M9W 5L3
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Website: http://canadafirst.nfshost.com
Paul Fromm, B.Ed, M.A. Director
The Globe and Mail,
444 Front Street, West,
Toronto, ON.Dear Sir:
Your article “Canada’s jobless rate rose in February, reaching its highest level in three years” (The Globe and Mail March 12, 2016) calls into question the self-congratulatory tone of the announcement last week that Canada is upping this year’s immigration to 305,000.
You reported: “The country missed expectations for employment gains and lost 2,300 jobs with a steep decline in full-time positions. The unemployment rate edged up … to 7.3 per cent in February … Across the country full-time employment fell by 52,000, while part-time jobs rose by 49,500. … The unemployment rate in [Alberta] jumped to 7.9 per cent.”
Just what is this flood of newcomers, even if they have language and work skills — and many in the family re-unification class do not – going to do?
Two possibilities: an immigrant gets a job or does not get a job. If he gets a job, good for him but bad for a Canadian who remains unemployed. Canada loses. If he doesn’t get a job, that’s bad for him and bad for Canada as, being a compassionate society, he has to be housed and supported. Canada loses again.
In times of high unemployment, Canada needs a moratorium on immigration, not an increase. It’s time for some compassion for our own unemployed and for recent graduates struggling to find a job for which they’ve studied and trained.
Paul Fromm
Director