Our country needs more people

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The Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies poll found a slim majority of Canadians think that Canada's population (34 million) is just right.

Size does matter! Our population is comparable to California's, yet we have the world's second-largest land mass.

Immigration must be a priority - you can't run a country this size without it. The United States prospered because it opened its gates - now it's 10 times our size.

Canadians love Canada's space, but Canada needs at least 150 million more people - preferably more. Sixty per cent of our population live within a few hundred miles of the U.S. border. A large part of Canada remains unused.

Many think our north can't be populated. It can with investment and new technologies. Switzerland fits inside Algonquin Park! France and England take up Ontario (with room left over Liechtenstein). We're definitely under-populated.

People want Canada's postcard look, but don't want anyone else to live here. If Canada doesn't increase its population the quality of life for will fall exponentially. There's a definite and important correlation between a country's population size and the health of the economy.

Canada needs a 'Statue of Liberty" effect - more assertive and industrious attitudes to attract hard-work-ing immigrants. Canada has been called the largest hotel in the world - that should be changed to one of the largest houses in the world. People should be enticed, so they can work hard, build a good life and adopt enviable Canadian values of dignity, tolerance, and fairness.

Canada is not "just right" with only 34 million people. If this attitude persists, taxes will increase, and some otherwise needless social programs will prosper.

A land mass of almost 10 million square kilometres with only 34 million people will carry that burden.

Bring me your hardworking, your ambitious, your visionaries.

Let the immigration revolution begin.

DOUGLAS CORNISH, Ottawa

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/country+needs+more+people/5111790/story.html#ixzz1SH5kt1l0

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Minister Kenney launches national consultations on immigration levels and mix

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Calgary, July 12, 2011 — Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney has launched a series of cross-country consultations on immigration issues, beginning today in Calgary.

The Minister is meeting with stakeholders and the public to discuss the important issue of immigration levels and mix. Following the Calgary session today, the Minister will meet with stakeholders in Vancouver on July 18, Toronto on July 20 and Montreal on July 22. Online consultations will take place later this summer and will be open to the public.

The purpose of the consultations is to seek feedback on immigration levels, including the appropriate level of immigration for Canada, and the most suitable mix between economic, family class and protected persons. Discussions on system management to provide improved services, such as reasonable processing times, and addressing issues such as fraud, will also be included.

In planning for the total number of people to admit as permanent residents, CIC not only balances immigration objectives but also considers several other factors, including broader government commitments, input from provinces and territories, and current and future economic conditions. The Department must also consider its operational ability to process applications in a timely manner, as well as the capacity of communities to welcome newcomers.

In addition to presenting an opportunity to gather input from stakeholders and the public on key questions facing CIC, the consultations also allow the Department to share with stakeholders and the public some of the considerations and difficult choices involved in managing a global immigration system.

The consultations present an important opportunity to generate greater understanding of the trade-offs involved in setting immigration levels. There are competing visions and diverging goals for the future of the immigration program, and there is no single right answer on what the focus should be. Engaging stakeholders and the broader public in that conversation is a key part of developing a plan that will work for Canada going forward.

Invited stakeholders represent a variety of perspectives, including those of employers, labour, academia, learning institutions, professional organizations, business organizations, regulatory bodies, municipalities, settlement provider organizations and ethnocultural organizations.

A report on the consultations will be available on the CIC website once stakeholder and public consultations have been completed.

More information about the online consultations will be available on the CIC website.

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