As CIC cuts categories and quotas, the census underscores the importance of immigration to sustaining Canada’s population growth.
In the past 2 years, CIC has:
– reduced the number of refugees granted PR status in Canada by 25%
– reduced family class immigration by 15%
– shut down the parents & grandparents category for 2 years all the while issuing a press release saying CIC was shutting it down in order to speed up processing
– shut down the entrepreneur category
– introduced a quota on independent skilled workers in 2010 and then in 2011, cut that quota in half
– introduced a quota on investor immigrants in 2010 and then in 2011, cut that quota in half (the annual quota filled up in 2 weeks, effectively shutting the category down the for rest of the year)
– Jason Kenney has hinted at new policies to tighten up provincial nominee programs. Read: fewer immigrants in those categories and less discretion on the provinces to determine which immigrants it selects
link to G&M article:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/canadas-future-is-in-the-west-2011-census/article2330716/
link to data:
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-310-x/98-310-x2011001-eng.cfm