Liberal [little] Red Book leaked

[Hakluyt]

http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/2006/01/liberal_red_boo.html

Download: http://westernstandard.blogs.com/shotgun/files/platforme.pdf

[Hakluyt]

MEETING CANADA’S
DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE

The Canadian population is growing older – first, because our birth rate for the past three
decades has been below replacement rate. And second, because the post-war baby boom is about
to hit retirement age. The implication of this is significant – fewer workers supporting more
seniors. By 2015, Canada’s domestic labour force will actually start to shrink, so all of the net
growth will need to come from immigration. This transformation entails everything from
increased demands on health and other public services to potential skills shortages in key sectors
across the country.

Internationally, surging population growth is concentrated in the poorest countries, straining their
capacity to provide even the most rudimentary opportunities. This means there will be more
pressure from migration, more fertile ground for the seeds of terrorism to take root, more pleas
for development assistance. Meanwhile, the rest of the developed world will be facing the same
demographic challenges as our own – so there will be increasingly fierce competition for workplace
skills.
The following sections outline the key elements of a multi-faceted Liberal strategy to meet the
demographic challenge. We will:

 Keep the national fiscal balance sheet strong so that we do not pass a debt burden to the
next generation;

 Strengthen our public health care system to deliver timely, quality care as our population ages;

 Address the concerns of Canada’s seniors and help to seize the potential inherent in rapidly
growing numbers of talented and vigorous people over the age of 65;

 Attract and integrate growing numbers of new immigrants into Canada’s communities
and economy;

 Create greater opportunities for Aboriginal peoples – now the fastest growing component of
Canada’s population, but facing a significant gap in life chances compared with other Canadians.



...



WELCOMING NEW CANADIANS

In light of Canada’s history, values and impending demographic challenge, our immigration
policy – particularly as it relates to the selection, integration and regional distribution of new
immigrants – is of key importance.
Ten years from now immigration is expected to account for the entire net growth of Canada’s
workforce. We need to attract skilled immigrants and ensure they are able to reach their full
potential so as to sustain economic growth, promote innovation, and keep city and regional
economies strong. Over the past six years Canada has welcomed 1.4 million new permanent residents
from around the world. Clearly we need more immigrants, and we need them to succeed.

Too often, today’s new Canadians, despite higher levels of education on average, are not achieving
economic success as quickly as in previous generations. A Liberal government will keep Canada’s
doors open to immigrants of all classes and refugees from around the world. But as the numbers
increase we also must be more active in identifying immigrants who meet Canada’s evolving
workforce needs – needs that are determined in consultation with provinces, communities and
those in labour and business.

At the same time, we need better social and economic integration of new Canadians, including
language training, the upgrading and recognition of their professional and technical credentials,
and critically important first job experience in the Canadian work environment. A Liberal
government’s commitment to equality of opportunity applies to all Canadians.
Our approach to immigration can and must be something that distinguishes Canada – a central
component of the Canadian advantage in the world. To seize the potential of new Canadians,
a Paul Martin government will implement the following plan.

 Helping immigrants to integrate and succeed – Settlement and integration programs are the link
to participation in Canada’s labour force and society. A Liberal government will provide
$1.3 billion over the next five years to enhance these programs. This initiative builds on and
incorporates the recent $920 million Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, and assures
that federal financial support of social and labour force services for immigrants is equitable
right across Canada.

 Fixing the system – Virtually all developed countries are facing a demographic challenge similar
to Canada’s. As a result, we face an increasingly fierce competition for skills. So we need smart
and efficient immigration procedures. A Liberal government will commit $700 million over
the next five years to streamline the system and reduce the backlog of applications. In doing
so, our system will be more responsive to the needs of the labour market – for example, through
close co-operation via the Provincial Nominee Program – and will allow those who would
choose Canada as their new home to come here more quickly.

 Creating an “In-Canada” class – Cities and communities across Canada agree on the need for
increased regionalization to spread the benefits of immigration nationwide. Many potential
immigrants have made Canada their destination of choice and are already studying or working
in communities across the country. Because of this experience, they are particularly well
positioned to integrate successfully into Canadian society and the economy. Current rules
prevent them from applying while they are here. We will change this. We will make the
immigration system more proactive and in doing so, will welcome about 16,000 foreign
students and resident workers annually by 2007.

 Succeeding in the workforce – Even if highly educated, many immigrants face challenges in
reaching their full potential in the Canadian labour market – whether perfecting their language skills or overcoming barriers due to complex credential assessment and recognition requirements
in their field of expertise. To overcome these barriers, we will invest an additional
$260 million over six years to speed the assessment and recognition of the credentials of internationally
trained workers, and assist new Canadians with job-specific language instruction
and workplace literacy training. In particular, we have provided $75 million to accelerate the
integration of 2,300 internationally trained doctors, nurses and other health professionals,
including lab technicians, occupational therapists and pharmacists. We will add further
resources in support of our new initiative to bring a thousand additional family doctors into
Canadian practice, many of whom will have been trained abroad.

 Bringing families together – Family re-unification is a fundamental objective of Liberal
immigration policy. We will continue to improve re-unification efforts, in particular taking
steps to ensure that children adopted overseas become Canadian citizens upon the completion
of their adoption process.

 Eliminating the“landing fee” – For many Canadian families with immediate relatives overseas,
one of the challenges that they have faced is the $975 “right of permanent residence” fee.
The time has come to remove this barrier. A Liberal government will eliminate the fee, cutting
it immediately to $600, then to $300 after 12 months, and finally to zero within the next
two budgets.

[raven]

So there won't be enough labour? They need immigration? That is a load of crock. I have seen plenty of people last spring/summer have trouble obtaining employment over here and our unemployment rate is better than the Canadian and Ontario average. It is bs when they say there is no domestic labour available. These claims by the government are nothing but lies. Immigration is taking jobs away from the capable, ready and willing natives of this nation and it costs lots of money too.

[Hakluyt]

They don't even bother considering strategies to increase fertility, as most Western governments do - Australia has been especially successful in that department

[raven]

The problem is that I am pretty sure that "minorities" don't have a low birth rate. It most likely is above 2. However the Euro-Canadian birth rate is very piss poor... especially among Anglos. :D