To mark 45 years of providing essential support to newcomers, the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society held a conference on Friday aimed at fostering dialogue and charting a path forward following a recent surge in immigration to Canada.
Complex Environment for Newcomers
Bamidele Salako, manager of marketing and communications for CCIS, described the current environment for newcomers as complex, requiring a multifaceted solution and collaboration from all levels of government.
“The reality is that we have lost the public confidence in immigration, and I think the federal government and various levels of government have probably acknowledged areas where the ball was dropped,” Salako said. “You’ve seen from changes in policy and immigration levels that efforts have been made to address some of the errors of the past.”
The path forward, he noted, will require “honest and frank conversations” and an acknowledgment of the anxieties of those who have criticized the country’s immigration policies.
“They are valid concerns,” he said. “At the end of the day, we all have one goal, and that’s that Canada prospers, that Alberta prospers. We may have different ideas on how we reach that end, but that’s why it’s important to listen to one another, and I think that’s the starting point. People tend to tiptoe around some of these difficult conversations, but we do need to have them.”
Immigration Should Benefit Everyone, Says Former CEO
Fariborz Birjandian, former CEO of CCIS and keynote speaker at the conference, said immigrants are often scapegoated for economic issues because they are an “easy target.” When the economy declines, he said, “usually people — or politicians even — try to find something to blame.”
“If you have a house, and you invite 20 people to your house, but you can only accommodate 10, whose problem is it? That’s your problem. Whose fault is it? Your fault,” he said.
In his experience, many Canadians are unaware of the purpose or benefit of bringing newcomers to Canada, often to supplement the labour force and boost the economy.
“People are not coming to this country on their own. We bring them, we select them,” Birjandian said. When immigration policy is done right, “everybody benefits. Immigrants benefit, communities benefit, labor markets benefit, Canada benefits as a result. If we don’t do it right, everybody’s going to lose.”
Conference Highlights and CCIS Work
Friday’s event included guest speakers involved with immigration policy at all levels of government, as well as a panel discussion on the impact of policy decisions on those most affected.
Much of CCIS’s work focuses on helping newcomers integrate and find a sense of belonging. “There has to be that positive sense of belonging that people develop once they come here, and when they do, they are able to contribute their best to the progress of this country,” Salako said.
