\

POPULATION TRENDS

An Pi~dress to the W-est Vancouveir Historical Sc,c iety

at Cedardale Centre

c1111 Thuy-sday, November 24, 1994 at 7 p. m.

by

CHARLES M. CAMPBELL

OZ.i .h -lb

Thank you, Mr. Chaiil'"man and members of th,e fi.Jest VcincouveY Historical Society for the p7ivilege of discussing Canada's immigration policy and population growth with you.

Dur history and tyaditions are products of the people who built this country. That is what has made us what we are and changes in immigration policy could change all of that.

ror too long politicians of all political persuasions and the media have failed to make immigiration the subject of public debate with the result that an AngL\s Re:id study for the government concluded that Canadians aire both u~in1orrned and misinformed about immigrati,:m and citizer,s-.hip. f"inallyv mismanagement of immigiration and refugee mattews is fc,'fc ing that debate into the open.

Initially, in the building of Cana~a, there was only the knc,wledge that hard wo,rk •;,,1ould lead to success and that alone ·,.,1as the basis of the entry of the eaYly colo::iists.

This is well exemplified by the first European residents of West Van,:,:i.L.\v,e,~'"o Jcs!hn Thc,mas, be·!;te.-- known Ets •~~avvy Jack• P ,:1n Engl Is.hma,n, jumped ship in Bun'ci,~d !nlet i n 1875 attracted c,nly by a forest, a cle,an sh.:.-.nel ine and his c,1,m vi ·sionc Th irty yea·,s later, in 1905, John Lawson, having followed the CPR th~ough t h ~ mountains with inteYruptions in Revelstoke, Kamloops a nd VancoLrvEff, acquired the N.avvy J.a.ck proper ty a n d settled on this shor-.e. And then, in 19,C.'9, Fi'an.:is Cau l f i eld, i n h is. y ,:,l e as c!"", e of the first, if not the first, developer acquired the lan d bearing his namE for subdivision.

Each in turn, and others less prominent, have made their r.:c,nt,~ibutic,n in,:lL\ding those y-espi:.rnsible, in 1912 fer establ ish i g c,uir separc-.te N,:,·,rth Shore Mur,icipality t,:, pY-e·se-rve .?.,d p·r" ote..:t its distinctive qualities.

Having settled here only 30 yaars ago I am not one of those responsible citizens though many of you are a.nd we ar-a in }"~ur de·bt both 'fo:r yo,.1r contributions and for pr ,.es,a7ving that importa.r.t hi·stoY-ya

However, I was nr0t , . .mfamiliaY 1.dth the p:lc.c ,e for ! h."ive 2

clear though limited recollecti o n of a farnily outing involving a ,~etuirn trip from No:rth Van couver to Wytecli"ffe on the ?.G.E. about 75 years ago.

Still on a personal level, as Vancouver with hey family in 1887. decade of the new century that her friends from Mount Pleasant, built Mountain a

Now, the broader picture.

a child my motheff arr 'f i v:d in And it was in the first

five brothers, along with the first ,::abin on Girous,e

2

Early c,~lonization, like Navvy Jack's, was based on the initiative of thc•se who came. Later, the prairies were populat ,:ed by Sir Clifford Sifton with people from Eastern Europe and, increasingly, our immigrants were selected for their ability t o adapt and meet the needs of a growing resource-based economy.

Between 1945 and 1978 (when the new Act changed the rules), 4.6 million i.-n.rsdgrants cauie during a p:eYiod of n,:eed and of gil'0\\1tha They we;re ·selected ov·eirse,as to meet tha,t n ,eed. The ability to sr..1;;:ceed Extended t."l the se~ection of :refugeesa The spouse and dependent chi~dren foll01wed the p;rin,c:ipal i:T .. 71igra~an-L Aftey a five-year settlement period and receipt c,f cit iz ,anship these new Cana.diar~s could nominate membe·.rs of their e}d;endec fc.\milya That family support in Canad.a was an advantage but evidence of me-1 .. it r.,.•as always the b,a.sis for admission. T!here ...,a.s no security net, but there weif'e jobs wa:i ting fo\r thos,e ssl ecte:j and mast we;re ,')Yoductively emplc,yed i mmediat-ely f•:illowing the: r­al""f'iv.al in Cariada. Marty from tl-.e United Kingdom, th.2 United Stat,es and Europe ,,,..e·..-e compatible with th,ei ·r new envi 1ronment ~rd this contri~uted to their ~apid i n tegration. In that prospero~s peYiod t~ei r farrilies flouYished and the children t~ey bYou g h t with th-em •,1e·,·e E'dL,.cated in Cc1n acla, be,: ,:1.111'2 Canadic1:·!s in ,every :respec t, an d i:rre n ,:,w a r,,,:,r,g t h e p-r ,::,1,assional ·s in c,u-r sc,:ie:t~r. T:-,e s~stem wor ked a nd t h e p~liticians set about dest r oyi ng it.

By 1992 the i n dep e ndents who :c~e on mer it a nd t~si,ess i mffdg,·an t s t,:,gethel' asnoLmted to ,: r. ly 12 percen i; ,::;f th'= total. The n o mi n ati c.n pr,:u: ,2ss h ad been i-eplacerl by s p c, s ,: ,rship. The set-tle1w:?n t p e t- ic,d a,d citizens.t·ip wen:! -,c, longey- :1 prer ,aqui-:.i ·l;e f o r t h e spo ns o r and ev ide n ce of the ability to s u c ceed i n ~an ada w~s no l onger ~ prere~u isite for those spons ~red. On g r ant ~f

3

landing it had became the right, often of the firs;.t family ,Tuenb.el" in Canada, to sponsor pa!!"ents who could bring •,dth them dependant children and grandpaTents without literacy or skil!s conside;rat ior. fc,r any.

This faimily class had ~ecome 44 pe~cent of total irnmig~ationa The 1994 plcn includes 43,000 parents and grandparents moving into the health care system.

That change followed a 1985 re;:omim,mdati,~n of a Commons 'Equality for All' Committee "that a peY-manent resident .... should not be disadvcmtaged because ,:,f failu.re to becor.ie a Canadian citizen" when "advantages they ,enjoy in their countYy of c,r igil.n may be seir iously jeopa·rdized .. " So sponsorship ·r· ights ,,.,,e,' e extended to landed immigl.'"ants and we now accept a 10-year­commitment to family suppor-t fr-om a sponsor- although that spons,:ir­may make no commitment to Canada.

In the Ontario region of Peel, the welfare bill for these sponsored immigrants increased from $21lp000 to $1,800,0-00 in two yeav--s 1 and the City Council of Mississauga has ~ecommended a moratorium on immigration until the issue of sponsorship breaD<:down is resolved. Mo'f"e of this later ..

The fir-st family member may now a1rriv·e in Canada on merit but, mo:re 1 ikely, as a mar·r iage pa:rtner- or· a successful refugee claiD1tant. The ke:,· to family sponsor-ship is th~ par-ent of the sponsc,r ing immigrant a It is the parent who is sponsc,red a.-.d the family accompanies that parent. Sanada' s social sec1 .. B, i ty net :s attractive to those wi th,:Jiiut an economic b~ise at home. But 1,,•ha:t of those from traditional source countries where the- pcwent is likely angaged in a career and is not free to emigrate with his family? Their young peop:Et wishing to build a life in Canadai possibly with a sibling alreajy here, must apply as independents. They face two restrictive occupations lists - the Designated List .and the Gene3-· al Li st •

Thos.e wt:o meet the spe,:ific qualification·s c,n the Di?signc,.t;='d o;r "r:ritir.:al nee•d" list a.re ci.SSLffed of .a,:ceptanr..e. The Nc.ve,ilb 1~ 1·

1994 l 5.st is 1 imit,ed to ju.st 54 jc,bs, .:111 in the field c.f me·di ,:;;tl thei•c,py. The 95.3 j..:,b descriptions c,n the Gene•Ya.1 List a,··e subject to job availability· c1nd ,::,nly 77 a,·e c,1 lott•?d the full meY-it pc,ints f,:,r labc•i..ff m.a·,·k.:t skills. The,r,e atre 4.S v-e.t ieties of ~epai r people, 18 of chefs and cooks, 11 medical ther apists a )j c ne ea-h ~f tench moulders and systems programmers. These l'sts effe,:tiv ely shut ,:,ut th•=- skilled and talented and in 1.?.l' ge measur e th:se from traditional sources.

The -1,-;,p1 icat.i,:,nE- '"'=t·e dealt with by Dt·. D,:.n Dev i::,re.•tz ,:.,f Simc,n F"v·ct.:.er llniversit::,·m !n a 199() speech to the Hc,u•;;.,e of

Commons Committee on I~migYation he referred to the r·ise in fa:.mi!y Yeuni f icat ion and dee 1 ine in th,e independent econc•rnic immigrants 11 and said that post-1978 immigYants ,1ay never equ.al earlier imSui:ii.grant pev- fonriance.. And then 11 " ...... our findings fo,

4

tax performance 11 use of public services and savings behaviouY are all predicated on rapidly rising immigrant inco~e after theiY arriva!. We are now finding just the opposite. YecilfS of residence in Canada are coJpled with a decline in relative earnings for this recent i~migrant vintage ••• "

This all has a relationship with the refugee determination pYogram for •.Jith the granting of refug:ae status, a1nd tJ-:en landing 11 goes the right not only to be joined by spouse and children but, under sponsorship 11 by parents, their dependent children and grandpa~ents.

And now the international peYspective.

Informal Consultations is a Geneva-based secYetariat that monitors refug12e movements and is supported by 16 inidustr ia,l ized countries, including Canada, that aye major destinations for asylum seekers.

The average refugee acceptance rate for member countries is 14 percent. In 1988, the secretariat's analysis of 250,0CO asylum seekers who a;rr i ved in member cc,untr ies showed thc1.t 16 .. 8 percent met Geneva Convention criteria; 19D2 per·ce:nt "'-'ere classed as non-convention refugees; and 64 peYcent were not in need of any protection.

Prior to Ja.nLlc1ry 1, 1989, refugee eec isions in c~nada ;,.e·--e made by t?-:e R-efLgee Status Advisory Ccmmittee, •,,,•ork:ng 1,,1ith United Nations advisers. Th:s team decided in -fa.vc•urr af 23 p•ercent c,f claimants in 19188 and dt1ring their tenL:re, C.anc<.da wa.s awarded a United Nat ions medal .'"oY se,··vir.:e tc, Yefugees.. Vat in 1989, the ..:omp::·i-ence a i1d e~per i eo,:e of ~hese merrbe-r-s ,and th,.ei 'f adviseys we7e abair-.dor.ed e1;-.d they we··e T-E·p,laced by ir·2::.<p,er i t~nc1~d and politically correct appointe~s ~c th? new I.mi~·a~ion and Reft.tgee Board.

I~mediately, the board mor e t~an trebled the acceptance rate for ·r 12fugees tc, 8C p •i:•i'" can t. That f :gun: trf' ad•.1al l :r· fel l t ,: , 55 p ercent in 1'393. Th?n, w:..th !11.mig'f·..;;t::i:in Mi n ister Ser gic, 1.;:,i'·chi!" ·;; ~Tan ucH'"Y 19'94 appc,intiient c,f 30 new me«bers - t~he maj..:, t- i ty ,: , f wh,:,m are associated with the ::mrriJra~ion /refugee indust r y - the accaptance rate has jumped t~ 68 ~eY cent. It means t h at 60 p e r cent of Yefugee c~aiaants accepted by the I . R.B. p robably do not meet the crite'fia of the ~nited Nat ions Con vEn t ion .. Re me mber , the whole family f~llcws by right.

The reco··d c•f claimants from one countryi I ndia. -historically almost all from the Punjab - dramatically illustrates the relationship between decisions and decision ­makers. B2tween 1977 a~d 1988, of 3,563 Indian refu g~e claims cons::.de,~ed by the refugee commi tte,2 a.r,d its United Nat ions advisersp only six were found to bE genuine. That is a 0.2 percent acceptance rate. At the time the ragistrar c,f the Refugee Status Advisory Committee describgd these to me as special cases.

We all recognize that there has been political unrest in the Punjab, but the Punjab is a province c,f a veTy large cc,un try in which the disaffected are free to move. It ~ay be presumed that the six Just xeferred to would be high profile people for whom such escap,.2 was imp'!' a.ct ical.

Early in 1989 just as the work of the new Immigration and Refugee Board was getting unrler 1.1ay, th2 Dir.tar io B-r·anch ,::,f th·e Canadian Bar Associationp in a brief, listed India among several countries from which claimants would not succeed before the Board,. The lawyel!'"s knew their clients .. But, between 1989 and 1993, without signi fie ant political ch,ange in India, the politically correct board accepted 25 percent of those claims.

In the first half of 1994, after the Minister's blatant change in the board's makeup, and again with no political cha~ge in India, acceptances Jumped to 49 peircent and, in the thilrd quarteri to 58 percent.. In addition, 30 pe:rcent of th,::)'se from India who claimed refugee status on the basis of peirse.:L:tion f,ailed to appear fo-r their hearings.

!n 1993, 5,004 people f ·l'"om many ,:ountries played this ga,v,e. D:F.d tha}' g,iJ' unrdelf"g-r ,;pundp a?e t~ere c · iminal s among them; oi~ a1re they in Canada. on a •Jel fan;i-based vacation? Dcies anyor·.e k now? Does anyone care?

In the f L•·s·t half of th is )'ear the1..-e wei · e 254 ...-e f L,;ee claimants firom the ttrrea, Co111mon...,ealth Ca:ribbe.3\n cc,1_mt~·ie·E -J'-c1mcdca, Gi"en.a~a and T-~ inidi=1da The be::J:a-:-d hea· d 148 of those claimsv findi n ~ nc~e to be valid. The Tema i i n g 115 fail9d to appear for thei r hea-ings.

Those 116, like so many w~o claim tc be refugees in Canada , are from no~-refugee produ ci n g countries. Surely it is time we Canadians recovered the right to deci d e wh o shall come into o ur country and, without prejud i c e t o the gen uinely persecuted, asserted our right to reject the paten tly fraudulent at the gat e.

We have lost control of CLY bord~r Bnd of growth in our pc,pul at ion.

The emphasis on thE family class and the ·:ollapse of the refL:gee determination pY- ocess have Yesul ted in the need for the politicians to make a case for an annual !~take of a GUarter of a mill ion new Canadians. That figui'e .,,,as astabl ished and ,:ordil"med as policy by t h e Tories in closed minister!aI meetings of selected delegates held ac ''•::<ss Canada in 1990 and 1993. My request for a 1 ist and associations of thos.e attending 'the 1993 Vancouve~- meeting 1,,1as rejected in ai 1 et terr frc,m tf-,e then Minister's office. The Liberalsp in turn, h~ving carefully avoided an immigration debate at their !992 policy conv-?n tion, accepted the Tory position in a delightfully wo7ded, politically correct statement in t h eir famous Red Book. T~ey "taq;.ieted anm .. ial levels at 1 pev-cev-. t of the population as has been the case for more than a decade". It w2;sn't. A decade ago undeT Libe~als it was just under half a percent. roY 25 years it was just over half a percent.

The case th,ey make goes 1 ike this. !mmigr"ation has been good for Canada so we wil 1 increase adL'l/llissions; we fa,::::e .2,n increasing deficit and we need the growth and the expande1 economy; the biv-ttwate iE- below replar.:eme•nt levels; and an aging population needs those taxpaye,·s to cover their pensions. None of that stan~s up to scrutiny.

When confi:rming the Red Book objective of 250,000 to Par 1 iament, the Minister depended or. the 1991 ·repc,irt of tt· e former Economic Council of Canada. The Council recommendation was fc,r a gradual increas.e tc, c,ne pei'"cent by 2015.

The Council found that, even befor,e netting out the costs associated with bringing immiglf'ants to Canada (w,el faJ:"e and ESL now run in~o billions), benefits c,f a leiirgeir p,:::)lpu~a.tion ...ieue smal l and 1 imi ted to economies c,f seal e. That •.~• .. ;s 1 ate'f' negated by NAF"T,!!.i. They found benefits to immig1rar.ts tc, be sfgni ficard; and -tt-.::s, not the int •a;rest.:s ,c;f Canadiarus, was ';;he principal f;;1ctcr in t J-.e Council's rec,:,ml'r.endation.

Like t t .e Economic Coun.:: il P the Yepo;,t of t?-,e gove'f·nr.,e n t '!£-

1987.'89 DE,-r.cg·raphi,: Re··ll'ie\.i - 'Charting C,::in.ad.e.'s F"1..t1_1re' -questions th~ thesis that a popu lation incre~se w::l ben3fit individual Canadians. It qu,:,tes a gro•,.iing ·.::c,nsensu.s aimong ec ,.:,n c•iT1ist:s "th<:1t thi:• econc,mic: conseq1_~en,:as c,f a n y p1.:,pl.~! .at i o 1

,:hi:'.ng•=·, u p or d•=~•n, i=1Y'•e 1:lir•oi" ,:c,mpare, \Jith t h e ccnsequ,2nce·:s ,:,~ c,t h ,::,~· f ,:,r ,::es ~i:t il"",g ,:,n t. h ie ec,c,n,:,my ••• " It t h e n q •. c,tE,'=· a major Un ited St ates study thus:

"~e h a ve !c oked for, ad have not fou nd, a n y c on v i n c ing e c o nomi c argument for c ontinued nati o na l p opulati on g r owth •.• Th e welfa r e of the aver ~ge per s on c e r t a i nl y d o es n r:,t d ,2pen d on it. 11

7

Ar.d Canada does not face an immediate decline in populatic,n. Last year there wer-e 400,000 birth::i, 200 11 000 d2a~h5 ar:d 45,00-:l, emigTes. A natural g 1rowth c,f about 160,000 t:..;;1s pairsiste~ fo.-· seve~al years. With immigYatior, an~ual job cre2tion at 327 1 000 barely kee~s ahead of wo~kforce growth of 3151 000.

With respe..::t to aging, the repi,:•rt of the D2mog1raphic Rev :ie•.1 tells us that Canada has a young population. ProsperoJs European countr i2s "have age pyramids resembling that pi"'ojectetl for Canada. in 2031. With p.--op<:?r- planning and can,~ful ut il iza~ i,::in c,f rs-sow"'ces, Canada ne(:!d be no less dynamic than it is today."

With zeif'o immigration, the Economic Council pv-edicted a population inc..-ease in British Columbia of 17 pe7cent by 2015, but 50 percent under their proposals. And the GVRD predicts a doubling in population in 25 years without questioning the federal immigYation program.

There are consequences for the peoplE in the Greater Vancouveir-Lowe:r F'raser Valley region whev-e density a!re.,:,C::>' ex,:eeds that of Ho!.land .. The quality of lif-e is pe:rce;-tive!y decre,c:sing and demands fo1r inf·ra.stn..1ctuYe expansion remain i..mmet. The established population, many of whom built this countiry and paid for all of the infrastructure they need, will, based on the ECC figures, face 90 pe·rcent of the cost of demanids cn:-ated by the needs of others. That is exclusive of municipal development cha-:rges which, in We•st Vancc,uveir, do r..ot meet the full peripheral costs of new housing wi~hin the municipality. Too many of us cannot afford the gyowth. The fig u res are simple. A 50 perce,,t expansion will develop gradually. Ov er the growth period it will aver-age a 25 pey-cen t in,: t·ease in the tax roll. Tt-.at is o n e in five and rep~esents only 20 percent of the bill.

There is no caise fov- the Libey-als' Red Book fig\.t'f'e s ,etting immig~· i:l.t ion levels at 1 per ce,t c,f the pc,pul at ic,n or .any .:,tt- a r figure wi tho1...t first: th:,rc,t.:ghly ex2,m inir.g th'2 interes-l;s of Can adians. Perhaps ~e need a Royal Commis5~or, b~t t~ere is n o political will for t~at.

Tt e 11'1ird. st er• s -r ,~,:ient l ',l c: ompl e ·t e-d con s ._i. l tat i c•ns i:,r : ,g ·r· a m, ~h i ch I attended in Ottawa d i d n o t me et that need. It di d no t deal with f undame n tal s suc h as de~i r able population density, .?.r. n uc.::. i ir mig i~ ation levels:., costs, c,bs.,:,q:itive capa,:it:,·, industr i al pcli:y a nd ~n vir~nme n tal i mpac t. Even s o i t h a r e was much in t h e sum«er's corsultation rap oTts reflecti n g dissa tis f action with cLrren t poli:y. I n Ottawa there was a strong repr2sentation fr~ 1

the immigration/ r efug~e l o bby who , while end or sing t he numbers, c ,:,,aplain?d ab::Jiut 1 -E,•: k ,:,f fLtndi n g c\n d t h e T•: ·sulting pressLrr ,es. Amongst t h E o ther s , I fou n d a n equ ally strong c o n cer n1 most pre,alE~ t o n the p a r t of thE edu c a t o Ts who cannot deal ad2quatel~

•.,.Jith nea·rly half the immigrants who speak r,eithe'f En,lish nor f":r,enreh.

I irtJ<ect he~e the f~ct that in Vancouver 4-5 pe:rce•ir,t of al 1 students in the school system are i~ E.S.L. classes, and of those, 40 peircen·t weire bo:rn in Canadci. t,Je hc.ve ex,:e,eded oi:.;.·, capacity to absorb and, with immigrants gathering in t~eir own linguistic commuriities, the::r childY-en have be,:n denied th,e traditional advantage of learning English thTough playing with ';;he kids ne,,t door.

s

Judith l'taxwell, former- head c,f the Economic Cc,1..mc:il of Canada, wa.s co-chair of the Conference. In her ,:losing statemi:nt she considered it a pa;radox that with imartJig,rat ion "the oore yc,u kn•:)W tihe mor-e you need to kno"'" and the repc,·.rt notes thc:.t as a result the~e was a feeling of inadequacy among the participants in making judgments. She st;--essed the neej for a mo~e efficient mechanism to deal wi~h the issue. A Royal Commission?

On September 15th, twc, days fol lowing the Minister's Ottawa consul tat ions, the Toi·onto Star repo,.-ted c,n a leaked document prepared b)' Senior !inmigrat ion Advisors acting as a Program Review Committee. Their r-epor-t cow'ageously ze·roes in on the k2y issues and recognizes the unaffordable peripheral costs with just two examplesa They cite a $700 million annual we·lfa·, .. e bill for S?onsored dependents (remembeY Mississauga) and the need for heal th caire cost cont,,o!. This acknowl,edges the pl,;,mni?d 1994 admission of 43,000 sponsc,r ed p.;n•·en,:;s and grandpa..-ents. .,..h2y could have added $600 mill ion wel fa:--e for ·refugee claimants and a billion do!la,;rs foy E.S.L. training; '!i-60 million foir legaI aid and another billion fer the basic cost of the bureauc r acy. All deficit money and no evidence that Mr. Ma.-chi irtends to assi-=-t Paul Ma,·tin -..,:n,th his p\•:::,blerr. . ~e in West \lanc ,~uveir cannot isolate oursalves fr-om thesa costs, all Ysla.tecl to a pop 1-\l?.tion e)~pansion Ol.:nr society is Lmab!e to absr:,r!la

T"iie ?"epo\· t emphasizes thi? need f c,1r a ,:hange i n l'•:::gul i::itt ic,ns gove'fniny f,a.l'i,'lily class and i:-1de:pende,·1t a,:,pl i,:an ts, for ;,:c:,nt;rol ,:,f the refugee fl~~ to levels t~e gov~7 ,roent and ser vice ag~ncies can hc1r.dle, and for t:-,? es·s211t ial restn.tct ,_;,'" : .-;,; c,f the I-mmigrc1tio:n and Refu gee Bc,an:.!. Th~ cldvisorE- p 1_shed -:lll the- right buttons and it all mak~s sens~a

The ,:::bviou.,;; ,:otll'''.EH2 is t,:, retl..r:-n ·l;;:,, th~ rl !es, r1eg 1-1:'..e,t ion-,:; and philosophy that proved so successful in t~a pre-1979 per i od . It means severe cuts in the numbers ~ith e mph~sis on the abil i ty ,:,f the i1•;11Tiig·rc:lnt to qLd 1:kly integY-c?,te s.nd cc,nt r· ibute, to C:1.n:1da';;; economy, always with the prime objective of r ejucing o uY ~~e~ployment level by at least a million a n d redirecting immigrant support and educational fun d ing to that pur p o se. And

'

it means returning to the terms and i n tent of the United Nations Convent ion en R,~fugees in the deter ,,.inat i ,:,n process.

s

On November 1st the MinisteT iss~ed his 'Strategy for Immigration and Citizenshi~ into the 21st CentLry'. !t lists the government's objectives.

Thei'•2 will be pilot ~.;rasts; consultc\tic,ns with citize.:is and with p~ovinces; interna~ional ag7eements on asylum s~ekers wi!l be pu1t·sued; theY-e wil 1 be t.ask sh:1r ing cooper at ion wi. th oth,2r federal agancies; p-;,-ocesses will be :-streamlin:.d and c_,s'";s reducedp pr-oceic.h.!res wil 1 be redesigned and ov,erseas medical assessments centralized. F'or investors, a stron-g b siness background will be emphasized and entTepreneurs will be expected to honour their commitments.

All of this is administ ative detail which ~ornpetent management should have dealt with routi.:1elya

The spin doctors have been b usy.

It mu.st be emphc1sized that in the inch thick infon:iat icm p,ackage accompanying tt.e Minister's annou1ncement the·re c:1'l"e nc, new oY amended Yegulations, no Ministerial diYectives and o sense of Lirgency ..

Tlhe ec.on,:,m:ic c! as·s wi! l increase from 43 pe':- 1:ent to 53 peYc:.2nt and the ·family clc.-ss •Jill fc?.!l from 5!. ps~rcent to 44 percent, but not until th·e yscw· 2000. And new -regulatio,s governing temporary wor~ers being developed by a Ministerial Comm:.ttee will n,:,t be re-ady until 1996.

~ad fir-ally, when pressed, the Ministe,..- has 1re f 1:n red to m,:i,~·e e~phasis on EuYopean iffimigr8tion but it is special r e c r u itment of fices in Bc,mbc(,', Hong t<c,ng and Dhub.,ai t h ... t ha.ve been a nno un,:ed.

In the meantime, t h e Minister cc,ntiri-•.es f; ,:, as·5Lrr e 'LI !:- ,:,n National t1c•levision that ·family re•uni fica ·t icn ·remains th ·a coYnErsto~e o~ i mm ig-ation policy and the Red Book's o ne per c e , t ac c ea:;,·t.;m,:e -rat. ,e cc,nt inues tc, b2 ·the c,bje:t i v e. That mean E- t hE.t populatior growt h will continue out of cc , t : a: .