With the emphasis in politics in the United States currently being placed firmly on the issue of immigration reform, a number of experts think that lawmakers could do worse than to look to Canada to get inspiration on fair but effective immigration laws, according to a recent Bloomberg News article by Shikha Dalmia.
Many aspects of immigration are disagreed upon by members of the Republican and Democratic parties, not least of which is just how important immigrant workers really are to the United States, with lawmakers routinely debating the role that immigrants ought to play in the nation’s economy. Although some policymakers in the Republican Party believe that stricter immigration measures would result in employment and tax fairness, others see things in a different light. Lawmakers in Canada, for instance, consider immigrant workers to be a crucial part of the Canadian economy.
“By tackling the backlog to make way for a faster, more flexible, ‘just in time’ immigration system, newcomers to Canada will be able to fully participate in the economy more quickly,” says the Canadian minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, Jason Kenney. “Immigration plays a vital role in our country’s long-term prosperity. By improving our economic immigration system, we can ensure that Canada is competitive on the world stage.”
Many in the US government have been proposing new systems for some years now, although a lot of them still do not place employers in the best position to look for talented foreign employees. The strongest changes the US could take from Canada are H1-B visas and raising the green card cap.