What's the Score? Rethinking Canadian Immigration Policy Through Social Cohesion & Reconciliation
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POLICY BRIEF What's the Score? Rethinking Canadian Immigration Policy through Social Cohesion & Reconciliation AMAN SAINI The LEVEL Youth Policy Program takes place on the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish) & səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Coast Salish peoples. GRAPHIC DESIGN And Also Too COVER ILLUSTRATION Yaimel Lopez Contents 3 About the LEVEL Initiative 4 Biography 4 Acknowledgements 5 Executive Summary 6 Problem Definition and Background 9 Policy Recommendations 10 Conclusion About the LEVEL Initiative LEVEL is a youth engagement initiative of and racialized Newcomer youth are dispropor- 1. https://www.ictinc. Vancouver Foundation that aims to address tionately impacted by certain public policies ca/blog/indigenous-peo- racial inequity. We do this by investing in the but are rarely included in the development and ples-worldviews-vs-west- leadership capacity of Indigenous, racialized, implementation of public policy process. The ern-worldviews immigrant, and refugee youth to create more LEVEL YPP aims to provide these youth with opportunities throughout the non-profit and equitable training and leadership opportunities charitable sector. to better navigate the public policy landscape, and to develop new tools and skills to influence, Despite being the fastest-growing youth shape, and advocate for policy changes that populations in British Columbia, Indigenous, are relevant in their own communities. Having immigrant, and refugee youth don’t have the young people directly involved in shaping same opportunities as other young people. policies that impact their lives is essential to Race continues to be a factor that hinders their creating systemic, meaningful change. The ability to have a say in decisions that impact LEVEL YPP’s training is grounded from and their lives. within Indigenous peoples’ worldviews, which the program acknowledges, could vary from LEVEL empowers these youth by building person-to-person or nation-to-nation. Indig- their capacity to challenge and change those enous worldviews place a large emphasis systems that hinder their ability to build a more on connections to the land. This perspective just world. views the land as sacred; where everything and everyone is related and connected; where LEVEL consists of three pillars of the quality of the relationships formed are work to advance racial equity key in life; where what matters is the success and well-being of the community, and where 1. LEVEL Youth Policy Program there can be many truths as they are based 2. LEVEL Youth Organizing on individual lived experiences.1 As such, an 3. LEVEL Youth Granting important premise of this training is to centre and place a particular focus on the fact that About the LEVEL the work that has gone into developing this Youth Policy Program (LEVEL YPP) training, as well as the training itself, has taken and will take place on unceded (never The LEVEL Youth Policy Program (LEVEL given away/stolen) territories of the hən̓ q YPP) brings together young people between ̓əmin ̓əm̓ -speaking Musqueam peoples, of the the ages of 19 and 29 from across British Halkomelem-speaking Tsleil-Waututh peoples, Columbia who identify as being Indigenous or and of the sníchimspeaking Sḵwx ̱wú7mesh racialized immigrants or refugees. Indigenous (Squamish) peoples. 3 PUBLIC POLICY BRIEF AMAN SAINI Vancouver Foundation LEVEL Youth Policy Program Biography Aman Saini I am a multilingual knowledge mobilizer and public communicator consistently capturing the issues at the intersections of Public Policy Research, International Relations, Social Justice, Religion, Literature, Economics, Politics, Technology, and Media. I have worked with a diverse array of organizations across government, non-governmental, and private sectors. I am currently working on a Public Policy project rethinking the role of the Canadian Immigration policy with regards to Social Cohesion and Reconciliation. I am passionate about Knowledge Management, Policy Research, The most you can ever Public Communication/Facilitation, possibly come to know is Global Cultural Awareness, and nothing but yourself. Social Media Communications. Acknowledgements I sincerely appreciate all the LEVEL Youth Special thanks to Alejandra López Bravo, Policy Program (YPP) faculty members for Amanda Aziz, and Kris Statnyk! their mentorship and fellow cohort members for their inquisitive natures. 4 POLICY BRIEF AMAN SAINI Vancouver Foundation LEVEL Youth Policy Program Executive Summary Standing at the intersections of its Indigenous past, colonial present, and ongoing cosmopolitan future, Canada is seeking to reinvent its federation in the 21st century. Still, in this pursuit, its scholars, policymakers, grows on an interconnected understanding of and legislators seem to have overlooked a vital social cohesion and Reconciliation, offers the interconnection in the immigration policy. best template for effective action. It not only Social cohesion and Reconciliation present an enhances the intergroup relationships amongst indivisible challenge to the current immigration various immigrant communities and Indigenous policy. Since increased levels of migration peoples, but also mainstreams the Indigenous have changed the demographic profile of the perspectives from centuries of sustained country by a great measure, its accompanying colonial marginalization. Hence, through a ethnic diversity and the continued reflexive process of dual empowerment of marginalization of Indigenous people immigrants and Indigenous people, Canadian necessitate an integrated understanding of the immigration policy can be the vehicle in situation. Thus, in this regard, a rethinking of furthering responsible national development immigration policy and its incentive structure is through meaningful decolonization. necessary to counteract the logic of settler state, its perpetuation of the colonial legacy, and policies into the future. To this effect, an active policy design, which Canadian immigration policy can be the vehicle in furthering responsible national development through meaningful decolonization. 5 POLICY BRIEF AMAN SAINI Vancouver Foundation LEVEL Youth Policy Program Problem Definition and Background A broad examination of statistics Canadian Immigration can be framed under reveals that Canada has been four patterns: increasing its immigration at a 1. Pre-Confederation Canada: the origins of rate that is steady over the past settler society, couple of decades. 2. From Confederation until the 1960s: expansion and exclusion, From 2000 to 2015 the annual immigration 3. Immigrant activism and a reformed rate, on average, has been 246,500 immigrants immigration policy: the 1960s to the each year, which increased to 317,580 1990s and immigrants during 2016 to 2019. As per the 4. Refugees.5 Immigration Levels Plan projections of the government during 2020-2022, there will Politics and the interests of settler society be a further increase with the High Range have been cardinal in framing the domestic target being pegged at 370,000 immigrants in realities of Canada and its immigration policy 2020. In the successive years, the projections has been no exception. Although the current envisage an increase in immigrant intake by immigration policy has undergone progressive 10,000 each year up to the year 2022, thus reforms in recent years, still the discourse making it 390,000 immigrants by the end of is dominated by the labour economics 2022.1, 2 This rate of intake will contribute to perspective unable to see the more significant a larger shift in the demographics of Canada. ramifications and the interconnectedness According to the 2016 Census, 7,540,830 between the ongoing demographic shifts and people, that is, 21.9% of the Canadian existential issues pertaining to origins of the population, were foreign-born (immigrants), Canadian Federation. 26,412,610 (76.6%) were Canadian-born (non-immigrants) and 506,625 (1.5%) were Social cohesion and Reconciliation present an non-permanent residents.3 Comparatively in indivisible challenge to the role of immigration the same census, the population of Aboriginal policy in Canada. The current system on social people 1,673,780 people making up 4.9% of cohesion is reactive or post hoc to the process the population.4 of immigration, as the approach practised by the Government tends to view social cohesion In analyzing the composition of the population through the lens of integration and settlement in the categories in the aforementioned services. In this notion, social cohesion is statistics, the role of immigration policy is comprehended as a goal that can be achieved quite apparent. Historically, the process of by making accessible certain services, and 6 POLICY BRIEF AMAN SAINI Vancouver Foundation LEVEL Youth Policy Program also removing specific barriers alone. The effects and social ramifications of the points current system does not undertake a more system are quite pronounced than what is proactive approach in rethinking the problem typically deduced. Incentives in any system beforehand on the aspect of deeper social perform the role of communicating information cohesion and Reconciliation within the broader to the players in that system. It signals value immigration policy design. position to players in outlining what is desired by the system and, therefore, animates human In my assessment, this ignorance emerges behaviour towards the achievement of its own because of not paying due attention to the self-described goals,