Immigration Fraud and Ontario Immigration Minister Michael Coteau

Ontario Immigration Minister Michael Coteau: This week, Coteau put forward a Liberal bill that would give the province greater say over immigration in general, and specifically with regard to setting targets to attract more skilled immigrants as well as increasing penalties for immigration fraud. The Wynne government wants a system much like what currently exists in Quebec, where the government pretty much has its own immigration system, runs its own recruitment and retention programs and controls its own destiny. , according to Hamilton Spectator. While this particular bill is new, the concern it reflects is not. The province has complained for years that it does not have enough say in immigrant selection. Coteau says "key decisions" about immigration are made by Ottawa, among other things shortchanging the province in areas such as the allowable percentage of economic immigrants, a category which typically includes skilled workers. In fact, federal rules limit the percentage of economic immigrants who settle in Ontario to half of the total, while other provinces receive an average of 70 per cent from the economic immigrant category. That doesn't cast any aspersions on other categories of immigrants and refugees, but as a matter of economic policy it's clear Ontario is not on a level playing field with other provinces. If Ontario Immigration Minister Michael Coteau has his way, the province will have a lot more authority and autonomy around the number and types of immigrants who settle here than it does now. Why not? Quebec won the right to oversee immigration based on its distinct culture and language issues. Ontario doesn't have the same unique cultural and linguistic priorities, but it certainly has economic and growth challenges equally if not more serious. And in this context, that's what immigration is about progressive and fair economic policy. Why shouldn't Ontario and for that matter other provinces be on a level playing field? (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.