Immigrant Integration and Andrew Griffith

Andrew Griffith: Sounding the alarm is former citizenship director-general Andrew Griffith, who suggests that recent reforms which raised barriers to becoming a citizen could lead to immigrant widespread disengagement from Canadian public life and identity, according to Metro News. In the past, citizenship was viewed as a stepping stone to immigrant integration, and it should be done earlier on, said Griffith, who will present Multiculturalism in Canada at a three-day national immigration and settlement conference in Vancouver that starts Thursday and The percentage of immigrants who become citizens has been dropping dramatically in recent years from 79 per cent to 26 per cent among people who arrived between 2000 and 2008. His analysis part of his study being presented at a conference this week of the impact of the Conservative reforms also suggests that the new version of the citizenship test has adversely affected applicants from visible minorities more than those with European roots. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.