Hot-Button Subject: Immigration Targets

hot-button subject: How many newcomers should be admitted, who gets in, where do they go and how should we help them — these are fair, if contentious, questions even in one of the most open and tolerant countries on Earth, according to Hamilton Spectator. The federal government knows this well and acted wisely on Monday when it held the line on its 2017 immigration targets. But it is also a nation where immigration remains a hot-button subject. And it made this decision despite the recent call from its own Advisory Council on Economic Growth to aggressively boost annual immigration by a staggering 50 per cent over the next five years — to 450,000 newcomers. While Immigration Minister John McCallum didn't shut the door on the higher target, he opted to keep the goal for 2017 the same as in 2016: 300,000 newcomers. Those would mean levels never seen before in Canadian history but were justified, according to the advisory panel, because they would spur growth that would enrich us all. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.