Groundbreaking Study: Yuanyue Geng and Immigration System

groundbreaking study: Yuanyue Geng By Nicholas Keung Immigration reporter Wed., March 22, 2017 One out of five foreign workers becomes permanent residents, twice the rate from two decades ago, says a groundbreaking study that examines an immigration system increasingly geared toward temporary migrants, according to Toronto Star. Only nine per cent of temporary foreign workers who came in the mid-1990s successfully obtained permanent resident status, while some 21 per cent of them did by the end of 2014, according to the new Statistics Canada report. She says living in limbo on temporary status can be unsettling. It was the first study ever that examined Canada's national policies around attracting and retaining temporary foreign workers as immigrants. The new approach was adopted to ensure the employability of newcomers and address the doctor-driving-cab immigrant conundrum, but has fuelled concerns that it creates a two-tiered system, where migrant workers don't have the same protections as others and can be trapped in abusive and exploitative conditions in pursuit of permanent status. Under the former Conservative government, Canada shifted toward an immigration system that absorbs migrant workers who first come to the country on temporary status to meet labour market needs, compared to the old nation-building model that let migrants in immediately as permanent residents. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.