|
|
Immigration
Publisher: ICPOP & Inter-Church Committe on Human Rights in Latin America, CanadaYear Published: 1977 Pages: 16pp Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX306 A report on the current state of immigration policy in Canada and the possible ramifications of Bill C-24. Abstract: This document begins with a brief outline of basic principles included in a report on the immigration debate which was presented by ICPOP to the Minister in 1975. It then goes on to outline in detail proposals for changes in Bill C-24, the Immigration Bill. The main concerns are with human rights and the policy underlying immigration policy as it is being proposed in Bill C-24. The proposals also give considerable attention to the reception of refugees, contrary to Bill C-24, this document, supported by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the World Population Plan of Action, holds that voluntary international movement of individuals is a human right. Bill C-24 is based on the perception that immigration to Canada should be stringently controlled because there is a threat of over-population here. The problems which Bill C-24 assumes come from over-population (crowding, rural neglect, unemployment, housing shortages) and reveal the need not for a new social and economic order and not merely population control. The document further states that the new bill does not really provide for special handling of the growing numbers of refugees throughout the world who are fleeing brutality and oppression in their homelands. The proposed legislation places refugees under the obligation to meet the same standards for landing as other immigrants. In addition, the Bill says nothing about the four issues which were raised in the immigration debate through briefs presented by ICPOP: 1) need for intensive training of immigration officers; 2) need for relocation of immigration offices abroad; 3) need to establish an independent Department of Immigration; 4) need to provide immediate temporary asylum for refugees. Because of the way the document is written, it is almost essential to have a copy of Bill C-24 at hand for reference. Subject Headings |