Controversy over tax credit for employers of immigrants

Mr Hudak has decried this as an unfair affirmative action program for “foreign workers”. If McGuinty is pandering to the immigrant vote, who is Hudak pandering to in using the term "foreign workers'?   Mr Hudak’s unbecoming and divisive statements are xenophobic to say the least, and unworthy of a real leader.  

We’re talking about well-educated people, these immigrants who came to Canada; full of professional ambitions and who, in a great many cases, have had to settle for menial work, if any, and a mundane existence.  

In pursuing their careers, they found the doors to full employment in their fields slammed shut once they arrived in Canada: their English isn’t good enough, they don’t have Canadian work experience, etc.  As a member of the board of the Halton Multicultural Council, I’ve heard a great many of their stories.  

Immigrants who have been in Canada five years or less are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than their Canadian-born counterparts. But recent immigrants with master’s degrees or higher are more than five times as likely not to have jobs.  And, recent immigrants are more likely to be harder hit by a recession.  

A board of trade report last year estimated the province loses billions in potential GDP thanks to underutilized skills. 

The Conference Board of Canada is on record as saying that immigration is necessary for Canada’s future economic growth, and that recognizing foreign learning and credentials would add $3.4 to $5.0 billion to the Canadian economy every year . 

John Tory, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and former honorary chair of Career Bridge has said that small and medium sized businesses would benefit from the human assets that immigrants bring and the immense contribution they would make to their growth and success (Jermy, Diane. “The business case for hiring skilled immigrants”. Globe and Mail. September 25, 2009).

The Conservatives propose a modest training program for new Canadians, providing a small tax credit for language training worth up to $400 per employee.   There are already many hundreds of these courses available throughout the province.  But the resistance to hiring goes beyond language.

Until we start “turning off the tap” (reducing immigration), or finding a way to ensure immigrants have Canadian validation before they arrive in Canada, Mr McGuinty’s employment tax incentive program will help.  

It is clear that there is some discrimination among employers in hiring. At least McGuinty is addressing problem.

Is this government the best we can aspire to?

As a Halton Federal Liberal Candidate, I oppose a PMO's office that has almost total control of Parliament; that keeps the public in the dark - reference the secret border agreement, and untendered contracts,  as with the F-35’s.

I do not approve of lowering corporate taxes ever further even when Canada is already amongst the lowest in the world.  And I especially don't support lowering taxes when we're in a deficit situation.  The lost revenue means having to get the money elsewhere to cover the gap - what programs will suffer as a result? There is no proof anywhere that cutting Corporate taxes creates jobs.  Take a look at Ireland - the situation the people find themselves in there. 

The safety nets of our parents and grandparents are so thin as to be almost transparent.  My immediate action would be to push for the GIS to be a one-time application.  A great may seniors don't realize they must apply annually.

I do not support building super jails - let's do something about the root causes of what puts people in jail. 1 in 10 people live in poverty (3.4million Canadians, 800,000 of whom are children).  The majority of people in prison come from below the poverty line.  Don't interpret the following to suggest in any way that all Canadians living below the poverty line resort to crime but statistics show that 10% of Canadians live below the poverty line but nearly 100% of prison inmates come from that 10%.  All costs considered, Canada spends $147,000 per federal prisoner each year.  It would take $12,000 to $20,000 annually to bring a person above the poverty line.  This would represent a saving to taxpayers of $127,000 per federal prisoner each year!

Many existing programs, instead of helping, hold people down.  A Liberal government will provide the leadership in the federal government that is absent now.

Immigrants.  As a Halton Multicultural Council board member, I've heard stories that would make you weep. The Conservative government has made some needed reforms but they have deprived newcomers of the family support they need to integrate successfully, they've off-loaded responsibility for immigration, and given Canada a harsher, more forbidding face (Toronto Star, Editorial, Sat, Feb 19 – The Conservative Record - Immigrants see a harsher Canada).


Getting the Canadian work experience and accreditation for overseas’ credentials is something I will work toward.

A Conservative MP wrote to his Minister asking that his  government write a letter to the Egyptian government to express outrage at the religious persecution of Egyptian Coptics. 40 Liberals MPs signed his letter in support but he's heard nothing from the minister yet.
Geoffrey Stevens asked in his Opinion column (Guelph Mercury, Mon, Feb 7, 2011):

• Is a Harper government the best that Canadians can aspire to?  
• Are we satisfied with a government that preaches accountability, then (prorogues) Parliament rather than face opposition questions? 
• A government that has no foreign policy beyond what it borrows from Washington?  
• A government that can’t win a United Nations Security Council seat that would have been a slam dunk in years gone by?

I say No, No, No, and No.  We can do better, we must.
I am contesting the Halton Federal Liberal nomination because I care too much to just to sit by. I want better for Canada, Ontario and Halton.  I want Canadians to have hope for the future.