Editor: In the debate about accepting more newcomers to Canada, there is some solid evidence to demonstrate that immigrants contribute more than they receive, that they enrich us, and that in the end we all benefit from their hard work and dedication to freedom and human rights — something which for many newcomers was sorely missing from their country of birth.
Studies in both the United States and Canada have shown that job creation increases and the economy improves as the number of immigrants swells.
Our current government has rejected calls to resettle more than their original targets of Syrian refugees, which flies in the face of both our historical practice of taking in people experiencing mass crisis, and also rejects what we know to be the long-term benefits that immigrants and refugees bring when we welcome and support them to integrate into Canadian society.
Canada used to rank as the fifth largest refugee-receiving country in 2000, now down to 15th on the list today.
We can do better. As an organization that helps immigrants and refugees to settle and integrate by helping parents get their children ready to succeed in the Canadian school system, HIPPY Canada sees first-hand the incredible contributions made by newcomers. And the children of immigrants do even better, with 55 per cent attending university, compared to 38 per cent of non-immigrant Canadians.
HIPPY Canada is organizing a conference in November in Vancouver, to bring attention to the crucial role that immigrant and refugee mothers play in supporting their children to succeed in Canada. I invite everyone to join us and contribute to this important conversation by checking out our webpage at hippycanada.ca/ and click on “conference”.
Debbie Bell,
President, HIPPY Canada