MQIISP Policy Seminar Series: Session 3 - Immigration

This was the third online policy seminar in the Challenges and Opportunities for Social Policy in the Coming Decade series. The policy seminars were organized in part by policy sector, focusing on the tools available in different sectors; however, each panel considered how policies interconnect, and how vulnerable groups intersect to create concentrations of advantage and disadvantage.   

Canada’s economic immigration system leans heavily on the selection of skilled immigrants with high human capital. Certain sectors of the economy, including agri-food, hospitality and long-term care are left to rely on temporary foreign workers with little access to permanent resident status. At the same time, skilled immigrants in regulated occupations are under-employed because of the lack of recognition by regulatory bodies and employers of their qualifications and experience achieved abroad. These problems were highlighted during the pandemic, when the concept of "essential workers" led to some short-term measures to respond to acute labour shortages. Current debates in Canada are asking whether our immigration policies should be modernized to reflect our changing labour and skill needs at all points of our labour market continuum. What can we learn from other countries’ experiences?”   

For more information about this series and The Next Wave: Challenges & Opportunities for Social Policy Conference, please visit: https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/munk-school-queens-international-institute-social-policy