Letter from Mr Meyer Burstein
My name is Meyer Burstein. I am the co-founder
and former Co-Chair of the International Metropolis Project. Prior
to that, for approximately 10 years, I served as the Director-General
of the Strategic Planning, Research and Analysis Branch at Citizenship
and Immigration Canada. In that capacity, I was, among other things,
responsible for the management and design of the immigrant selection
(points) system.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments
to the Economic Affairs Committee. The questions posed by the
Committee are both important and timely: Important because they
proceed from the recognition that immigration is a matter of choice
for democratic societies; timely, because economic restructuring,
demographic change, technological advance and shifting public
attitudes create inexorable pressure for that choice to be exercised
wisely.
My comments are rooted in Canada's immigration
experience since the early eighties. That experience suggests
a need for rebalancing Canada's portfolio of policies, programs
and partnerships in order to achieve improved economic outcomes
for both immigrants and their hosts. The lessons may have broader
application.
Recent economic evidence is shedding light on
the profound changes that have occurred in immigrant economic
performance over the last two and a half decades. Until the 1980s,
immigrant earnings had quickly eclipsed those of similarly endowed,
native-born Canadians. Then the picture changed dramatically.
Successive arrival cohorts experienced sharp declines in both
earnings and other measures of economic success. This fall in
performance persisted through the nineties and, though somewhat
attenuated, is still in evidence today. It is by no means certain
that new arrivals will attain native-born earning norms, notwithstanding
the fact that catch-up rates have improved slightly. Not surprisingly,
immigrant and minority poverty has risen sharply.
Undoubtedly, some of the decline in economic
performance can be attributed to the decline in manufacturing
jobs and the consequent reduction in absorptive capacity but there
is more to the story. Better tailoring immigration to the business
cycle would also have helped. Nevertheless, other measures are
needed—particularly for immigrants from non-traditional
backgrounds who have been hit the hardest.
The prevailing view among Canadian economists
is that the earnings decline is related to a number of factors,
notably: (i) Overarching structural adjustments that have depressed
the earnings of all new labour market entrants; (ii) A fall in
the value that markets attach to non-Canadian work experience;
(iii) A compositional shift that has increased immigration from
countries where employers discount educational (and other) credentials
obtained abroad; (iv) A sharp decline in English and French fluency
among workers; and (v) discrimination. In particular, there would
appear to be a growing consensus that language plays an especially
critical role and that recent immigrants lack the communication
skills demanded by the labour market. Greater uncertainty persists
regarding the extent to which declining returns to work experience
and education reflect discrimination or, more benignly, declining
returns to age, differences in educational quality and problems
of acculturation.
Policymakers must be especially concerned with
economic (and social) integration because it constitutes both
an outcome and a lever. As lever, successful integration plays
a critical role in leveraging public support. The ability of governments
to manage integration is limited. Governments contribute and shape
essential services but much of the work of integration takes place
in private settings involving employers, schools, religious institutions
and NGOs. To persuade these stakeholders to invest in integration,
there must be an expectation that immigrants will not only draw
on the public purse, but also contribute to it. The success of
the Canadian policy model has depended on the success of Canada's
immigrant population and the ability this has given governments
to leverage crucial public support. The current downturn in immigrant
fortunes places that leveraging capacity at risk.
A second link between successful integration
and integrative capacity originates in the changing face of cities.
As foreign-born populations grow, newcomers and minorities are
no longer being integrated by, or into, the "traditional"
host community. Instead, they are being integrated by other immigrants
and minorities into settings that do not contain dominant majorities.
Research tells us that newcomers rely primarily on the family—and
not the state—for information about jobs, residence and
services. They also rely on ethnic and religious community organisations.
Unless families and communities are successfully integrated, their
capacity to undertake crucial integration tasks is seriously compromised
and, with it, the capacity of the integration system as a whole.
Canada, like the UK, cannot afford failure.
Declining incomes and growing long-term poverty among immigrants
and minorities has raised worries about second and subsequent
generations; in particular, worries have mounted about the dangers
of developing a metropolitan underclass comprised of visible minorities—who
now make up roughly three-quarters of Canada's immigrant intake.
Governments must act decisively to avert such an eventuality by
improving immigrant economic prospects. This realization is producing
changes—or pressure for change—in several areas of
domestic policy. These may be of strategic interest to UK policy
development.
One of the key lessons to have emerged in Canada
is that a policy of anchoring immigration levels to vague demographic
objectives and ignoring the state of the labour market has been
problematic. Time will tell how costly this "experiment"
has been—a function of how long the economic "scarring"
associated with entry during periods of weak economic performance
persists and whether intergenerational effects occur. There is
ample evidence to support pro-cyclical immigration levels management.
Clearly, absorptive capacity matters! Putting excessive pressure
on this capacity leads not only to poor labour market outcomes
for new arrivals but to poorer outcomes for all entrants.
From a labour market perspective, Canada stands
to gain most from highly trained, selected immigrants whose skills
complement those of the domestic workforce. Hence, careful management
of the point system is essential. This said, non-selected migrants
account for roughly four out of every five entrants and supply
25% more workers to the Canadian labour market than does the skilled
worker program. In order to improve labour market outcomes, immigration
policy management must address both flows. Three broad sets of
policy changes are required: first, adjustments should be made
to the point system and the way it is managed; second, admission
structures should be altered; and, third, changes should be made
to integration programs and delivery systems.
(I) CHANGES
TO THE
POINT SYSTEM
Under Canada's point system, all points are
fungible meaning that points awarded for "non-performing"
factors can offset (a lack of) points for factors that are critical
to labour market success. In the current system, the factors pertaining
to age and experience are both problematic. Based on current analysis,
the age range for obtaining maximum points needs to be reduced
substantially as does the allotment of points for experience,
which tends to be heavily discounted by the labour market. By
the same token, language skills, which are emerging as absolutely
critical, do not seem to be adequately captured in the current
system. Labour markets would be better served by language assessments
that are more closely tied to job requirements and, more controversially,
by abandoning the practice of awarding points for ability in the
second official language. In terms of education, additional
points should be awarded to applicants in highly skilled trades.
There is a demonstrated, economy-wide need for such skills, however,
the points system is biased against such occupations. In addition,
consideration should be given to awarding points for targeted
fields of study as opposed to (merely) level of educational attainment.
More generally, economic migration needs to
be managed with a view to minimizing backlogs. Aside from creating
lags, which produce a mismatch between applicant skills and current
employer needs, backlogs are a clear indication that applicant
"quality" has been compromised.
(ii) CHANGES
IN ADMISSION
STRUCTURES
Difficulties linked to non-recognition of credentials
and work experience can, to a certain extent, be circumvented
by opening up new admission channels to migrants who are studying
or working temporarily in the country. Recent shifts in this direction
by Canada—involving both students and temporary workers—will
have a salutary effect on labour market outcomes. The Australian
experience on this front is positive and clear.
A further measure that would accelerate labour
market integration and counter various difficulties associated
with the non-recognition of foreign work experience would be to
enhance the participation of private employers, provinces and
other institutions in the selection process—either by raising
the points awarded for prearranged job offers or, more directly,
by routing a larger proportion of the permanent migration stream
through temporary employment channels. Research has shown that
domestic work experience "validates" previous, overseas
experience. In exchange for greater access to foreign workers,
employers should be induced to invest more heavily in language
training and in upgrading skills.
(iii) CHANGES
TO INTEGRATION
MACHINERY
Notwithstanding improvements that can be made
in Canada's immigrant screening machinery, serious investments
will be needed in integration if economic outcomes are to be improved.
Several areas stand out, in particular language training, job
placement, credential and skills recognition and anti-discrimination.
There is mounting evidence that immigrants lack the more complex
language and communication skills that are required to function
effectively in today's labour market. Current initiatives aimed
at tying enhanced language training more closely to labour market
needs are steps in the right direction. Bridging programs have
also demonstrated that they can play an important role in facilitating
labour market integration. A number of successful designs are
currently in play, among them paid internship programs lasting
anywhere from four months to a year. Programs need to be "employer
friendly" and occupation-specific. Finally, credential recognition
and anti-discrimination measures must be reenergised and refocused.
The latter need to concentrate on ensuring job access and promotions
as opposed to equal pay.
Achieving improved labour market integration—and,
by extension—improved economic outcomes for both newcomers
and the host population will require closer collaboration among
different levels of government (including municipal government),
employers and non-governmental organisations. The onus must be
on institutions, and not on immigrants, to coordinate policy interventions.
Among the capacity-building measures that are needed are support
for local communities, including cultural communities, that play
a critical role in economic and social integration and in forging
expectations; public education and information programs are also
needed to broaden local support, to create fertile ground for
engagement and to build positive inter-group relations, a core
requirement for successful economic integration.
9 September 2007
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