Massive influx of temporary residents a crisis that one Ontario lawyer hopes to solve

Canada’s unemployment rate for temporary residents, foreign workers, international students and asylum seekers hit 11 per cent this summer.

This data — from a July Bloomberg report — has specialists in immigration law concerned about a system that some perceive to be in free fall, as these numbers directly correlate to Canada’s overall unemployment average. 

With these numbers emerging alongside a national shift in attitudes toward Canada’s immigration system, specialists are rapidly seeking band-aids to ease an overwhelmed system before it can be overhauled. Siavash Shekarian, the current chair of the business immigration committee for the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association (CILA) and an Ontario-based lawyer, has been investigating what he perceives as cracks in the system.

“The immigration system in Canada — in general — is broken, and this unemployment rise for temporary residents is just a small reflection of the system’s brokenness in general,” Shekarian told INsauga.com.

Throughout his tenure practicing parallel to Canadian immigration law, Shekarian has come to believe that there are three major symptoms impacting immigration and, by extension, immigrant employment rates in Canada. 

According to Shekarian, who gets clearance to enter the Canadian workforce, how administrative powers oversee this intake and how newcomers integrate into the Canadian economy are the main variables straining the Canadian economy. 

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“When you look at these three components, you get an idea of how broken things are. Under aspects of integration, you can see we have a mass exodus right now with reports claiming that 40 per cent of immigrants are leaving Canada,” says Shekarian. 

Shekarian also suggests that numerous structural flaws exist within the administrative aspects of Canadian immigration systems. One key issue is the insidious presence of ‘ghost consultants,’ scammers who abuse the Canadian immigration system by promising immigrants direct lines of communication as faux government officials. This results in heavy fees and forged documents for families looking for passage to Canada. 

“Every other day, we hear about frauds in the system, accidents in the system, people getting assigned to ghost representatives through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC),” says Shekarian. 

As for the selection process, Shekarian believes a lack of proper utilization directly correlates to temporary residents experiencing unemployment — and as a result — opting to leave Canada en masse. 

“The selection system promises we bring in skilled workers to fill labour shortages,” says Shekarian. “Then when you look at the statistics, you see the underutilization rate for STEM graduates is through the roof.”

Beyond the fragility of logistics within Canada’s immigration system, Shekarian is also adamant that the general message Canada is putting out to the world will likely get people hurt as well.

“How much due diligence can anyone do if you have a system that is misleading to newcomers?”

Shekarian says an example of this misdirection is the foundation Canada has built around the international student community. 

“The statistics tell us that there are about 2.5 million temporary residents in Canada, and out of that number, about 60 per cent are international students,” says Shekarian. 

 Sherkarian notes that post-secondary institutions internationally are often substantially cheaper than most in Canada. So, if not affordability, something else must be generating continued instability in Canada’s international student economy. 

“The international student program is being specifically marketed as a shortcut to permanent residency,” says Shekarian. “They are telling students, in countries like India, that if you graduate, you get a very high-paying job — so don’t worry about your future.” 

As a byproduct of this standard, Shekarian notes that further strain will severely damage the current cap for annual permanent citizen intake within Canada — set to be 500,000 per year by 2025, according to the Canadian government.

“So let’s say, hypothetically, we close down the intake of permanent residents from outside of Canada, with what we have right now, it would still take us four to five years to absorb the current number of temporary residents in Canada,” says Shekarian. 

As for current solutions for the tug-of-war between permanent and temporary residents within Canada, Shekarian praises the recently proposed incentive to track international students to ensure they have guaranteed housing before a semester begins. 

However, when it concerns a potential overhaul of what he believes is a broken system, Shekarian indicates that while piecemeal solutions that test the water may be helpful, a full nationwide net of inquiry is the only way to generate lasting change. 

“What I mean is participation, meaningful participation. We need to call on experts in civil society and academics because we have amazing research on all fronts, especially when it concerns integration, administration and selection,” says Shekarian.

As for how to apply this expertise, Shekarian is not shy to note that this is a team effort so that all parties involved can be kept safe, as he states, “Immigration is too politicized, we call it political candy, that’s why the overall solution is a national conversation and meaningful participation.”