Who is Advocating For Canada’s Immigrants?

In this excerpt from the Toronto Star, Senator Omidvar discusses the need for more immigrant representation at the federal level.

There are more than 6,500 lobbyists registered in Canada, but few are advocating to improve the lives of immigrants and newcomers in this country.

Senator Ratna Omidvar says one single federal-level organization representing immigrants would help get their concerns on the parliamentary agenda. There are nearly 8 million people with permanent residence status in Canada.

“What we are missing in Canada is a more macro, global group, a Canadian group that speaks for immigrants per se. Unlike the U.S., where there is an organization for New Americans, we do not have that at the national level in Canada. And I believe that is a real gap,” says Omidvar, an Indo-Canadian who has advocated for immigrants and fought to reduce inequality through much of her career.

Omidvar and 19 other senators are pushing for the approval of an inquiry to examine the links between Canada’s prosperity and immigration.

“The Senate is an important site to launch this kind of inquiry because the senators are not tied to electoral battles. And immigration and Canadian prosperity have to be viewed not just in the short term but in the long term,” Omidvar said.

Omidvar says immigrants are essential to ensuring a prosperous Canada and the inquiry will focus on “what we must do, what we must change” to ensure immigrants feel even more empowered to contribute in the future.

Omidvar believes there needs to be a shift in the language from “high skills” and “low skills” to focus on “essential skills” as the government determines who we need to bring to Canada, and what we need to make Canada safe and prosperous for all.

Click here to read the full article in the Toronto Star