I have to admit to being dismayed at Jason Kenney's reaction to Iggy Puff's push to get immigration rules relaxed in light of the Haiti disaster: "Massive resettlement is not a solution to natural disaster..." Immigration is not a bad thing. This country was built on immigration. In fact, based on what I've heard from Albertans, Alberta's economic success was built on provincial immigration.
I found it terribly ironic that I just watched one of the recent converted Wildrose Alliance MLA's on TV explain that "Alberta wants people..." He explained that Alberta's success was based on people coming from elsewhere for the opportunity that exists in Alberta.
Time and time again examples around the world prove that the recipe for prosperity is open and free markets, respect for individual rights, and an openness to new people.
Now I respect Jason Kenney a whole lot. But one thing I've never been able to understand is the ideological inconsistency that many Conservatives have when it comes to immigration. Immigration worked in Alberta, I don't see how any Conservative can argue otherwise when it comes to the country as a whole.
I won't try to deny the problems that currently exist in our immigration system. The type of immigration that has been actively promoted for years by successive Liberal regimes tends to attract those that are more receptive to our large welfare system and the entitlements regime of being Canadian. It's a recipe for abuse that has to be stopped. Further the issues regarding "reasonable accommodation" and the adaption of our social norms for the sake of newcomers is another warping of the system that has to be corrected.
Yet this does not give us license to increase the regulatory burden on new comers to this country. Since when do Conservatives stand for more bureaucracy and more government?
