Glubish emphatically defends the need for stronger provincial control over immigration

EDMONTON – Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish took a clear position in a blog post published on Wednesday, defending the UCP's desire for greater provincial control over immigration policies and the need for a public mandate to do so. "This is not a government reaching for an easy scapegoat," wrote Glubish. "This is one piece of a disciplined, multi-horizon fiscal strategy.""And because the immigration changes we need to make represent a significant departure from the status quo, we believe Albertans should have a direct say in whether we proceed.".Glubish wrote the post in response to questions and concerns raised by Albertans who wrote to his office about the referendum in October, and he addressed some of those concerns in the piece. He claimed immigration has traditionally been one of the driving forces behind Alberta's success, with many immigrants bringing skills, finding good jobs, starting to pay taxes upon arrival, and strengthening their communities. "The pathway to permanent residency and citizenship was clear," Glubish wrote. "The rules were fair. And the number of newcomers was sustainable for the provinces delivering health care, education, and social services.""When Justin Trudeau was Prime Minister, that system changed fundamentally, and not for the better."The UCP have blamed Alberta's poor fiscal situation on poor federal immigration policies that overwhelmed Alberta and its social services. "Federal selection criteria shifted away from economic migrants and toward large volumes of asylum seekers, international students, and low-skill temporary foreign workers," Glubish wrote."The provinces were never consulted. The pace was never sustainable.".Glubish said Alberta's population grew by nearly 600,000 individuals in five years, largely driven by the number of immigrants and non-permanent residents allowed to enter the country. "This is not a partisan talking point," Glubish wrote. "The current federal government has acknowledged the same reality in its own budget, stating that the immigration system became less functional, that the pace of new arrivals exceeded Canada’s capacity to absorb and support newcomers, and that the system is no longer sustainable.""When the federal government itself is saying the system is broken, it should not be controversial for Alberta to ask its own citizens how they want us to respond."Diving into figures, Glubish said the number of English language learners in Alberta's education system more than doubled to over 100,000, with an estimated 45,554 children of temporary residents currently enrolled, costing Alberta roughly $600 million per year. This is on top of the approximately $100 million spent annually on health services for non-permanent residents. Plus, a large number of entry-level jobs, such as retail or service industry positions, are being filled by temporary foreign workers rather than by young Albertans seeking work experience and career development. "These pressures are real," Glubish wrote. "They affect classroom sizes, emergency room wait times, and whether a young Albertan fresh out of high school can find their first job." "And they are a direct consequence of federal policy choices that were made without any input from the provinces that bear the cost.".Glubish added that these additional costs and their impacts have been compounded by decreased provincial royalty revenue due to low oil prices. The UCP have unveiled a long-term plan to alleviate their vulnerability to the volatile oil industry by building the Alberta Heritage Fund and a medium-term plan to increase oil production and pipeline construction, but those solutions do not address the immediate issue. "The short-term strategy is to address the unsustainable immigration levels that are driving a significant portion of the pressure on our budget and our services," Glubish wrote. "That is what the October 19 referendum is about."His post also addresses critics who say the UCP created the immigration mess through the Alberta is Calling campaign, and Premier Danielle Smith's request for the federal government to give Alberta more Provincial Nominee Program immigration spaces. He said the campaign was aimed at attracting skilled trade workers from other Canadian provinces to help fill roles in key industries, not non-permanent residents. Likewise, he claims the Premier's request was aimed at giving the provincial government more power to select workers with in-demand skills and give them a path towards permanent residency. "In fact, the request was heavily focused on converting temporary residents already living in Alberta into permanent contributors with stable jobs and long-term roots in the community," Glubish wrote. "That is exactly the kind of sustainable, skills-based immigration this referendum seeks to prioritize. Our critics are either confusing the two or deliberately misrepresenting the request.".As for why a referendum is necessary, he, like Smith, said the required changes represent a drastic shift away from the status quo and should not occur without a clear directive from Albertans. "This is a conversation Alberta needs to have, and a referendum is the most democratic way to have it," Glubish wrote. "Read the questions. Look at the evidence. Talk about it with your family, your neighbours, your coworkers."And then make your voice heard on October 19."

Glubish emphatically defends the need for stronger provincial control over immigration

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