Liberal Immigration Minister Marc Miller told US National Public Radio (NPR) his government has “made a conscious decision to be an open country” to foreigners, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
Canada last year accepted 471,550 immigrants in addition to 982,880 foreign students and 766,520 temporary foreign workers.
Illegal immigration was only a minor issue since Canada was surrounded by oceans, the US and “a block of ice to the north,” Miller told the NPR program Freakonomics.
Miller’s office did not comment on the March 27 interview.
“There is no doubt that we have made a conscious decision to be an open country and a country that needs to grow,” stated Miller.
“The reality is we don’t have much of a choice.”
Miller’s interview followed a February 12 Bloc Québécois motion that passed with a 173 to 150 vote to revise current immigration quotas.
During the Freakonomics interview, Miller boasted Canada’s population had reached 40 million.
“So you’re California now?” asked the host.
“Yes, basically, without the vineyards, well, maybe a couple,” replied Miller, adding, “British Columbia might disagree.”
“You know, America’s generally had a melting pot theory of immigration and Canada prides itself on the value of our differences and the diversity.”
The lay of the land curbs most illegal immigration, geographically speaking, reasoned Miller.
“You know we have an ocean to the left of us and an ocean to the right, a nuclear superpower to the south and a block of ice to the north,” said Miller.
“So geographically it’s difficult to reach Canada.”
The immigration minister disclosed his greatest concern is Canada’s aging population and it needs to be “fixed” by immigration. Miller made no mention of Canada’s plummeting fertility rates. The Trudeau Liberals have recently announced a campaign to curb Canadians’ birth rates even more by offering free contraception as part of their new pharmacare plan.
“One of the things that keeps me up at night, in sort of a nerdy way, is the demographic curve that is really bloated in the 50, 60, 70-year-old category,” said Miller.
“And it’s something that we need to fix now or else we’ll be in serious trouble for all the broad social services that we provide as a country. That can’t be filled domestically through baby booms alone. It has to be filled through immigration.”
“The challenge I face as the minister of immigration and our government is to look at things that move in generational cycles as opposed to electoral cycles. And the thinking behind that can be quite different. There’s lots of things that we do for expedient purposes just to get re-elected.”
“This is about sustaining Canada as we understand it today and the health services, social services that our older generation expect, those that have built Canada. That is not doable without people coming in from abroad.”
