Monday, June 19, 2006

What Canada needs?

When someone proposes an idea that flies in the face of public opinion, is the opposite of what every politician tells you and just seems intuitively bizarre, it's probably worth at least thinking about.

Hence Doug Saunders' suggestion in The Globe and Mail on Saturday that what Canada really needs right now is a million poor, minimally educated African immigrants.

He offers it as a way to help the tight labour market - which needs more labourers than professionals which is what we currently select immigrants for and would offer more to Africa in cash sent home to the family then we currently provide in aid. It also would be far less expensive than our current system of tracking down and removing these kind of immigrants.

An interesting suggestion to say the least - if our globalized economy is going to remove all borders to capital and jobs, isn't the only way to make it fair to also remove all barriers to people?

1 comment:

RossK said...

'tis an interesting concept.

I mean think of where the American economy would be if it didn't have such cut rate labour to rely them. Of course, if they are legal you have to pay them minimum wage....

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OT but.....now that Mallick is gone Saunders and Salutin are the only reasons I have left to regularly read the Globe and (nolongerEmpire) Mail.

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