Immigration Minister John McCallum slammed Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch鈥檚 proposal to screen immigrants for Anti-Canadian values, calling it 鈥渄og-whistle鈥� and 鈥淥rwellian.鈥�
Speaking for the first time since Leitch鈥檚 proposal, McCallum told Evan Solomon, host of CTV鈥檚 Question Period, that Canadians aren鈥檛 interested in having a debate of this nature. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 very sad that these Conservative candidates are offering things that for a long time, Canadians have rejected,鈥� said McCallum.
McCallum praised Conservative interim leader Rona Ambrose, who on took a strong stance against Leitch鈥檚 proposal on
鈥淚 respect Rona Ambrose because she did the unusual thing as interim leader to dump on this policy,鈥� McCallum said. 鈥淪he understands it鈥檚 bad for her party, but it鈥檚 bad for Canada, for us to be going down this destructive route. I think Canadians are better than that.鈥�
While McCallum said he isn鈥檛 interested in a test for anti-Canadian values, he did note that the government is always looking to strengthen security checks at the board. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not specifically looking at (security checks) right now but we鈥檙e always looking generally to improve our security checks,鈥� said McCallum. 鈥淚f we could do it better, and make Canadians safer, we鈥檇 certainly look at that.鈥�
Temporary Foreign Workers
McCallum said the government is considering a pathway to citizenship for temporary foreign workers. 鈥淲e think that those who come in general, should have a pathway to permanent residence more so than is the case today,鈥� said McCallum. 鈥淲hat we want is permanent immigrants who come here and raise their families, so if they鈥檙e on a pathway to permanent residency, they鈥檙e only temporary for awhile, then they become full Canadians.鈥�
McCallum agreed with some critics who believe that the temporary foreign worker program drives down wages. 鈥淚t could (suppress wages) in certain circumstance, I don鈥檛 suggest that never happens,鈥� said McCallum. He said that the program can be effective 鈥渋n areas that Canadians don鈥檛 want to work or areas where (businesses) truly cannot find Canadians (to fill jobs).鈥�
Syrian Refugees
With the government hoping to bring in 6,000 more Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of the year, McCallum said the Liberals would not look to increase funding for Syrian refugees that have already arrived in Canada. Currently, the government gives Syrian refugees monthly financial support for up to 12 months after they arrive, to help cover the cost of basics, such as food and shelter. Some provinces and municipalities are worried that the cost of helping Syrian refugees will fall to them after the federal funding stops.
鈥淲e鈥檝e done it 12 months for decades, and it has worked extremely well with refugees from other places,鈥� said McCallum, citing refugees from Vietnam, Hungary and Uganda as examples of those who have thrived under the 12-month system. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always a difficult process when you come from a war-torn country, you don鈥檛 speak the language, you may not have much education, it does take a certain amount of time,鈥� McCallum said.
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