Immigration. BDO Dunwoody/Chamber Weekly CEO/Business Leader Poll by COMPAS in the Financial Post for Publication April 25, 2005

Transcription

1 Immigration BDO Dunwoody/Chamber Weekly CEO/Business Leader Poll by COMPAS in the Financial Post for Publication April 25, 2005 COMPAS Inc. Public Opinion and Customer Research April 25, 2005

2 1.0. Introduction This web-survey of business leaders and CEOs found that members of the panel Favour immigration rates at current or higher rates but are uneasy about current levels of refugee acceptance; Want immigration efforts to focus a lot more on business benefits, notably more priority given to skilled and businessoriented immigrants; and Feel strongly that more resources should be invested in a more careful screening of applicants for security-related reasons. These are the principal findings from the business leader survey undertaken by COMPAS for the Financial Post under sponsorship of BDO Dunwoody and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The setting is discussion of changes to immigration policy, particularly as it relates family unification Keep the Door Open for Immigrants Especially Skilled and Business-Oriented Ones Canada s business leaders want Canada to place a lot more emphasis on business considerations in our immigration policy. An overwhelming majority advocate changing the criteria for entry to encourage more skilled labour with 88% scoring 5-7 on the 7 point agree-disagree scale, as shown in table 2. Almost as many (76% scoring 5-7) advocate changing the criteria for entry to encourage business immigrants and foreign investment. On balance, business leaders are comfortable with the present level of immigration but are not entirely comfortable with a high volume of political refugees. Business leaders comfort with current immigration levels and reservations about current refugee levels are reflected in very low support for reducing the rate of immigration accompanied by some support for increasing it, and 2

3 some support for reducing the level of refugees admitted to the country accompanied by very low support for increasing the volume of refugees admitted, as shown in table 2. Table 2: Changes in Immigration Policy Advocated by Business Panel (in descending order; 7=agree strongly) 1 Change the criteria for entry to encourage more skilled labour Change the criteria for entry to encourage business immigrants and foreign investment Change the criteria for entry to encourage more university educated professionals Reduce the overall number of refugees entering the country Increase the overall number of immigrants entering the country Expedite the process whereby landed immigrants can bring their family, like parents and grandparents, into Canada Reduce the overall number of immigrants entering the country Increase the overall number of refugees entering the country MEA N DNK (Q1) There s been talk in the media about changing Canada s immigration policy. Using a 7 point scale where 7 means strongly agree and 1, the opposite, to what extent do you agree with each of the following possible changes? [RANDOMIZE]. 3

4 Quite a number of respondents volunteered a need for a speedier recognition of skill and professional equivalence in medicine as well as in industrial specialties. As one CEO put it, We need to encourage skilled labour and allow easier recognition of their skills and certifications. More generally, a number of respondents called for quicker procedures and less opportunity for appeal. Streamline the process, advised a senior executive of a major corporation, speed up entry and exit procedures, and reduce appeals. If an immigrant or refugee does not abide by the laws of Canada, opined another executive, he or she should be immediately deported without recourse to appeal. For immigration to be truly effective, suggested one CEO, governments should encourage direct recruiting by individual businesses. Most business leaders and CEOs in the panel advocated continued admission of immigrants at current rates or even at higher rates. But some volunteered concern about the potential burden on health and social services. A west coast executive put his concerns this way: At a time when the baby boomers are beginning to severely strain our medical system, it makes no sense to me to encourage immigrants or refugees to bring their elderly extended family to Canada. Recent talk of this seems like blatant Liberal pandering. A number of respondents expressed enthusiasm for locational targeting. As one respondent put it, Canada ought to identify locations that need labour outside of the main cities like Toronto and Vancouver, and give priority to immigrants who agree to settle in these communities for a period of 3 to 5 years Spend a Lot More on Screening and Anti-Terrorist Security In follow-up questioning, respondents were asked to what extent Canada was overor under-spending on various aspects of the immigration process. Their greatest concern is not enough spending to screen immigrants and refugees for possible terrorist ties. A two-thirds majority (68%) take this view, as shown in table 3. Among business leaders and CEO s with strong views on the matter, those who feel that Canada spends far too little (score of 1) outnumber almost 9:1 those who feel that our country spends far too much (score of 7). 4

5 Table 3: Immigration-Related Efforts on Which More Spending Needed (in descending order; 1=Canada spends far too little) 2 Screening immigration and refugee applicants for possible terrorist ties Assessing the skills of applicants for compatibility with market demands Settling new immigrants in communities with the infrastructure and community resources to best accommodate them Providing English or French language training to new immigrants MEAN DNK A senior executive of a major company captured respondents sense of concern on the matter in the following observation: Canada's regime to process refugees is an international joke that plays in the hands of criminals and cheaters. The government should invoke the notwithstanding clause to reverse the ill advised (some would say idiotic) decision by the Supreme Court of Canada that allows bogus refugees to abuse the system forever. The fact that it took 16 years to kick Mr. Singh out of Canada makes the sponsorship scandal and the gun registry fiasco pale in comparison. 2 (Q3) Using a 7 point scale where 7 means Canada spends far too much and 1, far too little, so far as you can tell does Canada spend too much or too little on [RANDOMIZE]. 5

6 4.0. Methodology The National Post/COMPAS web-survey of CEOs and leaders of small, medium, and large corporations and among executives of the local and national Chambers of Commerce was conducted April 20-22, Respondents constitute an essentially hand-picked panel with a higher numerical representation of small and medium-sized firms. Because of the small population of CEOs and business leaders from which the sample was drawn, the study can be considered more accurate than comparably sized general public studies. In studies of the general public, surveys of 132 are deemed accurate to within approximately 8.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20. The principal and co-investigator on this study are Conrad Winn, Ph.D and Tamara Gottlieb. 6