Canada’s annual report to parliament on immigration has been submitted by the minister and it reports his success in attracting 235,824 new people to the country. The document states “Statistically immigration traditionally was the primary instrument driving social and economic development in Canada.” and it could and should be now. Many of our new arrivals come with skills that are desperately needed as demand for their special talents and training increases with the growing population.

However, there are untold numbers of highly trained and qualified new immigrants filling positions that demand none of the skills that they have acquired in the countries of their origins. Many are driving taxis and manning parking garages simply because they cannot find acceptance in the skill areas for which they are qualified. Medical doctors are among these abandoned people and yet we hear daily that the health care system is desperately short of M.D.s and many people cannot find a family doctor.

It appears that the talents are here but the system keeps them from engaging in the business for which they trained.

This coming year Immigration Canada intends to increase the numbers permitted into Canada to 1% of the population. That is about 300,000. Most newly arrived people settle in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver where problems exist with adequate housing, and with prices through the proverbial roof. The network of roads and highways are gridlocked. Expansion of the GTA is restricted by the environmental protection legislation that establishes the “Greenbelt.” Electrical power is at a premium and we are all urged to conserve or suffer brown-outs. Potable water is becoming a scarce commodity and our infrastructure is badly in need of repair and upgrading. So, the question is, where do all of these new people go? Every new resident gets a vehicle, needs water and electricity, drive in the gridlocked highways and must have shelter. Where does the city expand to construct more housing? There appears to be one place onlythe Greenbelt. It will come as no surprise to see the Greenbelt disappear as did the Toronto Centred Region Plan. a greenbelt of the mid 60s that today is covered with bricks and mortar.

What those in Ottawa fail to understand is that Canada, despite its tremendous geographic size, has only a narrow strip of land, about 167 miles wide, on average, contiguous to the 49th parallel in which cultivation is practical and in which business and industry are attracted. It is in this narrow strip that the majority of Canadians live and work The thriving resource industries that justified the numerous towns and villages in the northern part of Ontario are no longer viable since the industries have now exhausted those resources. Until new businesses are attracted to these declining communities there is little hope that new arrivals will take up residency there.

The patterns of immigration have changed dramatically since the end of 2000. Now the majority of new Canadians are drawn from China and India. The following are the statistics for 2004:

Peoples republic of China – 36,411 – 15.44%

India – 25,569 – 10.84% Philippines – 13,301 – 5.6% Pakistan– 12,746 – 5.43% U.S. – 7494 – 3.18%

Iran – 6063 – 2.57%

UK and Europe – 6058 – 2.57%

Romania – 5655 – 2.40% Korea – 5337 – 2.26% France – 5026 – 2.13%

Totals– 235,824 – 100%

Good results but no plan for their integration without social problems and full utilization of their needed skills.

The latent talent residing in our First Nations communities should be given priority and opportunities to develop and contribute to the future of Canada.

The present exclusion and treatment of these people is a national disgrace that demands immediate attention.

Ken Hayward Town of Mono