|
In December 2000, Canada and the European Union signed an accord
on cooperation on justice and home affairs. One aspect of this
accord was a commitment to share best practices and research
on migration and the social and economic integration of migrants,
including through the Metropolis Project in which both Canada
and the European Commission are active partners. The European
Commission Expert Panel on Citizenship and Social Inclusion
is being organized to follow through on this commitment.
Countries in the developed world are expected to rely more and
more on immigrants and temporary foreign workers to supplement
their labour forces. Because of the ageing of the population
in many countries in the developed world, the result of persistently
low fertility rates, the growth of our labour forces has begun
to slow and, in some cases, to decrease. European countries
are feeling this demographic effect particularly sharply. Canada
is also grappling with the effects of low and decreasing fertility
rates on the labour market. It has become a commonplace that
many governments will look to
migration as a solution, and many observers expect to see significant
competition emerge between developed countries for the skilled
migrants of the developing world.
Many factors determine a migrant's choice of destination. The
way a society welcomes its newcomers is an important factor
and one that will make a difference in the international competition
for skilled workers. These are the migrants who are most mobile
and who have the greatest range of destination choices before
them. The two European panelists will speak about integration,
including the offer of citizenship, within the contemporary
European context. The two commentators from the senior ranks
of the Canadian government will respond to the European presentation
and draw parallels with the Canadian experience. With a fertility
rate that now stands at only 1.5, Canada must succeed in recruiting
immigrants with the skills that our labour force requires. Will
our ability to integrate immigrants into Canadian society give
us a competitive advantage?
The panel:
Patrick Weil is Director of Research at the National
Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Université de
Paris I (Panthéon - Sorbonne). He is the author of a
report commissioned by the French Prime Minister on French citizenship
and immigration law in 1997, and is a member of the French Consultative
Commission on Human Rights.
Presentation will be available soon...
Elspeth Guild is the academic coordinator of the Centre
for Migration Law, University of Nijmegem in the Netherlands,
and is a partner in the London law firm of Kinsgley Napley.
She specializes in European law in immigration, asylum and nationality
and has done major work with the European Commission.
(Presentation
in Microsoft Word)
Both are well known to Canadians in the immigration field.
Commentators:
Alfred MacLeod, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic
Directions and Communications, Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Jean-Pierre Voyer, Executive Director, Policy Research
Secretariat
A general discussion will follow the presentations.
Last update on :
<%
Set thisMetropolisUtility = Server.CreateObject("Metropolis.Utilities")
thisMetropolisUtility.lastModificationDate(2)
Set thisMetropolisUtility =nothing
%>
|
