The digital economy gets the buzz, but immigrants are needed elsewhere, too

Economics and immigration policy are typically wrapped together in delicate language.

We see the language of progress, of an economy’s need for the labour and foreign capital that immigration brings. And we encounter the language of preservation, the need to maintain the prosperity that came before. All too easily, the latter talk is used by those who see migration in crisis terms.

Canadian Senator Ratna Omidvar, an international voice on the topic, points out that new immigrants are bringing to Canada the high-level skills and productivity improvements that are so needed in the digital economy. And Canada is good at welcoming them, she says.

But she also feels that Canadian policy makers need to remind themselves that immigrants are as diverse as the rest of the population. Some will be sought after, and others will be less skilled yet are just as capable of finding jobs, she says.

Read the full article on the Globe and Mail’s website.