Immigration Inquiry: Acknowledging the Contributions of Immigrants to Canada | Senator Tony Loffreda

On March 30, 2021 Senator Tony Loffreda spoke in support of Senator Omidvar’s inquiry into immigration and its connection to Canada’s past, present and future prosperity. Watch his speech:

Hon. Tony Loffreda: Honourable senators, today I deliver a speech on inquiry No. 10, a subject near and dear to my heart: Canada’s deep connection to immigration and our country’s prosperity. This was originally intended to be my maiden speech in the chamber. I thank Senator Omidvar for reintroducing her inquiry and our Senate working group on immigration for their commitment to this issue.

I will never forget the pride I felt when I, the son of immigrant parents, took the oath of allegiance in Canada’s upper chamber. To have my family sitting in the gallery that day was a moment I will never forget. A lot has happened since my swearing in ceremony over a year ago. We have been plunged into a global health crisis that has had devastating economic and social impacts at home and abroad. I would be remiss if I didn’t offer my heartfelt thoughts and prayers to all those who have been affected by this pandemic, and particularly to those who have lost loved ones.

My time in the Senate so far has been unconventional in many ways, but it has been, and continues to be, the greatest honour of my career to serve Canadians in this chamber. I will not take this privilege for granted.

I am fully committed to representing the province of Quebec to the best of my ability. I’m proud to be the son of immigrants who chose to make Montreal their home. I want to thank my parents for making that choice.

As senators, we are here to serve and work for all Canadians but also to represent, defend and advocate for minorities. Grazie per il vostro sostegno. E a tutti gli italo-canadesi, la mia porta è sempre aperta.

My family’s history is like the story of thousands of other families who saw Canada as a land of hope and opportunity. My parents left Italy and landed by ship at Ellis Island in New York City in the spring of 1962. They came and crossed over to Canada immediately. My mom was well into her pregnancy with me. I was born in Canada. I am very proud to be Canadian and grateful for this dual heritage.

My parents worked in factories all their lives. My mother was a top seamstress. I still have vivid memories of her with a needle and thread, making us clothes. My dad, on the other hand, worked at a mattress factory, receiving 27 cents for every mattress he completed. Sunday nights were stressful in our household. I would sit with my dad and count every labour ticket, calculating how much he had made that week. Some Sundays, I could see the fear in his eyes as we counted; would it be enough for the week ahead? My dad usually worked overtime until 9 p.m., and for many years my mother also worked night shifts starting at 5 p.m. Life wasn’t easy. I remember babysitting my brother Nick right after school, until my parents came home at night. I was 10 years old, and he was my one-year-old baby brother. Three years later, my sister Vera joined us in 1975 and the Loffreda bunch was complete.

It wasn’t uncommon for immigrant families like ours to have challenges making ends meet. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it is that resilience is a trait shared by many immigrant families. As much as our life experiences can be difficult, they can also be rewarding, and with that comes important life lessons. Lessons of grit and perseverance. Immigrants often succeed personally and professionally in part because of their principles and values.

In my own life, as a first-generation Canadian of Italian origin, I have found the following fundamental principles to be paramount. Integrity is non-negotiable. This principle guided me throughout my 35-year career in the financial industry and will guide me forever. Collaboration and service; working together and supporting one another for the greater good of our communities and our families. Selflessness — a value shared by my parents and many religions and cultures — has been essential in my life. Responsibility and accountability, because in caring for our siblings and our family, we all had our part to play.

When it came to the strength of our community, and later on to my own thoughts on good leadership, it was clear that passion and ambition were also key. A lesson I now pass on to my children is that we will not only be remembered by what we say but also by what we do and how we do it.

Although there is common ground between many immigrants and their stories, I also recognize that the immigrant experience is vast. One common thread throughout our history is the fact that immigrants have largely been successful in integrating and contributing to our economy and our country. I know they will continue to do so, whether from the seasides of Portugal, the plains of Syria or from a small town in Italy called Dragone, where my father was born.

Immigration has been integral to Canada’s success since its early days. More importantly, it will be essential to our continued growth. Even so, Canadians remain divided on this issue. In the past year alone, surveys have shown a range of opinions on Canada’s immigration targets.

A few weeks before the pandemic hit, Abacus Data conducted an opinion poll on the subject of immigration. Fifty-five per cent of the respondents believed that the best way to grow the economy is to reduce immigration. However, 72% agreed that our history shows that greater economic growth goes hand in hand with higher immigration rates.

A recent survey by Leger Opinion and the Association for Canadian Studies showed that 52% of Canadians are opposed to increasing immigration rates because of the pandemic and want current low levels to remain in place for at least a year.

Fortunately, a Focus Canada study conducted in mid-September offers encouraging results. According to this study, two thirds of Canadians now reject the idea that immigration levels are too high, and more than 8 in 10 agree that immigration has a positive impact on the Canadian economy. About the same proportion of people reject the view that immigrants take jobs away from other Canadians.

On the contrary, esteemed colleagues, immigrants continue to contribute to our economy in impressive numbers. Immigrants do not steal jobs, they create them.

The pandemic restricted immigration in 2020, but I sincerely believe that we need to continue to encourage high immigration rates once we emerge from this crisis.

As a former banker, I won’t surprise anyone by taking a moment to point out how much immigrants contribute to our economy and, of course, to the prosperity of our country.

The Business Council of Canada had this to say a few months ago, and I quote:

There is widespread agreement across party lines that immigration is essential to long-term economic growth. Newcomers bring energy, skills, new ideas and entrepreneurial spirit. They start companies, fill skill shortages . . . and pay taxes.

Honourable senators, consider these findings: In a recent speech, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marco Mendicino pointed out that one in three businesses are owned by immigrants, creating numerous jobs, and immigrants make up about half of our hospitality sector workers, one third of our health care workers and one third of our transportation service workers. In other words, three important sectors of our economy are being carried in great part by our immigrant population.

Most recently, Anil Arora, Canada’s Chief Statistician, spoke to our working group on immigration and shared with us some revealing data. For example, he pointed out that immigrant-run businesses are more likely to export and enter new markets, and they are also more likely to expand operations in 2021. You can’t dispute the facts — immigrants are key to our current and future prosperity.

In March 2016, Statistics Canada also released a report that showed “that rates of private business ownership and unincorporated self-employment were higher among immigrants than among the Canadian-born population.” This reiterates the fact that immigrants are job makers, wealth creators and taxpayers.

As Bruce Anderson from Abacus wrote:

When immigration is up, our GDP is higher; when levels are lower, the opposite happens.

What does this mean? Immigration is probably the single best — and most crucial — economic and fiscal choice Canada could make. It’s not a nice “to do,” it’s a need “to do.”

Furthermore, Canada’s demographics are shifting. The fertility rate is dropping. Yes, I’m still waiting for grandkids. Baby Boomers are retiring at warp speed, and life expectancy is up. As Mr. Anderson further writes:

We’re on a fast track to having more old people who need support, and fewer workers to help carry the load.

Minister Mendicino addressed this very issue recently, stating that our workforce has gone from having seven workers for every retiree in 1971 to only four today. And we anticipate it will be two workers per retiree by 2035. Think about that one. What does this actually mean for Canada? In clear terms, it means we need immigrants. We need more people active in the workforce, contributing to our economy and paying taxes to help support our social programs and our aging population.

The contributions of immigrants to our society extends way beyond the job market. I’m hopeful other senators participating in this inquiry will help further the discussion and explore other angles such as: our overall cultural diversity; our multicultural post-secondary institutions; our global reputation and foreign trade; and our intellectual capital.

There’s no doubt that our immigration system and integration policies are imperfect, but they have served us well for decades. When analyzing the data, we soon realize that immigrants have been quite successful in joining the labour force. For example, in 2019, when our unemployment rate was 5.7%, the unemployment rate for landed immigrants was only slightly higher at 6%. If we look at immigrants who have been here for five years or less, that unemployment rate is 9.5%. It’s worth noting, however, that the unemployment rate for immigrants who have been here for 10 years or more is only 5%, which is lower than the national average for the entire population, which was 5.7% in 2019.

Therefore, over time, immigrants integrate very well into our labour force. And so the question is: What can be done to speed up integration and reduce the labour force gap between newer and older immigrants?

I know the government is committed to finding solutions and ameliorating the overall system as it continues to welcome new Canadians in a safe and orderly fashion, even under difficult circumstances. I also think the Senate is the perfect venue to study this issue — perhaps in one of our standing committees — and provide the government with a road map on how to improve our immigration policies and integration strategies.

In 2019, the OECD published a report in which it praised Canada for having “the most carefully designed and longest-standing skilled migration system in the OECD,” saying our system is “widely perceived as a benchmark for other countries, and its success is evidenced by good integration outcomes.”

Colleagues, we have an opportunity before us to ensure that Canada remains a beacon to attract the best and brightest from around the world while continuing to focus on family reunification and refugee resettlement. We must capitalize on our global reputation and accelerate immigration once this crisis is over.

Thankfully, the government agrees. The government recently announced its immigration plan for the next three years, setting out a path for responsible increases to immigration targets to help the Canadian economy recover from COVID-19, drive future growth and create jobs.

The government is committed to making up for the time lost due to the pandemic. Between 2021 and 2023 it hopes to welcome 1.2 million immigrants.

To foreign nationals who will one day make Canada their home, I say, “Welcome home.” But more importantly, I say, “Thank you. Thank you for choosing us.”

Honourable senators, there’s no doubt that Canada is the best place in the world to live, and I truly believe that the generosity and openness of Canadians is why so many people outside our borders want to join our great Canadian family. Senator Omidvar’s initiative is a perfect opportunity for us to celebrate immigration in all its glory and to advocate for better policies and support programs.

As I conclude, I want to say thank you. Thank you to Canada for being a beacon of hope and dreams for so many immigrants. I thank Canadians for embracing my family and all immigrants, for allowing them to succeed and above all for allowing them to feel at home in this Nordic, yet warm country.

We have such a rich history of successful immigration policies, and I am confident our reputation as a great host country will continue well into the future.

Colleagues, thank you for your attention. It is an honour to be working in this chamber with you. And I look forward to continuing to fight hard, together, in service of a brighter tomorrow. Thank you. Meegwetch.