Conclusion: The Road Ahead

• Author: Donald Galloway
• Pages: 311-320

CHAPTER

16

CONCLUSION:

THE

ROAD

AHEAD

A.

RECENT

INITIATIVES

As

described

in the

previous pages, Canada's immigration process

is

both

complex

and

unwieldy,

and is

driven

by a

confusing array

of

prin-

ciples

and

conflicting aims

and

values.

The

need

for

precise legal rules

clashes with

the

need

for

flexibility;

the

need

to

promote economic

growth conflicts

with

the

need

to

fulfil

international

and

humanitarian

obligations

and to

promote

family

reunification;

the

need

to

maintain

a

process

which

is

"user-friendly"and

compassionate

and

which

facili-

tates

the

applicant's journey through

the

bureaucratic jungle

conflicts

with

the

need

for a

process which

is

able

to

identify,

exclude,

and

remove

illegal immigrants

or

those

who do not

fulfil

the

requirements

of

the

law.

In

the

face

of

such

conflicts,

it is not

surprising that

the

government

has

been criticized

frequently

for

failing

to

manage immigration

effec-

tively.

Moreover,

in the

current political context where

the

issues

of

high unemployment,

the

size

of the

federal

deficit,

and the

need

for

con-

tinued economic growth dominate public debate,

the

government

is

constantly required

to

defend

its

policies

and to

promote

the

image that

it is

taking

effective

measures

to

ensure that

its

policies

and

programs

are

economically advantageous

and

that

the

bureaucracy which admin-

isters them

is as

lean

and

efficient

as

possible.

To

meet such attacks,

the

government

has

recently implemented

a

number

of

measures,

five

of

which will

be

outlined here.

311