Minister Kenney discusses immmigration policy with Godwin D'Souza of the Langley International Festival.jpg

Langley Immigrants and Immigrant Service Workers Advise Minister Jason Kenney on Immigration Needs for Langley

Immigrants and immigrant service workers in Langley took the opportunity Saturday to tell Canada’s Immigration Minister Jason Kenney what does and doesn’t work with the system and to give him ideas for improvement.

Langley MP Mark Warawa led a round table discussion on Canada’s immigration system with Minister Kenney and with Langley residents who have an invested interest on Saturday. Guests included established and recent immigrants as well as representatives from the Karen Initiative and Langley Community Services Society, who offer and Immigrant and Multicultural Services program.  Mayors Rick Green and Peter Fassbender also provided input.

Some of the recommendations from Langley included enhancing integration programs, ensuring that Immigration Canada staff is more understanding of the language barrier, and are more welcoming. Minister Kenney acknowledged the needs of immigrants to integrate with a better knowledge of one of our two languages, which is key to their success. Developing further protections for migrant farm laborers was also discussed and is something the Minister is working on.

“Consulting with people in Langley and other communities gives me a practical sense of how policies actually work on the ground,” says Minister Kenney. “If I just listened to senior bureaucrats in Ottawa, I wouldn’t know a thing,” the Minister joked.

Minister Kenney also congratulated the Langleys for welcoming 350 government assisted Karen refugees who have arrived recently. “Canada receives the largest number per capita of resettled refugees than any other country, and I intend to increase the funding for refugee assistance programs and ensure those programs are successful,” he told the Langley audience.

He is also working toward an ambitious entrepreneurial immigration program that will benefit both the immigrant and Canada. “"We are working with the provinces on a pan-Canadian framework for foreign credentials. We want highly skilled immigrants certified and working in Canada quickly",” says Minister Kenney.

Langley MP Mark Warawa appreciates the Minister’s willingness to hear first hand from Canadians and Langley immigrant workers’ advice. “Langley’s first generation immigrant population is growing, and we are welcoming more and more South Asians, Korean and Taiwanese residents to Langley, among others,” says Warawa. “It’s imperative that Canada’s immigrants are given every possible opportunity to make the most of their integration into our community, and I appreciate the tremendous work done by Langley Community Services Society who handles the bulk of those services.”

The Minister was in Langley as part of the Conservative Government’s ongoing consultations with Canadians.