NDP leadership candidate Kinew wants to scrap immigrant applicant fee
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/08/2017 (2419 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
NDP leadership candidate Wab Kinew says he would overhaul two key elements of the Provincial Nominee Program, including eliminating a $500 fee levied on successful immigrant applicants that was instituted by the provincial government.
At a press conference Monday, Kinew said he would also negotiate with Ottawa to encourage more family reunification-category immigration to Manitoba.
Kinew said the current $500 fee acts as “an unnecessary impediment” to newcomers.
“In some cases, it actually acts to discriminate against people without resources who have the work ethic, who have the drive, who have the smarts and the willpower to succeed in our society. And we should be welcoming them with open arms,” he said.
Kinew estimated the annual cost of ending the $500 fee at $2 million.
He allowed there has not been “a marked decrease” in immigration to Manitoba since the Progressive Conservatives initiated the $500 fee and focused more on applicants with specific employment skills, as well as those who would start businesses.
However, Kinew said a greater focus on family-reunification applicants would encourage newcomers to remain in the province.
“We know that a big part of what we want to do with immigration is not just bring people to Manitoba, but retain people in Manitoba for the long-term. We want people to stay here and make their lives here for many, many years, even for many generations,” he said.
Former cabinet minister Steve Ashton, who is challenging Kinew for the NDP leadership, said he agrees the user fee should be scrapped.
Manitoba should also aim to increase the number of immigrants it receives annually, and should lobby Ottawa to ensure more temporary foreign workers have an opportunity to become landed immigrants, he said.
According to a report last fall, Manitoba received a record 17,238 immigrants in 2015-16.
“I’m convinced we could absorb 20,000-plus immigrants per year,” Ashton said Monday.
He said many temporary foreign workers labour in the retail and service industries and are unable to transition to landed immigrant status, as was the case decades ago.
“We should really get back to where Canada used to be,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ashton released a copy of the three-page “leadership contestant personal disclosure questionnaire” he was required to fill out by his party, and challenged Kinew to do the same.
The form includes questions about property ownership, previous work experience and social-media accounts held by the candidate. It also asks if the candidate has ever been arrested, charged or convicted of an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada or under any federal, provincial or municipal statutes.
Ashton owns homes in Thompson and Winnipeg, while his wife owns a vacation property in Greece, according to his disclosure. He said he has never been arrested or charged with a criminal offence.
Kinew has admitted to past convictions for impaired driving and assault, for which he was subsequently granted pardons.
Last week, Ashton also released a one-page summary of five years worth of personal income and deductions. In 2016, his total income was $187,068, consisting of four months of cabinet and MLA pay ($43,819), MLA pension income ($47,063), RRSP income ($4,348) and government severance ($91,838).
larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Larry Kusch
Legislature reporter
Larry Kusch didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life until he attended a high school newspaper editor’s workshop in Regina in the summer of 1969 and listened to a university student speak glowingly about the journalism program at Carleton University in Ottawa.
History
Updated on Monday, August 14, 2017 5:31 PM CDT: write-thru