Juno News - June 17, 2024


Canadians say NO to mass immigration

Topics
international student system immigration politics
Mentioned
Justin Trudeau Pierre Poilievre Mississauga Harrison Faulkner Maxime Bernier Paulie Toner Bram
New documentary exposes dark side of MAiD Trudeau says bad polls are because Canadians aren't in ＂decision mode＂

Episode Stats


Length

16 minutes

Words per minute

194.57

Word count

3,259

Sentence count

243

Harmful content

Hate speech

19

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, we talk to people in Mississauga, about immigration. We ask people if they think immigration levels in Canada are too high, and what they would like to see in the future of the country. We also talk about the benefits and disadvantages of immigration, and whether or not it should be a political issue.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Topics generated with Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct.
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Do you have any thoughts on immigration in our country?
00:00:02.320 It's been a lot in the past few years.
00:00:04.800 I think the immigration sector is too high. 1.00
00:00:08.400 Of course it's too high, man.
00:00:09.860 After immigration, the crime rate has increased a lot. 1.00
00:00:12.600 It should be slimmed down a bit.
00:00:14.440 Go back to where you came from.
00:00:22.120 Immigration is without a doubt the most important story facing this country.
00:00:27.140 Under Justin Trudeau, the Canadian population has skyrocketed.
00:00:31.600 Just take a look at this graph here of Canadian population growth year over year.
00:00:36.840 Public polling indicates that the majority of Canadians want immigration numbers to be lowered.
00:00:41.680 And that's the same as well among immigrants.
00:00:44.840 So across the board, the Canadian population are saying we're taking in too many people.
00:00:49.680 Enough is enough.
00:00:50.360 But even still, with all of that public polling available, politicians seem afraid to touch the issue.
00:00:55.980 The only political party that is willing to talk about mass immigration is the People's Party, led by Maxime Bernier.
00:01:02.040 But given that public polling on this issue is so one-sided, we wanted to go to Mississauga Town Centre,
00:01:08.480 which is where we are right now, to ask people if they think that immigration is too high.
00:01:14.160 Mississauga, like other GTA cities, is known for being very diverse.
00:01:18.200 It's known for having a large immigrant population.
00:01:20.480 So we're here to ask people what they think about immigration.
00:01:23.200 Are we taking in too many people? Are we not taking in enough people?
00:01:27.060 And should this issue be a political priority?
00:01:30.160 Let's see what people have to say.
00:01:41.200 And we're asking people if they feel as though the immigration levels in this country are too high.
00:01:44.880 What do you think?
00:01:45.440 What I think is they didn't provide enough housing.
00:01:48.640 That was the biggest thing.
00:01:49.420 The infrastructure is not there.
00:01:50.880 So 40 years ago, they had to have certain qualifications.
00:01:54.900 They had to, you know, services were in place.
00:01:58.420 Now their services are not there.
00:02:00.500 So as a result, they're having these huge problems.
00:02:02.740 Do you think it should be a political issue, an issue that politicians talk about?
00:02:06.520 Oh, definitely.
00:02:07.300 This is affecting the whole country.
00:02:08.700 Housing has gone up.
00:02:09.760 It's just too expensive right now.
00:02:11.140 So I don't know how new immigrants can even afford to live here. 1.00
00:02:14.620 So when they're coming here, they're realizing that this is just not the paradise that they thought it was.
00:02:19.340 A lot of immigrants come over here.
00:02:21.540 And they leave spots for like, they leave zero like spots for people who come here.
00:02:25.000 We're actually originally here in Canada.
00:02:26.480 So I feel like, yeah, immigration is pretty high around here.
00:02:30.140 And do you feel like the country's changed a lot over the past few years, three, four years?
00:02:33.780 Oh, yeah.
00:02:34.600 There actually, yeah, I see like a lot more buildings for people who come here and immigrate here.
00:02:39.220 I see schools get taken down due to having stuff for the immigrants here. 1.00
00:02:43.140 So I feel like, yeah, there has been a lot of stuff here.
00:02:45.940 And you feel that maybe the needs of Canadians are not being addressed first over the needs of immigration?
00:02:53.020 No, I'm trying to actually apply for a job recently.
00:02:56.800 I couldn't even get it due to the immigrants. 1.00
00:02:58.700 A lot of immigrants.
00:02:59.620 Yeah, really.
00:03:00.100 When I go to the store and see a bunch of immigrants, they don't really accept you. 1.00
00:03:04.320 They accept the crime.
00:03:05.460 So it's really hard to buy a job.
00:03:06.560 After immigration, the crime rate has increased a lot with a lot of, especially Indian students 1.00
00:03:12.520 that have been immigrating to Canada.
00:03:16.360 I mean, it's a good thing for them.
00:03:17.860 They get a lot of job opportunities and a lot of education here.
00:03:22.420 But it's also bad for the citizens who live here because a lot of job opportunities for us 0.54
00:03:27.260 are getting reduced.
00:03:29.660 And I feel like they're also being exploited in some ways.
00:03:33.020 Because I've heard that when they're working in their jobs, they're not getting paid as
00:03:38.840 much as minimum wage or the wages are right now.
00:03:42.160 This is me just talking about minimum wages, though.
00:03:43.940 Sure.
00:03:44.420 Yeah.
00:03:44.720 We've heard that, of course.
00:03:45.480 We've heard that a lot of international students are being exploited and employers are benefiting
00:03:51.480 a lot because they can pay under the table or pay really low wages.
00:03:55.220 Yeah, of course.
00:03:55.780 You mentioned something about the crime rate increasing.
00:03:58.060 Are you a resident in Mississauga?
00:03:59.600 Yes, I am.
00:04:00.160 Have you seen Mississauga change a lot over the past few years?
00:04:02.480 Of course, yeah.
00:04:03.080 I've lived here for 13 years when I was a kid.
00:04:07.160 I moved back to Pakistan.
00:04:08.660 That's where I'm from.
00:04:09.460 And then when I came back and moved here back, I've realized that a lot of changes happened.
00:04:14.000 You always have to look around of where you're going.
00:04:16.500 You have to always look back, keep an eye on who's behind you, who's in front of you.
00:04:20.740 I've even coming from a developing country in Pakistan, I've never really gone through
00:04:26.140 having to look back at my shoulder.
00:04:27.800 Wow.
00:04:28.240 And over here, I kind of have that insecurity because, I don't know, there's a lot of fights
00:04:32.720 going on.
00:04:33.220 You always have to keep an eye on if anyone might take your stuff or anything.
00:04:36.280 So, I am concerned about the safety of the country as well.
00:04:40.880 That's why.
00:04:41.440 And you think that the international student system is one of the key driving factors of
00:04:45.820 that?
00:04:46.060 You think a lot of these people that you feel are concerned are coming as students?
00:04:49.060 I mean, I'm not going to criticize them directly, but in a way, then yes.
00:04:55.060 Because it is hard for them as well because I understand their point of views because they're
00:05:00.620 coming from a country where they have to pay in rupees and they're struggling with dollars
00:05:05.960 now.
00:05:06.980 And the currency exchange rate between those are very different.
00:05:11.500 Canada is more expensive.
00:05:13.340 So, that's why if they do commit crimes, I do understand it, but it's wrong.
00:05:19.400 So, why do you think it is that if the majority of Canadians and immigrants agree that the
00:05:24.280 political opposition in Canada are, you know, unwilling to address the issue?
00:05:28.080 Money.
00:05:28.960 They want money.
00:05:30.520 How do the government make, how do these government affiliations make money off of the international
00:05:35.660 students?
00:05:36.480 When the international students come to Canada, they have to pay a rent, they have to get a 1.00
00:05:40.960 job, they pay some sort of taxes.
00:05:43.000 They also have, you have to pay a student deposit or their tuition fee, which is an international
00:05:49.360 fee because they're immigrants, which makes the government make more money and they're 1.00
00:05:54.200 accepting international students even more.
00:05:56.500 So, when it comes to the government, I feel like they're only about it for the money.
00:06:00.060 Do you feel like our country can absorb the amount of people we're taking in at the moment?
00:06:03.500 So, if we say the country can absorb, the question is what makes immigration to, how
00:06:08.380 makes immigration to a local?
00:06:09.360 Because one thing I know, it's, I know the Canadian, what do I call it, the age gap, we
00:06:14.580 have more of the elderly.
00:06:15.920 I believe that is why the immigration purpose was open in the first place.
00:06:18.840 But the question is, if we have more jobs, but we say the immigration is too much, or
00:06:24.100 if we have less jobs, we say it's too much.
00:06:26.120 So, I think that's why we need to balance the factor.
00:06:28.220 If we have less jobs, you know, that is when the government needs to come in place, probably
00:06:32.460 just, you know, reduce their numbers.
00:06:34.020 I don't know.
00:06:34.800 If they say we need more workforce, we need more specialists, we need, okay, let's say we need doctors,
00:06:38.540 we need to bring in more doctors, which I think that's what Ontario is doing currently, to bring in more pharmacists.
00:06:43.280 Yeah.
00:06:43.520 So, I can't really say it's too high, it's too low.
00:06:46.300 I don't know the job system.
00:06:48.200 I don't know the statistics.
00:06:49.800 Yeah.
00:06:50.040 So, that is what I think probably the government should look into it.
00:06:53.940 Do you have any thoughts on immigration in our country?
00:06:56.060 There's been a lot in the past few years.
00:07:00.300 What do you make of the fact that public polling indicates that a majority of Canadians and a majority of immigrants
00:07:05.480 want to see the immigration numbers lower, not erased, of course, not to zero, but they want to see a cap in place.
00:07:12.920 Do you think that is indicative of what you've experienced?
00:07:16.140 Do you think the majority of Canadians that you interact with agree on that statement?
00:07:19.120 I think older Canadians, probably.
00:07:22.820 I just don't think it's fair, especially because it's people who have immigrated here in the past who want immigration to come down.
00:07:28.540 And, like, I just don't think that really makes sense, personally.
00:07:31.380 Do you feel like immigration is playing a role in the housing issues that we're seeing in our country?
00:07:35.660 A lot of young Canadians are unable to afford a house, and do you feel like that's part of the demand that we're seeing, the increase in demand?
00:07:43.100 Yeah, of course.
00:07:43.980 I think, like, immigration is definitely, like, causing an increase of demand inside of, like, you know, the industry.
00:07:49.860 And I think, like, we need to catch up with our supply in terms of housing.
00:07:54.480 But I do think in the short term, I think lowering immigration would help with that because it's harder to build houses than it is to bring in people, right? 0.98
00:08:00.520 Let me ask you this, because the public polling indicates that a majority of Canadians agree with what you've just said,
00:08:06.800 and including immigrants, they also agree that immigration should be lowered at the moment.
00:08:10.420 But at a political level, it's not an issue that politicians seem willing to address.
00:08:15.220 They're either in favor of it or, as in the case with the Conservative Party, they seem afraid to touch it.
00:08:20.460 Why do you think that is?
00:08:21.260 Why do you think that it's become such a difficult issue to approach at a political level?
00:08:27.760 I think, like, a lot of it comes down to, like, you know, like, party politics.
00:08:31.860 It's, like, different people have different opinions, and now that we're, like, seeing an increase in polarization in the world,
00:08:36.080 especially, like, you know, due to the advent of social media, a lot of people are, like, really, like,
00:08:41.260 taking, like, fringe opinions on, like, topics.
00:08:43.240 So you'll see, like, a lot of people really just, I guess, obsessed with the idea of, like, open immigration,
00:08:50.260 like, open everything, and a lot of people are obsessed with the opposite of that.
00:08:52.660 And so in order to, like, you know, mitigate the negative social effects,
00:08:56.200 a lot of people are a little more subdued with expressing their true feelings.
00:08:59.840 But I feel like, yeah, like, it's just the times, right?
00:09:03.080 Of course it's too high, man.
00:09:04.880 You think it's played a major role in the housing problems that we're facing in our country?
00:09:09.840 I think so.
00:09:10.780 Why do you think that politicians don't want to address it?
00:09:12.840 You know what it is?
00:09:13.680 They don't live among, like, here, you know what I mean? 0.99
00:09:15.980 Like, they don't live in the city.
00:09:17.100 They live somewhere else where, like, there's probably not even a lot of immigrants where they're at, right?
00:09:20.460 I think the immigration sector is too high. 1.00
00:09:23.940 I think it's really, I think they should more lower the standard of it
00:09:28.580 and fix the problem with the homeless situation in Canada.
00:09:32.300 And I believe that they should also, they should also stop immigrants from coming in for a while 1.00
00:09:38.760 until they can find a solution where to put the homeless people.
00:09:42.320 That's my belief.
00:09:43.100 You want to see the country put Canadians first ahead of immigration. 0.95
00:09:47.100 I agree, 100%.
00:09:48.780 And you feel, do you feel that immigration, the rate of immigration has played a significant role
00:09:54.580 in some of the housing issues a lot of Canadians are facing?
00:09:57.120 I think it is the problem.
00:09:59.780 I think all the immigrants that are coming in, I think it's a big major problem for us as Canadians 1.00
00:10:05.600 because if, what they did, what they did, they put more immigrants in front of the Canadians
00:10:15.960 and they give them more access in the country.
00:10:19.120 And they did not fix the problem where to put the homeless people in a place first
00:10:23.860 before they bring new immigrants to Canada.
00:10:27.400 I think that's the problem.
00:10:28.800 I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear this, that the majority of people we spoke to agree with you
00:10:33.420 and the majority of people that have been polled on this issue agree.
00:10:37.200 But for whatever reason, at a political level, we have the opposition leader.
00:10:40.920 He's afraid to talk about immigration.
00:10:42.520 He won't say anything about it.
00:10:44.300 And of course, the government under Trudeau, he's in favour.
00:10:46.240 Why do you think that is?
00:10:46.900 The reason why I believe that they're afraid is because a lot of immigrants came in illegally 1.00
00:10:51.520 and they came in through the Underground Railroad
00:10:54.760 and the government, they don't want to get in trouble because I think they know.
00:10:58.680 I think, honestly, I think they are aware that it happened and it shocked them that it happened
00:11:03.640 because they didn't know that people would be so smart to go through that level.
00:11:07.780 I think it's too high, according to me, because the opportunities,
00:11:14.700 according to the number of people who are arriving, are less compared to that.
00:11:19.460 And, but I have heard and, you know, seen that maybe it's decreasing, like, as compared to the past years,
00:11:27.540 but I guess, like, it's higher.
00:11:29.520 And do you think that it has played a role in the housing issues we've seen in this country?
00:11:33.480 A lot of young Canadians are unable to afford a house and people say that it's due to demand.
00:11:38.200 Do you feel like immigration plays a role in that?
00:11:40.000 It definitely does because, yeah, I have seen a lot of people facing problems to find places to even live on rent
00:11:48.980 or even, you know, to buy the houses and stuff because even the interest rate is getting higher because of that
00:11:55.720 because a lot of population is there.
00:11:59.000 So, it's, yeah, it's badly affecting it.
00:12:01.200 Yeah, I think it should be slimmed down a bit, maybe.
00:12:05.200 Yeah.
00:12:05.600 Yeah, for sure.
00:12:07.920 But then maybe later on, increasing, depending who's you're bringing in, bring smart people.
00:12:13.840 You don't want to bring lower class people to bring in drugs or anything like that. 1.00
00:12:18.540 Yeah.
00:12:19.300 And have you, have you noticed change in Mississauga?
00:12:23.020 Have you noticed change in where you're living due to the rapid increase?
00:12:26.100 Yeah, I lived here 20 years for, like, for a long time.
00:12:27.960 So, of course, I've seen all the, all the change and multiculturalism, which is good for some cities. 0.69
00:12:34.120 But, yeah, it's...
00:12:35.780 You brought up multiculturalism, and that's an issue that not a lot of people talk about.
00:12:39.360 And it's the fact that, you know, with rapid increases in immigration,
00:12:42.680 you can kind of lose part of Canadian culture in a way.
00:12:45.760 How do you, you feel like, you know, Canadian culture has taken a back seat to cultures from outside of the country?
00:12:53.080 Yeah, well, Canada just has no real culture, I guess.
00:12:56.240 It's just all just a bunch of multi, different groups.
00:13:01.680 Mostly even the cities are, each city is its own culture, I would say.
00:13:06.460 Yeah, like some Bram, Toner, Mississauga, it's, like, people live in together, the cultures.
00:13:12.860 So that's how it usually is.
00:13:14.520 It probably won't surprise you that the majority of people we've spoken to agree with what you've just said.
00:13:18.520 They're, they agree with you.
00:13:19.600 And the majority of Canadians and immigrants agree that they want to see immigration levels lowered.
00:13:23.820 But right now, the Conservative opposition leader, he doesn't address immigration at all.
00:13:29.180 He doesn't want to talk about it.
00:13:30.820 Obviously, the government are in favour of increasing the levels.
00:13:34.380 Why do you think it is that politicians don't want to address immigration?
00:13:36.760 Well, I think they want some votes, so, like, Paulie, if he wants to win, which, hopefully, he does win some change or something.
00:13:44.500 So he just maybe just wants votes because he's supporting all the, yeah, I think it's just for votes.
00:13:50.060 I'm already working with an immigration firm right now.
00:13:52.980 Okay, yeah.
00:13:53.420 So, yes, I can say that there is so much changes in the immigration part.
00:13:58.060 So, mostly, there is a main changes, like, in student study permit, because most of the students are not able to transfer the studies in Canada
00:14:07.700 because of the minister already put a cap on that.
00:14:12.760 So, yes, I can say that.
00:14:14.080 Of course.
00:14:14.520 So, you work in immigration.
00:14:15.900 Do you feel like the government has approached immigration in a responsible way, or do you feel like the rate is too high?
00:14:24.460 No.
00:14:25.100 According to my point of view, yes, the government is going a good way because right now students are not getting a job in different fields.
00:14:33.400 So, according to my point of view, yes, government is doing a good way because putting a cap on the student study permits from outside Canada
00:14:41.720 is a good initiative for those students who are not able to survive here.
00:14:47.120 Just as we expected, just like the public polling that we've seen about immigration,
00:14:51.160 everyone that we've spoken to thinks that immigration levels are too high.
00:14:55.340 Of course, there are different reasons for that.
00:14:57.240 Some people are talking about culture.
00:14:59.120 Some people are worried about not putting Canadians first.
00:15:01.700 Other people are concerned about crime in their city.
00:15:03.780 But each answer was right along with what we've been seeing in the public polling,
00:15:07.600 which is that Canadians feel that immigration, at the current rate, is too high.
00:15:12.040 They want to see it lowered.
00:15:13.320 And we asked the people that we spoke to why they feel as though politicians, and in particular Pierre Polyev,
00:15:19.420 why they feel that Pierre Polyev is so afraid to address immigration.
00:15:22.920 The majority is with the people who want to see a reduction in numbers.
00:15:27.220 And their answers were, it's because of money.
00:15:30.000 It's because they want votes.
00:15:31.620 It's because they don't want to rock the boat.
00:15:32.880 The reality is, at what point are we going to have a political opposition
00:15:36.360 that is going to side with the majority on this issue?
00:15:39.820 When are we going to have this debate at a political level?
00:15:43.260 Ultimately, it's the government that determines who can come in and who is not allowed to come in.
00:15:47.980 But right now, it appears that everyone in the government, including in the opposition,
00:15:51.720 are in favour of the current rate of immigration.
00:15:54.380 Let me know in the comments if you want to see us ask this question to Canadians in different cities,
00:15:59.120 in different parts of the country.
00:16:00.180 We might get different answers.
00:16:01.300 Mississauga, a very diverse place, a place that a lot of immigrants come to settle.
00:16:06.300 Well, they all thought that immigration was too high.
00:16:08.900 Would we get a different set of answers in a different city, perhaps?
00:16:12.120 Let me know if you'd like us to ask this question someplace else.
00:16:15.820 But for now, signing off from Mississauga, Harrison Faulkner for True North.
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00:16:42.620 Now we're going to catch a little bit ago.