Canadians say NO to mass immigration
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Summary
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
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Do you have any thoughts on immigration in our country?
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I think the immigration sector is too high.
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After immigration, the crime rate has increased a lot.
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Immigration is without a doubt the most important story facing this country.
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Under Justin Trudeau, the Canadian population has skyrocketed.
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Just take a look at this graph here of Canadian population growth year over year.
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Public polling indicates that the majority of Canadians want immigration numbers to be lowered.
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So across the board, the Canadian population are saying we're taking in too many people.
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But even still, with all of that public polling available, politicians seem afraid to touch the issue.
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The only political party that is willing to talk about mass immigration is the People's Party, led by Maxime Bernier.
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But given that public polling on this issue is so one-sided, we wanted to go to Mississauga Town Centre,
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which is where we are right now, to ask people if they think that immigration is too high.
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Mississauga, like other GTA cities, is known for being very diverse.
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It's known for having a large immigrant population.
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So we're here to ask people what they think about immigration.
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Are we taking in too many people? Are we not taking in enough people?
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And we're asking people if they feel as though the immigration levels in this country are too high.
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What I think is they didn't provide enough housing.
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So 40 years ago, they had to have certain qualifications.
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So as a result, they're having these huge problems.
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Do you think it should be a political issue, an issue that politicians talk about?
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So I don't know how new immigrants can even afford to live here.
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So when they're coming here, they're realizing that this is just not the paradise that they thought it was.
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And they leave spots for like, they leave zero like spots for people who come here.
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So I feel like, yeah, immigration is pretty high around here.
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And do you feel like the country's changed a lot over the past few years, three, four years?
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There actually, yeah, I see like a lot more buildings for people who come here and immigrate here.
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I see schools get taken down due to having stuff for the immigrants here.
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So I feel like, yeah, there has been a lot of stuff here.
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And you feel that maybe the needs of Canadians are not being addressed first over the needs of immigration?
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No, I'm trying to actually apply for a job recently.
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I couldn't even get it due to the immigrants.
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When I go to the store and see a bunch of immigrants, they don't really accept you.
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After immigration, the crime rate has increased a lot with a lot of, especially Indian students
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They get a lot of job opportunities and a lot of education here.
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But it's also bad for the citizens who live here because a lot of job opportunities for us
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And I feel like they're also being exploited in some ways.
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Because I've heard that when they're working in their jobs, they're not getting paid as
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much as minimum wage or the wages are right now.
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This is me just talking about minimum wages, though.
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We've heard that a lot of international students are being exploited and employers are benefiting
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a lot because they can pay under the table or pay really low wages.
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You mentioned something about the crime rate increasing.
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Have you seen Mississauga change a lot over the past few years?
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And then when I came back and moved here back, I've realized that a lot of changes happened.
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You always have to look around of where you're going.
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You have to always look back, keep an eye on who's behind you, who's in front of you.
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I've even coming from a developing country in Pakistan, I've never really gone through
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And over here, I kind of have that insecurity because, I don't know, there's a lot of fights
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You always have to keep an eye on if anyone might take your stuff or anything.
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So, I am concerned about the safety of the country as well.
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And you think that the international student system is one of the key driving factors of
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You think a lot of these people that you feel are concerned are coming as students?
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I mean, I'm not going to criticize them directly, but in a way, then yes.
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Because it is hard for them as well because I understand their point of views because they're
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coming from a country where they have to pay in rupees and they're struggling with dollars
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And the currency exchange rate between those are very different.
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So, that's why if they do commit crimes, I do understand it, but it's wrong.
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So, why do you think it is that if the majority of Canadians and immigrants agree that the
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political opposition in Canada are, you know, unwilling to address the issue?
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How do the government make, how do these government affiliations make money off of the international
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When the international students come to Canada, they have to pay a rent, they have to get a
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They also have, you have to pay a student deposit or their tuition fee, which is an international
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fee because they're immigrants, which makes the government make more money and they're
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So, when it comes to the government, I feel like they're only about it for the money.
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Do you feel like our country can absorb the amount of people we're taking in at the moment?
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So, if we say the country can absorb, the question is what makes immigration to, how
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Because one thing I know, it's, I know the Canadian, what do I call it, the age gap, we
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I believe that is why the immigration purpose was open in the first place.
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But the question is, if we have more jobs, but we say the immigration is too much, or
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So, I think that's why we need to balance the factor.
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If we have less jobs, you know, that is when the government needs to come in place, probably
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If they say we need more workforce, we need more specialists, we need, okay, let's say we need doctors,
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we need to bring in more doctors, which I think that's what Ontario is doing currently, to bring in more pharmacists.
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So, I can't really say it's too high, it's too low.
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So, that is what I think probably the government should look into it.
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Do you have any thoughts on immigration in our country?
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What do you make of the fact that public polling indicates that a majority of Canadians and a majority of immigrants
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want to see the immigration numbers lower, not erased, of course, not to zero, but they want to see a cap in place.
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Do you think that is indicative of what you've experienced?
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Do you think the majority of Canadians that you interact with agree on that statement?
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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.
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And, like, I just don't think that really makes sense, personally.
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Do you feel like immigration is playing a role in the housing issues that we're seeing in our country?
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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?
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I think, like, immigration is definitely, like, causing an increase of demand inside of, like, you know, the industry.
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And I think, like, we need to catch up with our supply in terms of housing.
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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?
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Let me ask you this, because the public polling indicates that a majority of Canadians agree with what you've just said,
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and including immigrants, they also agree that immigration should be lowered at the moment.
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But at a political level, it's not an issue that politicians seem willing to address.
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They're either in favor of it or, as in the case with the Conservative Party, they seem afraid to touch it.
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Why do you think that it's become such a difficult issue to approach at a political level?
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I think, like, a lot of it comes down to, like, you know, like, party politics.
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It's, like, different people have different opinions, and now that we're, like, seeing an increase in polarization in the world,
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especially, like, you know, due to the advent of social media, a lot of people are, like, really, like,
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taking, like, fringe opinions on, like, topics.
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So you'll see, like, a lot of people really just, I guess, obsessed with the idea of, like, open immigration,
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like, open everything, and a lot of people are obsessed with the opposite of that.
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And so in order to, like, you know, mitigate the negative social effects,
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a lot of people are a little more subdued with expressing their true feelings.
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But I feel like, yeah, like, it's just the times, right?
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You think it's played a major role in the housing problems that we're facing in our country?
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Why do you think that politicians don't want to address it?
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They don't live among, like, here, you know what I mean?
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They live somewhere else where, like, there's probably not even a lot of immigrants where they're at, right?
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I think the immigration sector is too high.
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I think it's really, I think they should more lower the standard of it
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and fix the problem with the homeless situation in Canada.
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And I believe that they should also, they should also stop immigrants from coming in for a while
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until they can find a solution where to put the homeless people.
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You want to see the country put Canadians first ahead of immigration.
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And you feel, do you feel that immigration, the rate of immigration has played a significant role
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in some of the housing issues a lot of Canadians are facing?
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I think all the immigrants that are coming in, I think it's a big major problem for us as Canadians
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because if, what they did, what they did, they put more immigrants in front of the Canadians
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And they did not fix the problem where to put the homeless people in a place first
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I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear this, that the majority of people we spoke to agree with you
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and the majority of people that have been polled on this issue agree.
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But for whatever reason, at a political level, we have the opposition leader.
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And of course, the government under Trudeau, he's in favour.
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The reason why I believe that they're afraid is because a lot of immigrants came in illegally
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and they came in through the Underground Railroad
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and the government, they don't want to get in trouble because I think they know.
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I think, honestly, I think they are aware that it happened and it shocked them that it happened
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because they didn't know that people would be so smart to go through that level.
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I think it's too high, according to me, because the opportunities,
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according to the number of people who are arriving, are less compared to that.
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And, but I have heard and, you know, seen that maybe it's decreasing, like, as compared to the past years,
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And do you think that it has played a role in the housing issues we've seen in this country?
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A lot of young Canadians are unable to afford a house and people say that it's due to demand.
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Do you feel like immigration plays a role in that?
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It definitely does because, yeah, I have seen a lot of people facing problems to find places to even live on rent
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or even, you know, to buy the houses and stuff because even the interest rate is getting higher because of that
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Yeah, I think it should be slimmed down a bit, maybe.
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But then maybe later on, increasing, depending who's you're bringing in, bring smart people.
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You don't want to bring lower class people to bring in drugs or anything like that.
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And have you, have you noticed change in Mississauga?
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Have you noticed change in where you're living due to the rapid increase?
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Yeah, I lived here 20 years for, like, for a long time.
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So, of course, I've seen all the, all the change and multiculturalism, which is good for some cities.
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You brought up multiculturalism, and that's an issue that not a lot of people talk about.
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And it's the fact that, you know, with rapid increases in immigration,
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you can kind of lose part of Canadian culture in a way.
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How do you, you feel like, you know, Canadian culture has taken a back seat to cultures from outside of the country?
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Yeah, well, Canada just has no real culture, I guess.
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It's just all just a bunch of multi, different groups.
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Mostly even the cities are, each city is its own culture, I would say.
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Yeah, like some Bram, Toner, Mississauga, it's, like, people live in together, the cultures.
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It probably won't surprise you that the majority of people we've spoken to agree with what you've just said.
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And the majority of Canadians and immigrants agree that they want to see immigration levels lowered.
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But right now, the Conservative opposition leader, he doesn't address immigration at all.
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Obviously, the government are in favour of increasing the levels.
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Why do you think it is that politicians don't want to address immigration?
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Well, I think they want some votes, so, like, Paulie, if he wants to win, which, hopefully, he does win some change or something.
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So he just maybe just wants votes because he's supporting all the, yeah, I think it's just for votes.
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I'm already working with an immigration firm right now.
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So, yes, I can say that there is so much changes in the immigration part.
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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
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because of the minister already put a cap on that.
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Do you feel like the government has approached immigration in a responsible way, or do you feel like the rate is too high?
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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.
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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
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is a good initiative for those students who are not able to survive here.
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Just as we expected, just like the public polling that we've seen about immigration,
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everyone that we've spoken to thinks that immigration levels are too high.
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Of course, there are different reasons for that.
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Some people are worried about not putting Canadians first.
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Other people are concerned about crime in their city.
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But each answer was right along with what we've been seeing in the public polling,
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which is that Canadians feel that immigration, at the current rate, is too high.
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And we asked the people that we spoke to why they feel as though politicians, and in particular Pierre Polyev,
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why they feel that Pierre Polyev is so afraid to address immigration.
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The majority is with the people who want to see a reduction in numbers.
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The reality is, at what point are we going to have a political opposition
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that is going to side with the majority on this issue?
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When are we going to have this debate at a political level?
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Ultimately, it's the government that determines who can come in and who is not allowed to come in.
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But right now, it appears that everyone in the government, including in the opposition,
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are in favour of the current rate of immigration.
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Let me know in the comments if you want to see us ask this question to Canadians in different cities,
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Mississauga, a very diverse place, a place that a lot of immigrants come to settle.
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Well, they all thought that immigration was too high.
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Would we get a different set of answers in a different city, perhaps?
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Let me know if you'd like us to ask this question someplace else.
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But for now, signing off from Mississauga, Harrison Faulkner for True North.