Walkom: Ottawa’s low-wage immigration policy threatens turmoil

by Thomas Walkom
The Star
National Affairs Columnist

There is an implicit bargain in Canada regarding immigration. Canadians agree to welcome newcomers. In return, the government agrees not to use immigrants to drive down the wages of those already living here.

While never formally acknowledged, it’s a bargain that’s been in place since at least World War II, one that has prevented the kind of anti-immigrant agitation now roiling Europe.

And it is a bargain that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives are deliberately setting out to break.

Human Resources Minister Diane Finley made the break specific this week when she announced that Ottawa will now let employers pay temporary foreign workers less than Canadians.

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