OPTTAWA, Oct. 30, Reuter: Canadian Immigration levels will be raised by 10,000 to about 135,000 people next year, Immigration Minister Gerald Weiner said on Friday.
The greatest increase for 1988 will be in the family reunification category where an estimated 50,000 immigrants will be accepted, up 5,000 from the projected level this year, Weiner told the House of ‘Commons.
“A continued policy of moderate and controlled growth means economic, social and cultural benefits for all Canadians,” the Immigration Minister said.
The Progressive Conservative government has been under fire over its immigration policies in recent months after moving to tighten regulations following the widely publicized arrivals of boatloads of illegal refugees off the East Coast.
Legislation currently under study gives the government sweeping powers to detain and deport illegal immigrants and to turn ships carrying them away from Canadian waters.
The measures have been condemned by church groups and refugee advocacy workers who say the government is being unduly harsh on those fleeing persecution in their homeland.
But Weiner said the government is committed to the protection of refugees who fear persecution in other countries and that an estimated 13,000 people in that category would be admitted in 1988.
Article extracted from this publication >> November 6, 1987
