Illiberal Immigration Policies Illiberal Immigration Policies Wednesday, October 23, 1996. As Liberals gather in Ottawa to consider their policies for the coming election the Canadian Council for Refugees calls on Liberal Party members to review the government's record on immigration and refugee issues. While in opposition the Liberals spoke out against immigration processing fees when they were first introduced. This tax discriminates against people from countries with weak currencies and places a terrible burden on refugees fleeing persecution. The Head Tax is splitting apart families, forcing people who earn minimum wage to go hungry and encouraging loan sharking.
Citizenship rights are under attack.
Despite its expressed intention of strengthening fairness and integrity in the Citizenship Act, the Liberal-dominated Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration recommended denying citizenship to some children born in Canada. Minister Robillard has said she is considering this proposal. Employment programs for newcomers have been cut completely. Instead, in the changeover from Unemployment Insurance legislation to Employment Insurance, newcomers to Canada have been made ineligible for virtually all labour market training. Women in danger are not given protection.