Alberta’s immigration minister says he’s concerned about the federal government’s plan this year to accept thousands of parents and grandparents of immigrants who are already in Canada.
Joseph Schow says he understands the importance of reuniting families, but provincial health-care systems don’t have the capacity and could be overwhelmed.
This year Ottawa plans to approve just over 24,000 parents and grandparents of newcomers this year before reducing its target for the next two years.
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Schow says provinces should have more say on immigration targets and that overall immigration should be reduced to no more than half a million people per year.
He says Alberta and other provinces should also be more involved in determining which immigrants they accept.
Federal Immigration Minister Lena Diab’s office says the government is committed to reuniting as many families as possible and that this immigration stream has social, cultural and economic benefits.
Schow’s comments come as a provincial panel currently touring Alberta has heard from citizens on a number of topics, including whether some newcomers should be entitled to social services like health care.
— More to come…