By RAY SPITERI Niagara Falls Review Updated 14 hours ago
The Liberal plan to give tax credits to employers who hire immigrants could actually make it harder for new Canadians to get ahead, says Claire Masswohl, chief executive officer of the Multicultural Network of Niagara Falls.
"It creates racism," said Masswohl, whose agency helps newcomers settle in the country.
"I was very upset when I saw that. Very shocked. It evokes an 'Us versus them' situation in society. This should not be in a political platform at all. Why would someone use newcomers or new Canadians as a political agenda? They don't need any more barriers."
Premier Dalton McGuinty's "No Skills Left Behind" tax credit, which will pay employers $10,000 to hire new Canadian citizens, has become a hot-button issue during the early days of the provincial election.
PC Leader Tim Hudak described the Liberal plan as affirmative action for foreign workers. After receiving some backlash for his choice of words, Hudak dropped the foreign workers tag at subsequent campaign stops, but maintained the Grit policy favours "some people over others."
McGuinty said the job perk would be available only to new Canadian citizens.
To be eligible to apply for citizenship in Canada, a landed immigrant would have to have been in the country for at least three of the past four years, or 1,095 days, know English or French well enough to communicate, and have no criminal record.
It currently takes about 19 months to go through the application process, leaving a narrow five-month window when someone would be eligible to apply for the tax credit.
And although the eligible professions have yet to be announced, the Liberals have made it clear the credit will only go for highly- educated ones like accountants and engineers.
The Grits have gone even further in limiting its scope, saying the tax credit will pay employers for training for one year only.
McGuinty said the program was never meant to apply broadly. Calling it a "modest" yet "very important" program, it will help up to 1,200 new Canadian citizens, he said.
Whatever the explanation, Masswohl isn't a fan.
"It creates a huge backlash for immigrants," she said. "We already see the nonsensical number of emails saying, 'Send them back to their country' or 'Immigrants get more money than seniors.'
"This sort of plan just feeds more of this garbage."
Masswohl said there is already a second career program available to help new Canadians.
The Multicultural Network of Niagara Falls helps immigrants with a wide range of services, such as employment, paperwork and English as a Second Language classes.
"The government, in my 18 years of doing this work, have helped to break down some barriers. Seeing highly-skilled doctors, for example, being turned away is a huge loss to our economy.
"But this plan, I can't even fathom them doing that."
Carolyn Bones, president of the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce, said her initial reaction was that the tax credit policy is "somewhat biased."
"I would like to see some factual information about the number of jobs (McGuinty) thinks it will create and the impact it will have on the economy," said Bones.
"There are many businesses in Ontario and Niagara Falls that can well use a $10,000 tax credit to assist them in the difficult times they are facing.
"But this plan is somewhat biased because it's only geared towards new Canadians, it's not for all business people."
Peter Graefe, professor of political science at McMaster University, said he's surprised by how much attention this plan has garnered, both by politicians and the media.
"It's a pretty small program. It's not funding a huge number of people," said Graefe.
"It has become a central issue in the election when Ontario has much more significant issues on its plate economically, socially and environmentally."
He said McGuinty likely saw the policy as a potential "trip wire" for Hudak.
"There is a significant number of Ontarians living in economic uncertainty. The median wage has not moved in Ontario in about 30 years. People are working harder and not getting ahead.
"In situations such as this, some people unfortunately like to find a scapegoat, someone to blame."
Graefe said while the Liberals have made a "huge deal on a small policy," the Conservatives have made "some pretty divisive appeals" to try and counter the Grit policy.
"The Liberals probably figured Hudak would make hay of it and he did. He riled up his base.
"The question is, will he come across as being someone who will not cut special deals, or will he be seen as playing that sort of 'gotcha politics,' as opposed to seeming premier material, a real statesman."
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