| Abstract: | Immigration policies and their management in a country like Canada have long been an interesting and instructive study for other countries. 1) With borders naturally protected by great distance from almost all migrant routes; 2) with a long, undefended border with the US and a further 3000 kilometers to its border on the south; 3) with a parliamentary system capable of comparatively rapid legislative and administrative responses to problems; and 4) with a relatively small legal, and even smaller illegal, population Canada had historically "experimented" with novel, often quite creative, immigration policies and programs to both encourage and control the increases in its population. This paper summarizes what Canada did and is doing in response to am important item of public policy--the entry and presence of illegal migrants. Canada has experimented with 1) discretionary amnesty for long-term illegals with a capacity to be successfully integrated into Canadian life, 2) tighter border controls with the extended use of the visitor's visa, and 3) employer sanctions. To address the problem more substantively, however, requires detailed study and significant change, including legislative change. |
