Disappointed

In my view, Canada has a reputation for welcoming and embracing immigrants. Whenever, I go traveling and I tell people that I am from Canada, I always hear \" I have a cousin, a brother, a sister, etc. who lives in Canada\". Personally, with my own history of being a refugee, I have experienced what progress immigration policies can do to impact the lives of a family, of an individual. I am deeply ashamed of what the Conservative government is doing right now for immigrants.

With the recent changes to our immigration policy to focus on more \"desirable\" ie skilled workers or business people and changes to the Interim Federal Health Program so that only emergency health services are covered for Government Assisted Refugees, we are sending out a message to the world that Canada is no longer a country that welcomes you. We only want those that can contribute to our economy and make money. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, has repeated said that he doesn't want immigrants to come to Canada and abuse the system, take advantage of our social assistance program and use our medical services. His statements are unfounded and based on assumptions about immigrants. Where is our commitment as a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees? Where is our sense of humanity and compassion?

What I love about Canada is that we are so multicultural, that we don't have one national identity, we are this mosaic of different languages, cultures, religions, and beliefs. Jason Kenney is eroding that very foundation.