Reshaping the Mosaic: Canadian Immigration Policy in the 21st Century (in press, University of Toronto Press) offers a comprehensive analysis of Canadian immigration policy, exploring its historical foundations and contemporary challenges. It focuses on the period since enactment of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, 2001, and provides a thorough examination of changes in selection criteria, admission processes, deportation powers, integration efforts and citizenship regulations and their implications. With insights into policy changes in policy and policy making processes that are necessary to ensure a responsive and accountable immigration policy for the future, the book is a valuable resource for students, policymakers, advocates, and general readers interested in understanding the dynamics of Canadian immigration policy.
Immigration policy remains a cornerstone of national governance, undergoing significant transformations across economic, family, and refugee admission streams in the past two decades. Revised selection criteria reflect a strategic realignment with economic interests.
Reforms have also broadened government powers to exclude and deport immigrants and raised requirements for citizenship acquisition. The changes mark a return to more restrictive policies of the past, reshaping the pathway to Canadian identity.
This evolution has been accompanied by a disturbing decline in public transparency within the policy-making process. Departing from past practices of structured hearings and thorough studies, recent changes have been swift and less subject to public scrutiny, raising concerns about democratic accountability.
Against this backdrop, annual immigration levels have surged, amplifying their societal impact. Reshaping the Mosaic meticulously documents and analyzes these developments, probing their wide-ranging consequences.
It is driven by a conviction that the contemporary overhaul in immigration policy needs a comprehensive and inclusive examination. By scrutinizing recent shifts and their societal implications, the book provides invaluable insights for policymakers, scholars, and stakeholders for a new immigration policy framework.
The book aims to to inspire deeper critical engagement on the current and future central components of our immigration policy that directly affect hundreds of thousands of lives, and touch millions more.
Ninette Kelley is a lawyer and former Official of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR); Michael J. Trebilcock is an Emeritus University Professor of Law and Economics at the University of Toronto. They are co-authors of The Making of the Mosaic: A History of Canadian Immigration Policy (University of Toronto Press, 2nd Edition, 2010).
Jeffrey G. Reitz 