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Which is Liberal and which is Conservative? Hard to tell.
It was hard to find the transcript for Harper's recent talk at the John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in Missaussauga on September 9th, but here is what he said that should indicate his future intentions for immigration policy:
These and other initiatives underscore our understanding of the concerns of new Canadians, and our commitment to bringing more immigrants to Canada to live, work and succeed in Canada.The initiatives include reducing the fee for immigrants applying for landed status by half, and $1.4-billion for immigrant settlement programs (it's not clear for what period of time).
All the pundits, bloggers and MSM, are talking about the economic factor. Harper, they say, is making the economy his focus. But, I don't buy that. Under the radar, Harper still seeks to win over those liberals (and immigrants), especially in the big cities like Toronto.
As his speech in Mississauga shows, his party has already invested time and money on the immigrant issue. And the economy is actually intricately linked to Ontario, the largest immigrant-base in the country, since there is now talk of Ontario being on the receiving end of the equalization payments, or at least to reduce its contributions. Even John Tory, the defeated Conservative provincial candidate, expressed shock last year at how bad the Ontario economy is. All this, as many records show, is partly related to the immigrant issue. The numbers are climbing, the results are minimal, if not negative, and no-one is talking about it.
But, given that politicians all over the Greater Toronto Area are showing up wherever immigrants reside (and celebrate), and Dion's recent competitive $800-million promise to "modernize and streamline immigration" - whatever that means, it is clear that winning immigrant votes is still a big issue.
Dion may not be far from wrong in saying that Harper has a hidden agenda. Although it is not that Harper is more right-wing or ideological than he lets on, it is that he is less so. Harper is banking on winning a majority this time around. He's certainly laid out his (non-conservative) groundwork to get there. There's no reason why he should change direction once he wins his election, based on the moderate policies he's implemented so far. And winning immigrant votes is certainly part of his plan.
James Bissett from the Canadian Centre for Policy Studies is one of the few experts who says that immigration should be an election issue. My point is that it is, but it is kept, at least by the Conservatives, relatively hidden. Otherwise what is to differentiate them from the Liberals? Yes, Harper does need those big city votes, but it ironically, it is the rural and small town votes that he needs most now. And he still has to win them over (not the liberals) to his moderate, even liberal, positions. That is why I believe he's keeping immigration under the radar. Does back room deals of post election goods with ethnic leaders sound like a reasonable assessment?
Harper has done a clever job of wooing over Quebeckers, liberal-loving immigrants, and even kept some kind of conservative (Canadian style) base. His method has really turned out to be cold expediency.