Grits put immigrants in poorhouse: minister
By JORGE BARRERA -- Sun Media
1 Feb. 2007
The policies of the previous Liberal government pushed new immigrants into poverty and a recent Statistics Canada report proves it, says Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley.
The StatsCan report, released Tuesday, said more newly landed immigrants are now finding themselves in poverty during their first two years of life here.
"It is just one more condemnation of the Liberal government's record," said Finley. "It showed the results of the decline of their investment in immigration. All of that happened under the Liberal watch."
The minister recently came under criticism for hiring a close friend of the prime minister as her chief of staff.
Finley said her government has invested $307 million in settlement programs, but she said little when pressed on what the Tories plan to do.
"We are investing in immigrants, in the process," she said.
The StatsCan report, which focused on data between 1993 and 2004, said the Liberal government's focus on university-trained immigrants had little impact on improving their income levels once they arrived in Canada.
The immigration portfolio comes with a revolving door. Four ministers have held the post in the last two years.
