Canada faces possible illegal migrant surge: report

[Twoller]

This from the National Post online:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2352845

Canada faces possible illegal migrant surge: report
Peter O’Neil, Europe Correspondent, Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, December 17, 2009

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A growing backlash against the millions of illegal migrants in Europe, and recession-related social tensions elsewhere in the world, could lead to a surge in undocumented migrants entering Canada to take advantage of generous social programs and a "sympathetic" refugee processing system, according to an internal Canada Border Services Agency report.

The report cites "increasing anti-immigrant sentiment" around the world and lists various "nationalist" and "protectionist" measures by countries like Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Spain and Italy to reduce immigration or drive out foreign workers competing for local jobs.

The report emphasizes Europe's struggles with illegal migrants, but was written before recent controversial actions, such as France's forced closure of a refugee camp in Calais and Switzerland's referendum vote banning new construction of minarets -- towers on mosques from which Muslims are called to prayer.

....

The undated report was distributed internally to CBSA and Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials as an attachment to a Sept. 2, 2009 e-mail, which stressed that the information was "sensitive" and not intended for the public domain.

The report warned of potential social unrest in China and other parts of the developing world as a result of the recession and migrant crackdowns in rich countries.

"Countries such as China and Bangladesh will have masses of unemployed who, in recent years, had grown accustomed to an improved standard of living. If not managed, these situations have the potential to erupt into political and social crises.

"Labour importing countries reacting to the economic crisis by imposing new restrictions on the number of foreign workers permitted, or accelerating removal for displaced foreign workers in an effort to protect jobs for the domestic workforce, may be inadvertently aggravating fragile political environments."

The rest of the article here.