CANADA: CAMPAIGN PROMISES TARGET IMMIGRATION

More cmapaign promises....politics as usual:

$800M for immigration backlog Dion's most expensive campaign promise yet

Posted: September 13, 2008, 5:23 PM by Shane Dingman



Liberal honcho Stephane Dion started off small, promising to return $6-million dollars to the Court Challenges program, but in his latest federal spending pledge, he's offering a whopping $800-million to deal with the immigration backlog.

On Friday, Dion unveiled his biggest platform promise to date, a $575-million program to help Canadians make their homes and other buildings more energy-efficient. That at least fits within his Green Shift frame.

But this latest promise, sent out via a Liberal Party e-mail, promises to pour cash on three immigration-related areas:


$400 million to modernize the immigration system, process applications more efficiently and support the admission of significantly more permanent residents to Canada.
$200 million in New Beginnings Canada - an enhanced language training initiative designed to help newcomers master the language necessary to get jobs that match their qualifications; and
an additional $200 million for Bridge to Work - a new initiative that will better prepare newcomers for the workplace through the use of internships, mentorship and work placement opportunities. And we will help get foreign credentials recognized, by providing direct financial support to assist foreign-trained doctors and other professionals in obtaining their Canadian qualifications.
If I didn't know better, I'd say a Tory wrote this. With almost $1.5-billion in new cash out the door in the first week, where can Dion go from here? $10-billion in new programs? $20-billion?