Role of the State in Canadian Immigration Policy and Settlement Essay

Role of the State in Canadian Immigration Policy and Settlement - Essay Example The first question that needs to be answered is who has access to state power and the ability to make government policy? Of course the answer in an ideal situation would be the people. Democratic principles and democracy itself is founded on the rule of the people therefore in a perfect world, the people would get to decide who immigrates to Canada or not. The people of course are a very busy bunch therefore power of the people is delegated to those who are elected to be the representatives of the people. If there has to be one person who is given the responsibility of making all the decisions of state in Canada, it has to be the Prime Minister. The Prime Minster and the ruling party give their agenda to the people before they are elected and once they are elected, their standing on immigration becomes the people’s standing. It must be noted that the ideas given by politicians rarely become government policy in exact terms since the realities of state may demand some concessions. Eventually, with the help of law makers, legal advisors, economic analysts and the bureaucracy, the wishes of the people are translated into laws and policies. In a roundabout way, the wishes of the people are the guiding force behind the rules of the state but the reality seems different. For example, nearly 20% of the total population in Canada is immigrant yet family unification is not a top priority for the immigration policies maintained by the Canadian government since only 2.5% of immigrants in 2004 were permitted entry into Canada for the purposes of family reunification (Woroby, 2005). It can be assumed that the immigrant population would like to be reunited with their family members and bring them to Canada if possible yet Canadian immigration polices are focused in another direction altogether. Since the 1960s that direction has been the economic influence of