Time for a debate on immigration...

There are many issues related to immigration that need to be debated.

Census data now shows that better-educated immigrants are not doing as well as their less-educated counterparts did a generation ago. The reduced value of their work -- because Canada fails to recognize their qualifications -- robs the economy of as much as $3.4-billion a year, according to the Conference Board of Canada.

Another problem is geographic concentration: 80 per cent of all immigrants settle not in Halifax, Winnipeg and Calgary, where more labour is needed, but in congested Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. Moreover, these clusters are turning into ethnic ghettoes. Today, there are 254 distinct neighbourhoods where immigrants from one ethnic region comprise at least 30 per cent of the population.

Finally, Canada's mix of carefully selected immigrants isn't what we pretend it is. Despite the rhetoric, there are many more family-class immigrants than skilled workers. Allowing immigrants to re-unite with family members is a sound idea, but if they overwhelm the system, they drain the economy.

Yes, but we also need more data from the Government (where on earth is Stats Canada?) on how different immigrant groups do in Canada. And, we need to understand which immigrant groups may be responsible for violence. Only then can we make the tough decisions we have to make on immigration. Do the Conservatives have the grits for a debate on this issue?