Speaking points for the Honourable Jason Kenney, P.C., M.P.Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism at an International student initiative lunch meeting with key interlocutors in Indian educational institutions

Mumbai, India, January 16, 2009

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Hello! Thank you for that kind introduction.

I have been enjoying my stay here in Mumbai and elsewhere in India.

In fact, I have gained so much through personal impression that I am reminded of a Native American saying that goes: “Tell me, and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand.”

I want to thank our hosts for this lunch, and I want to thank you all for joining me today. I’m here today to listen to you, to learn from you, and to explore all the ways in which our relationship can grow in the years ahead.

I have been looking forward for quite some time to this meeting and talking with various academics and distinguished scholars from India’s top educational institutions.

I think that as members of the Commonwealth, Canada and India have quite a lot in common—not the least of which is our mutual regard for higher education.

In Canada we spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year on colleges and universities in the form of grants, loans, work assistance, tax credits and deductions to help students finance their post-secondary education.

In both countries, the prospect of greater opportunities and a higher standard of living lead many families to save and sacrifice so that their children can go on to be productive members of society.

I’m told that the University of Mumbai—established in 1857—is the oldest in India. It is modeled after the universities in Britain, and has affiliations with several high-ranking research institutes.

One of those institutes, the Tata Memorial Hospital, is a beneficiary of proceeds from the Terry Fox Run, a “Great Canadian” import, which is held each year in this city.

And the Indian Institute of Technology fills an entire suburb of Mumbai with a total of 24 departments, which have hosted several visits in the last two years from the Universities of Alberta, Toronto and Waterloo.

As in Canada, students here invest considerable time, energy and money in building their future through education. The wider societal benefits of such investments are fundamental to the well-being of this magnificent country.

As I say these things, I should point out that the benefits of education transcend India’s borders.

I know, for example, that many Canadian delegations at the provincial level have been visiting here over the past few years because of the many opportunities to partner with Indian schools.

So the benefits flow both ways! The skills, knowledge, and innovative ideas that students share back and forth—along with their drive to succeed—are having a tremendous, positive influence on the economic and cultural life of both countries.

One of the reasons I’m here in India is that there’s a long tradition of migration back and forth between our two countries. This movement of people has forged strong links between Canada and India and strengthened us both.

An affluent middle class is growing in India. And as Indians come to study, work, and live in other countries like Canada, strong international alliances will continue to be formed.

It’s a priority of our government to encourage these partnerships.

The opportunities are there. And despite the global economic downturn, Canada has a strong economy, which we want to sustain for the long haul.

To do that, we need a labour force with the skills and the knowledge to keep our economy competitive in the new global marketplace.

As Canada’s Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, I can tell you that immigration has played, and will continue to play, a key role in the development of my country—with more than 15 million people settling there since Confederation.

Last year, Canada welcomed close to 480,000 new permanent residents, temporary foreign workers, and international students combined.

We expect to bring in between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents this year.   Indeed, as the statistics from the 2006 Census show, one in five of us was born outside Canada.

For many years, India has been one of the most important sources of newcomers to Canada. In the past 10 years alone, some 250,000 people from this country have emigrated to Canada.

Today, there are about 700,000 people of Indian descent in Canada. But we have to do more to compete for international students, and we simply do not have enough Indian students at Canadian universities and community colleges.

In an effort to attract more students to Canada, we announced last spring that we would make it easier for international students to get Canadian work experience after they graduate.

We wanted to do more to retain those skilled temporary residents who have demonstrated their ability to succeed in Canada.

We wanted to give them the opportunity to call Canada home permanently, if they wished to do so.

We wanted them to learn our languages and adapt to our way of life—so that they have all the ingredients for success as newcomers.

So we removed restrictions on the types of jobs they could get and where they could work, and we made their work permits valid for a longer period of time—up to three years.

We made changes to allow more international post-secondary students to work off-campus, which would give them greater flexibility to find work there.

Many are developing new skills and gaining knowledge while they’re there—and the cultural mosaic they’re creating is quintessentially Canadian.

Now the new Canadian Experience Class program for students and temporary foreign workers will make our immigration system more attractive and accessible to individuals with diverse skills from around the world, who might want to take up permanent residence there.

We hope that skilled workers and international students are more likely to choose Canada if they know their time there—and their contributions to society—make them eligible to apply to stay in Canada permanently, if they wish.

I look around this room and I can see how you are engaging in precisely the kind of vibrant exchanges that benefit both our countries. You are part of the expanding network of people-to-people ties between our countries.

There are many people in this room today who not only bless the rest of the world with their scholarship but whose expertise and influence on the next generation have helped to make India the bustling nation it is today.

It is a pleasure to witness the heritage of your past and feel the pride of your future. As scholars, you give your fellow Indians new ways to see your country and the world around you, both now and in the years ahead.

As I said, I’m here today to listen, to learn from your experiences, and to explore new ways that will make our relationship even stronger in the years to come.

On behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Government of Canada, I congratulate you, and I encourage you to continue to strengthen the links between our countries.

Thank you again for your tremendous hospitality. I look forward to our dialogue today.

Bohott Shokriya!