BOUND FOR CANADA.

Clutha Leader, Volume XLVI, Issue 78, 2 April 1920, Page 2

BOUND FOR CANADA.

MORE STRINGENT RULES FOR IMMIGRANTS. A' f CA' CANNY 1 ' POLICY. I •* Although *lu- flow of emigration from England to Canada does not usually set in until about April of each year, the pressure already put upon, the Canadian Emigration Department in London by •Who steadily increasing number of applicants for. passages to that Dominion has 'became so great that the Canadian authorities have 'been under the necessity of strengthening the restrictions imposed upon this class of traffic with a view to limiting the inrush into the Doiminion until the- return of spring brings about more seasonable conditions for both land and town workers. This is the meaning of the new regulation which came into force recently, under which every artisan, .mechanic or labourer entering Canada until March j •') ! is required to 'be in possession' of not i less, than £SO. This is a very substan- ■ tial increase on the .sum required under j the previous regulation, which' fixed the amount,at £5 for sum .hot and £lO for winter, with the idea, of course, of restricting winter immigration ! After March, when the spring immigration'begins, there will 'be a substantial reduction' of the amount of capital l which an. immigrant must possess, 'but it will probably not 'be less than £25, as against £u in the previous years. TH'K 'LAW STiR F/NGTIf EN'ED, ft should be understood that the Canadian Department of Immigration ■ and Colonisation, has always reserved i to itself the right to say who should or should not be allowed to land in the Dominion, and the exercise of this discretion necessarily 'bears a direct relation to the seasons of the year and the changing financial, commercial -and industrial conditions of Canada as a whole, or in specific, localities, but the Department's authority in these respects was strengthened' only last..lime b,v the addition, of a new provision to the Canadian Immigration laws, whereunder authority is given, to prohibit or limit immigration:— (a) By reason of any economic, industrial or other condition temporarily existing in Canada; or (b) Because such immigrants are deemed unsuitable, having regard to the climatic, industrial, educational, Labour and other conditions or requirements of Canada; or '(c) Because such immigrants' are deemed undesirable, owing to their peculiar customs, habits, modes of life and methods of holding property; and (d) Uecau.se> of their probable inability to become readily assimilated or to assume 'the duties and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship within a upasonable time after their entry. R'ESKTTLI.YG- RETURN ED SOLDIERS. Canada, like all the, other Dominions, is feeling the after effects of the war; it is undergoing a process of readjustment to new conditions, and it recognises the necessity, before all tiling*, of resettling her returned -soldiers before introducing new colonists in any considerable nirm-bers who are likely to become competitors in an already unsettled' labour market. As a high Canadian authority put it, "Canada's immig afion policy just now is a 'ca'canny' policy.'' While that is true in a general sense, it does not mean that Canada proposes to discourage immigration of a desirable class, and in such proportions that it will not further disorganise existing conditions. On the contrary, an official communication from the Superintendent of Emigration ('Colonel J. Obed Smith) to the steamship booking agents says:— "Canada wants farm workers at any time of the year; they can be placed; Canada wants household workers of the right- type at all times. It makes no diffe •enee whether the household worker has or has not (before sailing) a definite position to go to in Canada; our Department stands ready to find suitable employment at current wages for every household worker who obtains our landing card."