What’s the Score? Rethinking Canadian Immigration Policy through Social Cohesion & Reconciliation

Standing at the intersections of its Indigenous past, colonial present, and ongoing cosmopolitan future, Canada is seeking to reinvent its federation in the 21st century. Still, in this pursuit, its scholars, policymakers, and legislators seem to have overlooked a vital interconnection in the immigration policy. Social cohesion and Reconciliation present an indivisible challenge to the current immigration policy. Since increased levels of migration have changed the demographic profile of the country by a great measure, its accompanying ethnic diversity and the continued marginalization of Indigenous people necessitate an integrated understanding of the situation. Thus, in this regard, a rethinking of immigration policy and its incentive structure is necessary to counteract the logic of settler state, its perpetuation of the colonial legacy, and policies into the future. To this effect, an active policy design, which grows on an interconnected understanding of social cohesion and Reconciliation, offers the best template for effective action. It not only enhances the intergroup relationships amongst various immigrant communities and Indigenous peoples, but also mainstreams the Indigenous perspectives from centuries of sustained colonial marginalization. Hence, through a reflexive process of dual empowerment of immigrants and Indigenous people, Canadian immigration policy can be the vehicle in furthering responsible national development through meaningful decolonization.