David Suzuki on the benefits of immigration

I’ve mentioned the great David Suzuki on this site now and then, and of course I’ve linked to his foundation. Today, I’d like to share an interesting quote from his book The Legacy, which I’m currently in the process of reading.

“We have always assumed that increasing wealth and technological innovation would enable populations to grow indefinitely. In industrialized nations where people are not having enough babies to replace themselves, there may not be a large enough workforce to support an increasingly aging population. Because there is a tight correlation between population increase and economic growth, countries like Canada are using immigration to keep the numbers and economy growing. But the ecological costs are not factored in.”

Now, that’s an excerpt from a passage about the dangers of overpopulation. But the line that jumped out at me was the one about the “tight correlation between population increase and economic growth,” which acknowledges Canada’s belief that immigration is practically a surefire way to boost our economy. It’s interesting because it flies in the face of the typical anti-immigration argument – which is good, because arguments of that type are so firmly rooted in fear that it should come as no surprise that they’re not all that factual.

As we’ve seen, anti-immigration fervour tends to build to a head during tough economic times. The apparent rise in anti-immigration rhetoric lately has a lot to do with the general cruddiness of the current global economy. People everywhere are getting pretty vocal about foreigners invading their country, taking their jobs, and destroying their society.

So hey, what about this “tight correlation” between new immigrants and a growing economy? Do you think there might be something to that? I know it contradicts all the stuff that fearmongering conservatives at home and abroad have been shouting at the top of their lungs, but… Well, what if they’re the ones who are wrong?

By the way, in case it comes up, Suzuki was born in Canada. So were both of his parents, about a hundred years ago. If you were under the impression that he wasn’t, and that that would somehow invalidate his well-informed thoughts on immigration, then I’m afraid you’re wrong on both counts.

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