We need immigrants as boomers retire

The baby boom generation in Canada is about to start retiring in growing numbers. Who will replace the boomers in the workplace? The answer, increasingly, will need to be more immigrants .The economic situation is only going to get more demanding for Canadian employers. We expect that over the next three years the national unemployment rate will decline back toward 6 per cent, which is effectively full employment. Finding workers and containing wage pressures are already resurfacing as key issues for Canadian employers in some regions and sectors.

The role of immigration in Canada’s economic development over many centuries is generally appreciated by most other Canadians. Less well understood is the role that immigration will have to play in the coming years if Canada’s economic development and growth are to be sustained.

Around the world, there are significant differences in attitudes and policies toward immigration, with clear economic consequences. At one end of the spectrum is Japan, whose total population is already in decline. The share of its population over the age of 65 is expected to increase from 22 per cent in 2010 to more than 30 per cent by 2030. However, Japan has yet to introduce broad policies that actively encourage immigration. Although some controls on foreign workers have been relaxed, its underlying economic growth potential is being steadily eroded by this aging phenomenon and by a shrinking workforce.

Similarly, there are numerous countries in Europe that are now suffering the negative effect of an aging workforce and weak labour force dynamics. Much of Europe is struggling to find the right balance between economic and social objectives in its approach to immigration.

At the other end of the spectrum are Canada, Australia and the U.S. All three countries are actively encouraging immigration as one means of building their labour forces and economies over time.

The born-in-Canada population will continue to grow. Although the fertility rate rose slightly during the 2000s, to 1.66 in 2007, it is still well below what is needed to maintain the population through natural increase, which is 2.1 children per woman. Canada will need more immigrants if the labour force is to grow and remain vibrant

.http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/852505--we-need-immigrants-as-boomers-retire