Hypothetical: Should there be a Value Test?

Is it advisable for the Government of Canada to introduce a variant of Quebec’s “attestation requirement” (colloquially referred to as the “values test”)

The considerations that would guide me to respond to this question of whether Canada should introduce a variant of Quebec’s value test is to consider how successful it has been, whether Canada’s current framework is less successful or less efficient in integrating its community and whether other countries have followed the same pathways as Quebec or Canada and what was the result of their different pathways.

That way, we can begin to have a quantitative / evidence-based approach and robust qualitative approach in understanding whether Canada should adopt and introduce the value test.

What is the Value Test: “Through the values test, the government can evaluate an individual’s ability to integrate into society based on their knowledge of the French language, as well as the province’s culture and customs.”

“Evidence-based”

For example in International Migration Management in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, the author found that policymakers give precedence to “quantitative evidence to the detriment of qualitative data”, which means a value test, should one fail will automatically exempt them. Without considering all factors, this Value Test is not the best way to establish if someone will be able to integrate or not.

Bias

Moreover, these value tests can reinforce biases and public perceptions/stereotypes of people based on a test that might not even be robust.

Or it could overly limit the potential for skilled immigrants to enter based on values, such as if someone makes a nervous or inconsequential error, which is unfair. Therefore, this test must be considered in a multitude of ways to be applied successfully

Benefits of the Value Test

The benefits of the Value Test are that Canada will ensure that migrants incoming to Canadian society are not just aware but will most likely adhere to the values of Canadian society. This will make their integration easier and Canada can keep its Canadian values intact without too many drastic changes.

Ultimately, the value test will help screen out people who they believe will not integrate and hence, Canada can safeguard its Canadian society. A modern-day drawing of who belongs and who doesn’t.

The Risks: Subjectivity

On the other hand, the risk is that the value test in screening out those they “believe” will not successfully integrate is a subjective stance and hence has room for problems.

They don’t talk like us or even know every value embedded in us from birth, and so they don’t belong. How unfair!

For example, in Creating Canadians through Private Sponsorship, it was seen that many Canadians support multiculturalism as an official policy, a symbol of Canadianness.

If the value test states that Canada is only an anglophone society, then it limits the multiculturalism of the Canadian fabric that is diverse and made up of safeguarding and celebrating multi-cultures and languages.

Signaling

Moreover, it could signal who is a valued and unvalued migrant. This could be a sign of racialization and a form of discrimination that is against the Canadian values and constitution.

It sends out a signal/a public statement that you are unwanted because you simply were unable to get the grades required and hence you are screened out from the beginning due to a test that might not even appropriately showcase your potential to learn and assimilate over time.

Another risk is that migrants coming in a humanitarian capacity might be unfairly screened out based on a Values Test. Instead, more appropriate approaches, such as the Canadian private sponsorship refugee program, could be considered. In this program, migrants learn societal values and integrate into the community by creating networks and building relationships with private community members.

The value test might detract from approaches already in place and perhaps ones that are successful in their endeavor to integrate migrants.

Quoting Edward said, ‘immigrants do not always reflect the ideals, religion, race and language’ — this is the dichotomy of the East and West. Should someone be automatically restricted from entering a country based on a Value Test?

A liberal state promotes public dialogue but risks undermining this inclusivity by excluding individuals based on a mere values test, thereby jeopardizing their sense of belonging.

The liberal state is not a private club; each person can stand as a free being. Therefore, where is the social justice in immigration if a mere failure in a test automatically stops your potential to contribute to that country?

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Ana Beduschi, “International Migration Management in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” pg 584,

Michael Hughes, “Identity, Politics, and the Value of Immigration in Quebec,” 2021,

Stacey Haugen, Patti Tamara Lenard and Emily Regan Wills, “Creating Canadians through Private Sponsorship,”, 2020, pg 563,

Magnus Skytterholm Egan, “Statements on Race and Class: The Fairness of Skills-Based Immigration Criteria,”, 2020, pg 115,

Bruce Ackerman, Social Justice in the Liberal State, 1980, pg 95,