For many years, my business included hiring highly qualified people in internationally competitive fields. Immigration rules in Canada are far less onerous than in countries we are competing with. Demonstrating that a foreigner has actual qualifications that uniquely suit him or her for a position in comparison with Canadians is not a big deal for literate executives willing to put a small bit of effort into it. I certainly never had a problem and never had an application turned down or sent back. The big problem Canada has in hiring highly qualified people at the top of their field from abroad is a low Canadian dollar, weather, and distance from the rest of the world, not immigration rules. (I am not talking about low level tech people here.)

What we need from the council is evidence concerning problems in hiring STEM people Canada can't provide and evidence a 50% increase in immigration will solve the problem.