We need all the skills, expertise and entrepreneurship new arrivals bring to our country. But we also need to ensure bad apples don't get in.

Unlike many citizens of our closest western allies, Canadians are still very pro-immigration. While recent polls show a narrowing of the gap between the traditionally higher faction in favour of welcoming newcomers and those opposed, we continue to see ourselves as having an open-door policy. Most realize that our future economic wellbeing depends on increasing arrivals, given our declining birth rate and current labour shortages.

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Nevertheless, the Trudeau government’s plan to increase the levels of immigrants to 500,000 a year by 2025 is raising eyebrows. That figure represents approximately 1.25 per cent of our population, which may not sound like much, but immigrants and permanent residents now account for 23 per cent of the population.

The success stories linked to immigration are many. We would not be the country we are today were it not for new Canadians with ideas, skills and passions. Immigration is a necessary fact of life, opponents notwithstanding.

And yet, there are some valid concerns. Not every potential immigrant shares our values — whatever we define those as, though I would submit........

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