I cry for you, Canada: 92-year-old prof and ex-MP’s warning about immigration & welfare state

Canada Info  2026年4月29日  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CNUfg3IBCI 

加拿大，我为你哭泣：92岁教授兼前国会议员就移民与福利国家发出警告

加拿大资讯 2026年4月29日

加拿大能否在维持福利国家的同时开放边境？“我现在几乎为这个国家感到难过。”前国会议员、著名经济学家赫伯特·格鲁贝尔教授在这次精彩的会议上毫不掩饰地表达了自己的观点。从规模不经济到临时居留的隐性成本，他解释了自己撰写新书《加拿大，我为你哭泣》的原因。

现在修复这个体系是否为时已晚？欢迎在评论区留言讨论。

格鲁贝尔教授，您的五分钟发言时间现在开始。

谢谢主席女士。我曾随财政委员会在全国各地奔走两年，所以我非常了解这里的氛围。

0:1414 最根本的是，我欢迎像现在这样就移民政策的科学性举行公开听证会。

0:2424 我希望它能获得应有的关注，并在议会中引发必要的讨论。

0:3232 就我个人而言，尽管我在移民经济学领域发表了众多学术论文，

0:3939 但我从未被邀请参与有关制定官方移民目标和甄选标准的讨论。

0:5252 在我93年至97年担任议员期间，我也从未被要求就这些

0:5959 问题进行投票。只有一次，一位部长私下告诉我，要继续我的研究和

1:051分钟5 发表文章，并督促他履行职责。

1:111分钟11 我认为，最需要改变的是决定

1:201分钟20 临时居民的数量和甄选标准的政策。临时居民

1:261分钟26 获准在加拿大工作或学习的人员。

1:31 1分31 填补经济中季节性或临时劳动力短缺的外国人应按一定数量入境。

1:40 1分40 应由议会委员会设定，并定期、频繁地入境。

1:48 1分48 不应有外国学生就读小学和中学。他们对加拿大没有益处，反而会加重学校的资源负担。

2:01 2分1 应允许外国学生就读加拿大的学院、大学，

2:07 2分7 和研究生院。他们为院校和经济带来宝贵的益处，尤其是在他们支付学费的情况下。

2:18 2分18 已在这些院校完成学位的外国学生不应再是获得

2:27 2分27 永久居民身份的优先候选人。政府应采取政策，确保临时工人和学生

2:36 2分36 在签证到期后离开加拿大。

2:422分钟42现在在一个单独的问题上，父母和祖父母应该只被授予超级
2:502分钟50人访客签证
2:572分钟57 2016年的公共政府。这很有意义。
3:023分钟2设施如果一个外国人不想在没有父母的情况下来，他就不应该
3:103分钟10大家来了。处理寻求庇护者的制度需要改革。可能
3:183分钟18 基本上与其他西方民主国家一样。
3:233分钟23 此类改革可能包括制定解决积压的难民身份申请的方法
3:333分钟33人数减少。我完全意识到这是我们外交政策面临的最棘手的问题之一，而且没有简单的解决方案。

3:42 3分钟42 这其中存在着涉及基本人类价值观的权衡。

3:51 3分钟51 移民的苦难，以及那些在住房、

4:02 4分钟2 医疗服务方面遇到困难的加拿大人的苦难。还有一分钟。格鲁贝尔教授，

4:09 4分钟9 对不起。还有一分钟。好的。谢谢您，女士。我讲完了。

4:16 4分钟16 [笑声]

4:18 4分钟18 谢谢您，教授。您……谢谢。我很感激。好的，马库斯先生。轮到你了。

4:25 4分钟25 谢谢主席女士，也谢谢今天到场的所有证人。我想先问您，格鲁贝尔教授。

4:35 4分35秒嗯，

4:37 4分37秒你认为自由党政府在允许大量移民入境之前，是否考虑过对医疗保健、住房和就业等方面的影响？

4:44 4分44秒在过去十年里，他们允许了大量移民入境。

4:52 4分52秒我不知道，但事实证明，无论他们做了什么，对加拿大来说都非常糟糕。

4:59 4分59秒嗯，你是否同意，当一次性接纳这么多人时，会出现规模不经济？

5:07 5分7秒而且成本实际上可能比以更缓慢、更可持续的方式进行移民更高？

5:15 5分15秒正是如此。我的意思是，它对整个国家来说不是积极的，而是消极的。我非常

5:23 5分23 同情各位先生，就像我们从岛上听到的那样，那里劳动力短缺，但是

5:33 5分33 如果我们突然引进太多任何东西，就会出现调整问题，而且情况远不止如此

5:42 5分42 调整问题正在扼杀我们的经济。

5:47 5分47 嗯，先生，您说的很有道理。您认为这会对经济产生影响吗？

I cry for you, Canada: 92-year-old prof and ex-MP’s warning about immigration & welfare state

Canada Info  2026年4月29日  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CNUfg3IBCI 

Can Canada support a welfare state and open borders at the same time? "I'm now almost sorry for this country." Professor Herbert Grubel, a former MP and renowned economist, doesn't hold back in this powerful session. From the diseconomies of scale to the hidden costs of temporary residency, he explains why he’s writing his latest book, I Cry for You Canada.

Is it too late to fix the system? Let's discuss in the comments.

Professor Gubell, your five minutes starts now.
Thank you, Madame Chair. I I traveled around the country for two years with finance committee, so I'm very familiar with the atmosphere.
0:1414秒钟Most fundamentally, I welcome public hearings as we are having now on the science of our immigration policy.
0:2424秒钟I think I hope it will give the deserved publicity and discussion in parliament that has been needed.
0:3232秒钟On a personal note, despite my numerous academic publications in the field of
0:3939秒钟immigration economics, I was never asked to participate in the discussions around the setting of official immigration targets and selection criteria.
0:5252秒钟Nor as a member of parliament from 93 to 97 was I ever asked to vote on these
0:5959秒钟issues. Only once did a minister tell me privately to keep up my research and
1:051分钟5秒钟publications and hold his feet to the fire.
1:111分钟11秒钟I believe that in the that in greatest need of change are policies determining
1:201分钟20秒钟the number and selection criteria of temporary residents. temporary residents
1:261分钟26秒钟who are admitted to work or study in Canada.
1:311分钟31秒钟Foreigners who fill seasonal or temporary labor shortages in the economy should be admitted in numbers at
1:401分钟40秒钟frequent regular intervals and set by parliamentary committee.
1:481分钟48秒钟The there should be no foreign students attending elementary and secondary schools. They do not benefit Canada and burden our schools resources.
2:012分钟1秒钟Foreign students should be admitted to attend Canadian colleges, universities,
2:072分钟7秒钟and graduate schools. They bring valuable benefits to the institutions and economy, especially to the extent that they pay tuition.
2:182分钟18秒钟Foreign students who have completed degrees in these institutions should no longer be preferred candidates for
2:272分钟27秒钟permanent resident status. The government should adopt policy to ensure does that temporary workers and students
2:362分钟36秒钟leave Canada after their visas have.
2:422分钟42秒钟Now on a separate issue, parents and grandparents should be granted only super
2:502分钟50秒钟visitor visas as they had been practiced before the changes initiated by the
2:572分钟57秒钟government in 2016. It makes eminent sense.
3:023分钟2秒钟If a a foreigner does not want to come without his parents, he just should not
3:103分钟10秒钟come. The system dealing with asylum seekers needs to be reformed. Possibly
3:183分钟18秒钟fundamentally much as it is in other western democracies.
3:233分钟23秒钟Such reforms may include the development of ways in which the backlog of applications for refugees status is
3:333分钟33秒钟reduced. I'm fully aware that this is one of the most difficult problems our foreign policy faces and there are no
3:423分钟42秒钟easy solutions. There are tradeoffs that involve fundamental human values. the suffering of
3:513分钟51秒钟immigrants, but also the suffering of Canadians who find their uh housing,
4:024分钟2秒钟their medic access to medical one minute left. Professor Grubel,
4:094分钟9秒钟pardon me. One minute left. Fine. Thank you, madam. I'm done.
4:164分钟16秒钟[laughter]
4:184分钟18秒钟Thank you, professor. You are uh Thank you. I appreciate that. Okay, Mr. Makus. Over to you.
4:254分钟25秒钟Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to all of our witnesses for appearing before us today. Uh like to start my questions with you, Professor Grubal.
4:354分钟35秒钟Um,
4:374分钟37秒钟do you believe that the uh Liberal government considered the impact on uh things like health care, housing, and
4:444分钟44秒钟jobs prior to letting in the large number of immigrants that they have allowed in over the past decade?
4:524分钟52秒钟I wouldn't know, but it turns out whatever they did, it was very bad for Canada.
4:594分钟59秒钟Um would you agree that when uh when there are uh that there are diseconomies of scale when letting in so many people
5:075分钟7秒钟at once and the costs may actually be higher than if immigration was done in a in a slower more sustainable manner?
5:155分钟15秒钟Exactly. I mean it it turns not into positive it turns for the country as a whole as a negative. I have great
5:235分钟23秒钟sympathy for gentlemen like we heard from the island uh that there a labor shortage but
5:335分钟33秒钟if we bring in too many too much of anything suddenly you will have adjustment problems and it was more than
5:425分钟42秒钟adjustment problems was killing our economy.
5:475分钟47秒钟Well, that that you make a very valid point there, uh, sir. Uh, do do you think it it it it has an impact on, uh,
5:555分钟55秒钟uh,
5:575分钟57秒钟the ability of newcomers that coming to Canada to be able to have successful outcomes when there's so many of them coming and of course it creates a
6:056分钟5秒钟problem with with uh, finding jobs and finding a residence to live and, you know, getting healthcare and so forth.
6:126分钟12秒钟Do you think it's an environment that that is conducive for them to be able to succeed in Canada as newcomers to our country?
6:206分钟20秒钟Well, I'm not in contact with immigrants, but I read a lot about what is going on in the economy and I hear
6:296分钟29秒钟that the that the recent immigrants are a strong lobby for reducing the rate of immigrant.
6:396分钟39秒钟That's right. They they are the ones they are the ones at the front to feel this problem as well as our own les
6:496分钟49秒钟skilled young people whose jobs are being taken.
6:556分钟55秒钟Do you think that the government should be in the business of providing um
7:017分钟1秒钟accommodations, housing for uh for for example asylum seekers and refugees and
7:097分钟9秒钟uh uh you know newcomers coming? Should the government My commentary Yeah. Yeah. My commentary
7:167分钟16秒钟on this controversy that we're continuing here and was going on before with the
7:247分钟24秒钟asylum seekers is that the more benefits we offer,
7:307分钟30秒钟the more we will have asylum seekers who may may or may not have legitimate
7:397分钟39秒钟claims but are getting benefits from doing so. Mhm. Well, yeah. Thank you for that.
7:487分钟48秒钟A famous economist, Milton Friedman,
7:517分钟51秒钟colleague of mine when I was teaching in Chicago said it is incompatible
7:587分钟58秒钟to have the welfare state and free immigration. And we in the last 10 years
8:058分钟5秒钟have been moving more and more towards free immigration. and that prediction that it is impossible we're paying for.
8:148分钟14秒钟Along those lines, sir, uh I don't know if you have heard, but you the government ran into quite a bit of controversy because they were uh booking
8:228分钟22秒钟hotels and putting people in hotels uh across across the country uh uh just housing them housing them there at
8:298分钟29秒钟exorbitant costs. Now, to get away from that controversy, they created a new program and recently we found out they gave the city of Ottawa $40 million to
8:388分钟38秒钟purchase an outright purchase a hotel so they can house these people. So, they're not renting anymore. They house them now in a in a hotel that is owned by uh by
8:478分钟47秒钟the city of Ottawa to house these people. Uh yesterday, for example, I I read an article of another 27.35
8:558分钟55秒钟million uh that was given to uh Pickering, the town of Pickering here in in Ontario to do the same thing to purchase a hotel
9:049分钟4秒钟there. So 40 million to Ottawa, 27 35 million to Pickering. That's only two
9:119分钟11秒钟locations that we know where they've done that so far that we know of. uh they've been very reluctant to provide to be transparent and give us a list of
9:199分钟19秒钟of how many municipalities they've given money to. What do you have to say about that, sir? You have one minute left. Well,
9:279分钟27秒钟most generally,
9:299分钟29秒钟I think it will all be said in the book that I'm writing. I cry for you, Canada.
9:389分钟38秒钟I came in 1972 having a professorship with tenure in
9:459分钟45秒钟the United States because I love Canada and I love Vancouver. I'm now almost sorry for this country.
9:539分钟53秒钟I'm glad I'm 92.
9:579分钟57秒钟I'll close by saying this. Thank you for appearing before us today. Uh I hope that when I'm 92 years old, somebody will ask me to come and present here if
10:0510分钟5秒钟I'm fortunate enough to get there. and thank you for your service to Canada as a member of parliament. Appreciate your presence here today. You're welcome.
10:1310分钟13秒钟Thank you. Uh thank you, Professor uh Grubel, and thank you, Mr. Managus. Next.
10:1810分钟18秒钟Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh Professor Grubel, [clears throat] when I was looking at your body of work, your impressive body of work over the years.
10:2610分钟26秒钟It wasn't until later after I'd read some of what what you've been doing that you were a member of Parliament. So,
10:3110分钟31秒钟that was a bit of a surprise to me, but I'm happy to um engage with you today.
10:3610分钟36秒钟In your in your policy history, you have tended to focus on fiscal responsibility, uh labor market competition,
10:4410分钟44秒钟infrastructure constraints, and selective economically driven immigration.
10:5010分钟50秒钟Uh I'm from I'm from the Niagara region in Ontario and we see firsthand um how the pressures that you have written
10:5910分钟59秒钟about from housing shortages uh strained infrastructure and employment balancing labor needs with stagnant wages and key sectors.
11:0811分钟8秒钟We've lived that lived reality raises couple of fundamental questions. But I wonder if you could walk the committee through your framework for assessing
11:1711分钟17秒钟what you refer to as net fiscal impact on im of immigration. What variables matter most and how should policymakers interpret those results?
11:3011分钟30秒钟Well,
11:3211分钟32秒钟the book you're referring to was published by the Frasier Institute somewhat reluctantly
11:3811分钟38秒钟a co-author uh a an an American who lived long time in Ottawa. It started
11:4811分钟48秒钟off and we got away uh our attention was drawn to the following fact that when immigrants enter Canada,
12:0012分钟Statistics Canada finds out that they have below
12:0712分钟7秒钟income that is below Canadian workers of the same age in education.
12:1412分钟14秒钟And this low income persists for the next 20 years and it never goes
12:2312分钟23秒钟completely away. I don't know whether it's discrimination whatever it is that's a fact and it was getting when we
12:3112分钟31秒钟were writing our book worse every five years statistic Canada showed that it's
12:3812分钟38秒钟gotten worse. At the same time that they settle in Canada, they entitled to all the government benefits that we offer.
12:5012分钟50秒钟And as a result of this, we have also we have progressive income taxation. So that these immigrants with the low
12:5912分钟59秒钟incomes are getting all the benefits which are not tied to income
13:0613分钟6秒钟while the taxes they pay are considerably lower because their incomes are lower. And we calculated that this
13:1613分钟16秒钟was in the 80s several billion dollars worth of costs that immigrants
13:2413分钟24秒钟impose on the rest of Canada that is never mentioned and even then it was disregarded.
13:3213分钟32秒钟We're being we're being hated for pointing out these kinds of things.
13:3713分钟37秒钟People go, "Oh, this is wrong. This is wrong."
13:4113分钟41秒钟The numbers are there. Nobody refuted them.
13:4613分钟46秒钟But of course, the popular media didn't like the idea because the mood in Canada at the time was still immigrants
13:5513分钟55秒钟are cannot do any wrong. We need more and more and more. The question is,
14:0114分钟1秒钟do we all want to subsidize as a small businessman in the world?
14:0814分钟8秒钟That's an issue that we ought to discuss.
14:1114分钟11秒钟At the time that I was active in writing, these issues were never discussed. We ought to have people from both sides.
14:2014分钟20秒钟Let let me say so professor I have limited time so I wonder if Yes. Okay. I expected you to interrupt me otherwise I can't keep going. Uh,
14:3114分钟31秒钟professor, critics, uh, say your approach may underweight long-term and second generation benefits. How do you respond to that? And how should
14:3914分钟39秒钟governments balance short-term fiscal impacts with long-term economic gains?
14:4714分钟47秒钟Well, that is a another question that we have to look at. We One minute.
14:5314分钟53秒钟Elon Musk is not typical.
14:5714分钟57秒钟It's it it we have a lot of uh in in the longer run in the longer run that Kane
15:0615分钟6秒钟said. So I I don't know in uh in your view how should Canada determine the right level of immigration
15:1315分钟13秒钟each year. Uh what economic indicators or capacity constraints should guide in those decisions?
15:2015分钟20秒钟Have a group of people like this here. Listen to those small businessesmen,
15:2715分钟27秒钟farmers, even the big companies, the big manufacturing, a lot of cheap labor,
15:3515分钟35秒钟cheap importer labor. We listen to that and listen to guys like me who say that if you uh always have cheap labor available,
15:4715分钟47秒钟society has no incentive to adopt labor saving devices.
15:5415分钟54秒钟Uh thank you, Professor Grubel, and thank you, Mr. Davies. That is Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh Professor Gubal, uh Canada's productivity has been weakening over the last liberal decade.
16:0416分钟4秒钟investment is fleeing the country like we've never seen before and this is taken out of the Liberal costly credit card budget uh from 2025. So my question
16:1216分钟12秒钟is can radically increasing immigration levels at rates like the Liberals have done in the past few years compensate for poor productivity, weak business investment and low capital formation.
16:2416分钟24秒钟Quite to the contrary, it reduces uh per capita income unless uh they
16:3316分钟33秒钟increase productivity and we don't have the productivity and the productivity is you know
16:4216分钟42秒钟when when California reduced the use the inflow of Mexican
16:4916分钟49秒钟agricultural worker into the valley everybody said it will kill California.
16:5516分钟55秒钟Well, it didn't. Instead of tomatoes being picked by hand, they developed
17:0217分钟2秒钟machines to pick the tomatoes. And the tomatoes didn't taste as good as the ones that they had before. So, what did
17:1117分钟11秒钟they do? They modified genetically the tomatoes so they could stand being to
17:1817分钟18秒钟picked and tasted as good as the ones we had before. Thank you, Mr. Grubel. I'm sorry that we had so little time. Thank you, Mr. Ho.