Vancouver and other Western Canadian cities must do a better job of making immigrants feel more welcome so that they can realize their potential and help solve economic problems in the region, says a new study by the Canada West Foundation.

Jason Azmier, the study's author and a CWF senior policy analyst, says the issue will become even more important with predictions that Vancouver's immigrants and their children will constitute the majority of the city's population by 2017.

"It's not going to go away - it's going to get bigger," says Azmier.

In recent months, Premier Gordon Campbell, Vancouver Regional Construction Assoc-iation executive director Keith Sashaw and UBC Sauder School of Business dean Daniel Muzyka have all called on British Columbians to make stronger efforts to lure immigrants to the province to fill employment needs and spur economic growth.

The CWF's Azmier contends Canada's current immigration policy and practice are flawed, and immigrants are not being allowed to maximize their contributions to Western Canada.

In the study, titled Improving Immigration: A Policy Approach for Western Canada, Azmier calls on business and government to improve the entire immigration experience - "from start to finish" - so that immigrants and their children can help Western Canadian cities deal with their labour shortages, increase exports, solve business problems and act as consumers of locally produced goods.

The study calls on Ottawa to research and promote immigrants' contributions in Western Canada, educate employers on positive values of foreign experience and training, and make more advanced language training available for adults on the job and children in schools.

Dave Park, senior economist and assistant managing director with the Vancouver Board of Trade, "says it's a bit of a strong statement" to say immigrants are not being properly matched with employers' needs, because newcomers have cultural ties to Asians who have had an enormous historical influence in building B.C. and are extremely well integrated.

He says there is clearly a need for more language training for new arrivals. But services are also available to immigrants who are in the right place at the right time.

"We've all heard stories about people who are grossly underemployed with respect to their education," says Park.

He praises groups such as the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists for taking steps to ensure that immigrants are able to have their credentials recognized here.

The CWF also wants the federal government to focus policy more on the needs of refugees, use provincial nominee programs that give provinces more say in placing immigrants in high-needs areas, and provide immigrants with incentives to settle outside large cities.

The findings are the result of a year-long research study that included consultations with 180 immigration professionals, immigrants themselves, and government officials in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Regina and Winnipeg.

But Azmier warns that respondents' answers to questions have not been checked for accuracy or completeness, and a number of ongoing government initiatives are trying to address their concerns but may not have had time to influence perceptions of the problems.

In the most unexpected finding, the study says Vancouver is losing some immigrants who are being lured back to China.

"It's a local issue but one that needs further exploration," says Azmier.

Most unique to Vancouver are some specific concerns over 'reverse immigration' or 'astronaut' immigrants who return to their country of origin but retain Canadian immigrant status.

Most of Vancouver's newcomers hail from Pacific Rim countries, and Azmier estimates that the number of immigrants returning to Asia is relatively small. He adds that immigrants who remain enjoy advantages that easily outweigh those experienced by those who leave.

Given the large number of immigrants already in Vancouver, he says, the most pressing concern is to spread the opportunities that they can offer to outlying regions.

Vancouver immigration lawyer Jeffrey Lowe, a third-generation Chinese-Canadian who helps immigrant business owners set up shop, is blunt when asked how hard it is for immigrants to get into Canada.

"(At the risk of) sounding self-serving, I think you need the right advisers," he says.

Lowe says it's easy for immigrant business owners to get visas, but hard for them to make money because they don't know the laws, the markets or the customs here.

"They're not starting from zero," he says. "They're starting from negative."

Lowe is also not in favour of spending more money on language training. He admits the view will not make him popular with immigrants and colleagues. However, as a taxpayer, he would prefer that immigration officials accept applicants who already have the necessary language skills.

Vancouver's high number of immigrants was not described as a problem for the region. Rather, the priority issue was better distribution of immigration into the surrounding rural areas outside the Vancouver region.

Azmier says that immigrants flock to the West Coast because of family ties, the high number of immigrants already here and their awareness of the region compared to other cities.

But he suggests they have overly-high expectations of the opportunities that are actually available.

Vancouver attracts disproportionately high levels of immigrants from the Pacific Rim, resulting in tensions related to social services, increased perceptions of immigrant-related crime and more racial tension, says Azmier.

The city's cost of living is also high, but economic opportunities for immigrants are not as bountiful as they are in other centres.

Immigrants that head to rural communities tend to be better off than those in cities, he says.

New arrivals in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal - the Big Three when it comes to luring immigrants - face more economic difficulties than those in other cities.

"That's a bit of a debatable point," admits Azmier. "If you're not in Vancouver, Montreal or Toronto, you're more likely to be earning a higher income and you're more likely to be employed."

(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)