The recent debate on immigrants and visitors coming to Canada, in particular the issue of values and questions as defined by one politician, has opened up a Pandora’s Box that has focused on immigrants and immigration changing our Canadian identity.

These values that are being posed are indeed Canadian, but they are also based on human rights and are valued in almost every country from which people come to Canada.

The top three countries Canada brings in immigrants from are the Philippines, China and India. Their people already ascribe to these values put forth. Therefore all immigrants are not the problem and creating a process that targets them is not the solution.

Immigration is needed in this country. Immigration is what built this country. And it is what we need to build a strong future.

Therefore we need to stop creating an environment that fears immigration. We must focus on the right aspects of what it brings: qualified skilled workers, family reunification and people who contribute to Canada’s success, socially, economically and politically. Our current system meets this focus. Immigrants are assessed on their language and education skills.

We must also not forget that many immigrants that want to come to Canada want this core Canadian identity, that of freedom of speech and religion, respect for human rights, compassion to the plight of others and the celebration of diversity - all of which is guaranteed in our Charter of Rights.

We do not need to tell immigrants this, as the world already know this is who we are. So why am I against asking these immigrant screening questions?

Simple: because it won’t get the desired results – that of keeping out those who want to challenge and change our Canadian identity.

It is also a costly solution and will further impede the entire immigration process and will not add any value.

Furthermore it will have a negative impact on our economy and tourism. It will also affect Canadians travelling or doing business overseas, as we would face a backlash from countries affected. All of this ultimately hurts Canada.

Finally, at the heart of my opposition is that I fear when we target all immigrants, we give fuel and a voice to those few people who will use this opportunity to create an environment to propagate the idea that immigrants are bad and they are perceived to be “changing our identity”.

This will and has already led to physical, verbal and mental abuse towards immigrants and Canadians of a visible minority background. This is what is happening in the United States, this is what happened in Quebec and this is what is happening to me.

We cannot be silent and let the actions of a few groups change who we are.

We must demand that those who do come must respect our laws. If they cannot subscribe to them then their actions will ultimately lead them to breaking our laws and they will be prosecuted.

We must have faith in our Canadian identity to withstand this challenge. We must stand united as Canadians and not allow politicians, the media or communities play identity politics for personal gain.

We already have an identity. It is strong and it is what protects us. Today we must protect it from being used to divide us.

My experience as an immigrant, foreign affairs policy maker and successful bridge builder gives me unique insight into this.

- The Hon. Deepak Obhrai is a Conservative leadership candidate and Alberta MP.