Read the following article from a website.
Ottawa is reviewing whether to tie its yearly immigration targets to the number of new homes being built. Under one option in a federal discussion paper, the number of permanent residents admitted would fall in any year when fewer new homes are started than a set number. The idea has drawn strong reactions in Moncton, where the population grew by almost four percent last year and the rental vacancy rate is under one percent. The discussion paper is open for public comment until the end of January.
Odette Sweeney, a labour economist at a university in Fredericton, says the plan would hurt the very sectors that keep a city running. “Our hospitals and care homes already have jobs that nobody can fill,” she said. “Retirements are emptying these workplaces faster than young Canadians can replace them.” Sweeney would rather adjust temporary programs one sector at a time. She also wants foreign credentials recognized faster, “so a trained nurse is not driving a taxi for three years.”
Ferenc Tibbett, who runs a tenants’ rights group, supports the link. “Inviting people to a city with no empty apartments is not kindness,” Tibbett said. “I am not against newcomers. I am against promising people a future here and then making them sleep six to a room.” He wants every yearly target published beside a count of homes actually finished, not homes merely announced. Tibbett says his group gets more calls every month from families sharing small apartments.
Shirin Tamura, who manages immigration programs for the provincial government, says one national number cannot fit every place. “Some towns are desperate for people and have empty houses,” she explained. “Others have nowhere left to put anyone. A single ceiling treats them all the same.” Lucius Stonehouse, who owns a construction company in Moncton, says he sees a puzzle in the plan. “Half of my framers and roofers arrived in the last five years,” Stonehouse said. “If you cut immigration because we are not building enough homes, you take away the people who build them.”
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Most likely, Lucius Stonehouse is 2..
Shirin Tamura thinks that one national ceiling would lead to 3..
All of the people quoted seem to agree that 4..
This article would most likely appear in 5..
The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: linking immigration levels to home building
Why this is correct: Ottawa is reviewing whether to tie its immigration targets to the number of new homes being built. Every speaker reacts to that idea.
Passage Reference: Ottawa is reviewing whether to tie its yearly immigration targets to the number of new homes being built.
Tips: Look for the one idea all the quoted people are arguing about. Then check that your choice is not a single speaker’s example.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a shortage of nurses in Moncton hospitals: A nurse appears only in Sweeney’s example. It is not the main topic.
- a new program for foreign-trained workers: Sweeney wants credentials recognized faster, but no new program is announced.
- rising rents in Canada’s largest cities: The article is set in Moncton. Rents are background, not the main issue.
Correct Answer: an employer who relies on recent newcomers
Passage Reference: Half of my framers and roofers arrived in the last five years
Why this is correct: Stonehouse says half of his framers and roofers arrived in the last five years. So he is most likely an employer who depends on recent newcomers.
Tips: Use the reporter’s description of Stonehouse and his quote together. Work out what they suggest about him, and drop options that describe someone else.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a builder who wants fewer workers from abroad: Stonehouse warns that cutting immigration takes away the people who build homes.
- a tenant sharing a crowded apartment: Tibbett’s group hears from families sharing small apartments. Stonehouse owns a company.
- an official who sets the yearly targets: Ottawa sets the targets. Stonehouse runs a construction company.
Correct Answer: towns with empty houses getting too few people
Passage Reference: Some towns are desperate for people and have empty houses ... A single ceiling treats them all the same.
Why this is correct: Tamura says some towns are desperate for people and have empty houses. One ceiling would treat them like places with no room, so those towns would get too few people.
Tips: Read Tamura’s quotes in order. Ask what she says would happen, and drop outcomes that other speakers raise.
Why the other options are wrong:
- trained nurses driving taxis for years: Sweeney gives this example about slow credential checks. Tamura does not link it to a ceiling.
- tenant groups getting more calls each month: Tibbett says his group gets more calls. Tamura does not predict this.
- rents falling in every province: Nobody in the article predicts that rents will fall.
Correct Answer: newcomers themselves are not the problem
Passage Reference: Our hospitals and care homes already have jobs that nobody can fill ... I am not against newcomers. ... Some towns are desperate for people and have empty houses ... If you cut immigration because we are not building enough homes, you take away the people who build them.
Why this is correct: Sweeney says hospitals have jobs nobody can fill, and Tibbett says he is not against newcomers. Tamura says some towns are desperate for people, and Stonehouse says newcomers build the homes.
Tips: Take the options one by one and test them on Sweeney, Tibbett, Tamura and Stonehouse. Keep an option only if every one of them would go along with it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- the yearly targets should be cut at once: Tibbett supports the link to housing, but nobody asks for targets to be cut at once. Sweeney, Tamura and Stonehouse oppose cuts.
- foreign credentials should be checked more slowly: Sweeney wants foreign credentials recognized faster, not more slowly. Nobody else asks for slower checks.
- one national number suits every town: Tamura says one national number cannot fit every place. Nobody else says it can.
Correct Answer: a city news site for local readers
Passage Reference: The idea has drawn strong reactions in Moncton
Why this is correct: The reporter says the idea has drawn strong reactions in Moncton and quotes people from the region. A Moncton news site would print it.
Tips: Ask where a report like this, on reactions to a federal idea, would be printed. Rule out places that would need a different kind of text.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a guide for people applying to immigrate: The article reports a debate. It gives no steps for applying to immigrate.
- a textbook on world population trends: The article gives facts about one city, not lessons about the world.
- a travel magazine about the Maritimes: The article is about housing and immigration, not about visiting the region.
Correct Answer: four
Passage Reference: the population grew by almost four percent last year
Why this is correct: Moncton’s population grew by almost four percent last year.
Tips: Two percentages appear early in the article. Check which one describes how fast the city grew.
Why the other options are wrong:
- three: Three percent is not in the article.
- five: Five percent is not in the article.
- six: Six percent is not in the article.
Correct Answer: January
Passage Reference: The discussion paper is open for public comment until the end of January.
Why this is correct: The discussion paper is open for public comment until the end of January.
Tips: Find how long the public can send comments on the federal paper.
Why the other options are wrong:
- November: November is not mentioned in the article.
- December: December is not mentioned in the article.
- February: February is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: young Canadians
Passage Reference: Retirements are emptying these workplaces faster than young Canadians can replace them.
Why this is correct: Sweeney says retirements are emptying these workplaces faster than young Canadians can replace them.
Tips: The commenter repeats the economist’s point about retirements. Find who she says cannot keep up.
Why the other options are wrong:
- local graduates: Sweeney does not mention graduates.
- new immigrants: Sweeney supports immigration, but in this sentence she names a different group.
- trained apprentices: Apprentices are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: six
Passage Reference: then making them sleep six to a room
Why this is correct: Tibbett says he is against making newcomers sleep six to a room.
Tips: The commenter means the tenants’ advocate. Find his picture of crowded housing and the number in it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- three: Three is not in the article.
- five: Five is not in the article.
- eight: Eight is not in the article.
Correct Answer: sector
Passage Reference: Sweeney would rather adjust temporary programs one sector at a time.
Why this is correct: Sweeney would rather adjust temporary programs one sector at a time.
Tips: The commenter means the labour economist. Find how she would change temporary programs.
Why the other options are wrong:
- province: Sweeney does not say one province at a time.
- city: Sweeney does not say one city at a time.
- year: Sweeney does not say one year at a time.
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