Just when you thought that bureaucrats and politicians had had their fill of controversial policies, along comes another immigration proposition to prove you wrong.

Ottawa it seems wants to slip in yet another requirement for prospective immigrants to Canada: The Language Test.

According to leaked reports in Ontario, those attempting to immigrate to Canada to find jobs as skilled workers may soon be forced to pass mandatory language tests.

Canadian officials say the proposed immigration measure would make the process of immigrants proving they can fluently speak one of Canada’s official languages more transparent, the Toronto Star reported.

Current immigration policy allows immigrants who claim to speak either English or French to bypass such tests through a simple letter.

The proposed tests will even apply to those who grew up speaking English or French.

Translated, this means that a truck driver from England who grew up speaking English will have to sit for the test as well.

Similarly, a French-speaking immigrant seeking a new life in Quebec will have to show off his language prowess before being granted a visa.

On the surface this seems to be a harmless policy, and maybe one that could help in the delicate balance between diversity and integration.

But under closer inspection, the policy is likely to cause more harm than good.

First off, it’s real silly, a waste of time — not to mention a needless and costly delay in processing time for someone from an English-speaking nation who would be forced to sit for a test in his or her mother tongue.

There is already a massive backlog in our immigration-processing system and this will mean longer delays further impacting the critical labor shortage in Western Canada.

Immigration lawyers are already predicting that the test has the potential to discourage the 17,000 Americans and Britons who come to Canada each year in search of a job and a new home.

It is unclear why Ottawa finds this new English test necessary.

If you are applying to come to Canada today, and speak either English or French, you are awarded 16 points. If you don’t speak either language you don’t get the 16 points — a significant factor when you consider that it takes 67 points out of 100 for a visa to migrate to Canada.

The requirement to pass the English test will have a tremendous impact, especially in India, The Philippines and China where prospective immigrants have to travel far to sit for such tests.

It will also impose more financial constraints upon applicants from these nations and ultimately impact Canada’s drive to import much-needed labour.

For employers, this will present yet another hurdle in their search for people to staff their restaurant kitchens, work on their construction sites and tend to their farms.

Canada’s push for an English Language test for immigrants comes on the heels of similar efforts in the U.S., Australia and the United Kingdom.

All of these countries have begun looking at English Language requirements for prospective immigrants.

We will let you decide whether this is a concerted effort to check the immigration flow of the non-English population, or merely a curious coincidence.

Ottawa would be well advised to revisit our country’s history books before rushing to impose English or French language tests.

If we had demanded English or French of all the Chinese, Indians and Italians that contributed so much to the construction of Canada, our railways, shipyards and general infrastructure would not have been built.

A working knowledge of English or French should be enough for immigration to Canada.