Immigrants are arriving in Canada from all parts of the world, with differing objectives and priorities.
Many a times these priorities are changing mid-stream.
There might be a small percentage of immigrants to which I do belong, who knew well ahead what we are getting into, and we have come in for the single piece of document called the Canadian Passport. This in particular not to ourselves but more for our children.
I would like propose an idea to the government for the people who belong to this class. That is we go through the regular skilled immigration system, obtain our visas and land in this country. We should to offer to forgo our various tax benefits like the CCTB, GST Refund and other concessions, while we should pay 20% of income tax on our gross incomes(world wide). We could also pay an estimated PST/GST for the number of people in the family up front for the next 3 years.We should be allowed to stay and work wherever we in this world, while we file for our taxes in Canada. We should be allowed to apply/obtain our citizenship/passport at the end of 1095 days. That is the requirement for the 1095 days of forced residence should be removed for the ones looking only for the passport. We could also pay an one time Citizenship fee at the time of obtaining our immigrant visa and also we could deposit the Immigration Funds into a bank account and we could withdraw it after obtaining the Citizenship.
Honestly we look at it, the Canadian government obtains the tax dollars and the cheap funds it wants from the immigrants. While the Highly Qualified immigrant who has a better quality of life elsewhere does need to do labour jobs for the 3 years.
In India even in prisons we have A, B and C class prisons. If you would have seen the movie called \\\"Aparharan\\\" you would know it.
In this way the Canadian government can meet its tax(financial) objectives, while the immigrant also does not need to compromise on the quality of his life style.
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To justify my proposal, I would like to share this information with the fellow CD's:
Eventhough I from India, I do know personally of atleast 6 families from Pakistan who have gone back to Pakistan after obtaining their passports in the last 1 month. To share more concrete information, 3 families were in building 147X(last digit hidden) in Bloor Street; while the three other families were from the building on the South Eastern side of Queensway; at the intersection of Queensway and Hurantario. Eventhough I have plenty of friends from all over the world, the tendency to get back to roots seems to higher from the people of Pakistan. I knew a highly qualified Mechanical Engineer, who worked for Pakistan Internation Airlines, landed here spent 3 months, just gave up and went back to his old job, as he had not quit on it.
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The other reason for this proposal is that there are plenty of people from Gulf, who want to migrate to Canada for a better life for their children. They give up their high paying jobs there and bring all their savings and once they land in Canada, they realize that they are not in North America but they are North of America. They also migrate to Canada and then rush back to Gulf after obtaining their Citizenship. Why do we need to put them through this jumbomela.
The Canadian government can say, \\\"Stay were you are, but for a small fee you can obtain the Citizenship\\\". Are we gaining anything out of this? either North American experience, Transferable Credit History, Skill sets which will upgrade your life elsewhere. Let me ask you this question, How many of us know the Canadian National Anthem, \\\"Oh! Canada\\\" by heart. I know some desis who sang \\\"Choli Ke Peeche Kya hai\\\" during the Citizenship Oath. I do not want to be disrespectful to any country, national anthem or culture.Let the people who would like to make this country as their future, continue with the regular process, while people
This way both the country and the individual will be in a win-win situation.
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Speech by Thomas Friedman of The New York Times....
"When we were young kids growing up in America, we were told to eat our
vegetables at dinner and not leave them. Mothers said, 'think of the
starving children in India and finish the dinner.' And now I tell my
children: 'Finish your maths homework. Think of the children in India
who would make you starve, if you don't.'"
From an immigrant's perspective this plan looks reasonable. (I also had a similar thoughts). But you have to look at a bigger picture. Why would government of a developed country anywhere in the world would offer it's citizenship for a few thousand dollars?
Don't get me wrong but acquiring Canadian citizenship is one of the easiest in all the developed countries thanks to it's lax immigration policies. (canada gets the highest number of immigrants per year per thousand people - I guess it is a little over 6 immigrants per thousand people per year).
The reason I say your plan doesn't work is - be it immigration or work permits, in most countries these are available so that the local businesses can run without having shortage of skilled man power.
Think about this - if you own a software company in Canada, how the hell will you ever be able to get the programmers you need if your plan is implemented? All programmers will either live in USA, UK or Dubai and would never set their foot on Canadian soil. Because for them, they get higher salaries and some may even use the Canadian citizenship as a fall back option if they can't get residency in USA or UK.
Excuse me, the reason why Canada tries to get immigrants physically stay in this country are far more than just paying tax. Think about the money that is pumped into Canadian economy everytime you buy groceries, everytime you eat out , everytime you visit walmart, everytime you travel....
Think about the money you invest into CPP...
You see, Canada is struggling to retain it's skilled workforce against a bigger and wealthier neighbour. The three year residency rule is very important so that the businesses get the people they need.
I think Canada should change it's immigration policy to take only those immigrants who have
(i) a job offer or
(ii) should change the categories of immigrants it takes i.e., take more people like electricians, plumbers etc than get electrical engineers etc.
or
(iii) they can do like Australia is doing for students who do masters in Australia i.e. grant immediate PR after studying in Canada.
or
(iv) reduce the intake of immigrants to suit the labour market
Also there is no strict control / checks over the people who immigrate here with false experience.
Atleast I know some people who whine that there are no jobs in Canada but they also don't have proper experience( in IT field). They shouldn't have been in Canada in the first place. There are a lot of talented people who are in India who chose to remain in India. I would say Canada should actively woo IIT/IIM graduates etc to come to Canada by offering them direct residency.
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Under cover mosque
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=2668560761490749816&ei=ZdwxSc74L4ig-AGZ4YHiDQ&q=undercover+mosque&hl=en" target="_blank">http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=2668560761490749816&ei=ZdwxSc74L4ig-AGZ4YHiDQ&q=undercover+mosque&hl=en
Though I totally agree wz most aspects , we have to understand that issuing citizenship by any country is more from an ideolgical perspective than a commercial angle. This is not a shop where you can pay some money ( in this case taxes ) and buy a passport.
I feel many people are misusing this passport option. I have met a couple of them who claimed (!!! ) to have come here just for their children !!! whom are they kidding !!!!!!! The children could always come on a student visa.. Also many who thought a canadian passport will get them a higher pay are all wrong.. In the Middle East , the colour of your skin plays a better role than the colour of your passports..
The only reason this country is tolerating these people is not because they paid their share but because it is very obvious that these people have decided and can't mingle wz this country in any way.
One more reason - these parents have been outside their home countries for long and are scared to go back to their countries and hence this "Canadian Passport Parachute".
Location: Western Hemisphere
Posted on: 24-02-06 21:30:14
Quote:
Orginally posted by maple_asian
I think Canada should change it's immigration policy to take only those immigrants who have
(i) a job offer or
(ii) should change the categories of immigrants it takes i.e., take more people like electricians, plumbers etc than get electrical engineers etc.
or
(iii) they can do like Australia is doing for students who do masters in Australia i.e. grant immediate PR after studying in Canada.
or
(iv) reduce the intake of immigrants to suit the labour market
Very well said. The only issue I see is the potential exploitation by employers (like that of IT employers in US) when immigration becomes dependant on the job offer and/or continued employment.
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Dimple2001
Quote:
Orginally posted by dimple2001
Quote:
Orginally posted by maple_asian
I think Canada should change it's immigration policy to take only those immigrants who have
(i) a job offer or
(ii) should change the categories of immigrants it takes i.e., take more people like electricians, plumbers etc than get electrical engineers etc.
or
(iii) they can do like Australia is doing for students who do masters in Australia i.e. grant immediate PR after studying in Canada.
or
(iv) reduce the intake of immigrants to suit the labour market
Very well said. The only issue I see is the potential exploitation by employers (like that of IT employers in US) when immigration becomes dependant on the job offer and/or continued employment.
You are right, this is the flaw in the US immigration system. In Canada, you may not have a proper job but atleast Canada gives you an opportunity to change your employers at your free will after you come here as a landed immigrant. I personally hated living in US on a H1-B Visa although I had a better paying job there.
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Under cover mosque
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=2668560761490749816&ei=ZdwxSc74L4ig-AGZ4YHiDQ&q=undercover+mosque&hl=en" target="_blank">http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=2668560761490749816&ei=ZdwxSc74L4ig-AGZ4YHiDQ&q=undercover+mosque&hl=en
