Posted on: 23-03-04 21:09:55
An average Canadian ( Gora) think that we immigrated to Canada to drain the resources ( if at all they have any 
) this country have.
While discussing with one Canadian when I told him that an average Indian immigrant family bring around C$ 20K to C$ 30K in to Canadian economy. And we pay around C$3000.00 to C$ 3500.00 to get an immigrant visa for a family; he was shocked to know that we Indian have that much money to spend….. his next question was.. when you have this much money.. your country have leading edge in technology, you have got better education system, plenty of natural resources and you have good employment opportunities in your country ( because whenever he phone any company to get any sort of service in Canada, he mostly find that his problem is being solved by an Indian who is sitting in India), than why you guys are immigrating to Canada ???????
Following is a small news article published in 2001 throw some light on what we bring from our countries :
Web Posted Jun 14, 2001 12:00:00 AM
Immigrants bust stereotypes
Calgary - Immigrants to Calgary brought more than $58 million with them last year. People attending a conference on immigration in Calgary say that dispels the myth that people coming from other countries are a drain on social programs.
Lloyd Wong, an Associate professor of Sociology at the University of Calgary, says few newcomers to Canada wind up on social assistance.
He says a study shows fewer immigrants wind up on welfare than native born Canadians. Wong also says another study looked at taxes.
It was a comparison of the income tax they paid and the amount of money they received in welfare and social welfare benefits like Unemployment Insurance and they paid more income tax then they received in terms of social assistance, so that dispels the myth that immigrants are a drain on the economy"
Wong says in fact the majority of immigrants are bringing money to Calgary. And they are helping stimulate the economy because they are starting businesses and spending money on consumer goods.
***************************
Thanks and regards.
Biomed
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Change before you have to" : Jack Welch
There are so many myths around immigrants. Almost all of them are wrong.
The one mentioned above is one of them.
Thanks for brining it here.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A Proud Indian Canadian
I'll bite
Am I the only person who has not met those nasty Goras and those people who propogate such myths. What kind of locality do you people live in? . Most goras I know and associate with acknowledge the fact that their forefathers and fathers(even) were immigrants themselves. Some of them are first-gen immigrants and are here on the same point system that we immigrate on .e.g: from countries like Poland.
If indeed TO is awash with racists maybe all of you should move to Montreal and drink banana flavoured cofee with me. But then some of you practice reverse-discrimination and we dont want that sort of racists in Montreal either 
I'm now ducking for cover. You can yell all you want!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Services- Servicedomino.com
http://www.servicedomino.com
Quote:
Orginally posted by jake3d
I'll bite
Am I the only person who has not met those nasty Goras and those people who propogate such myths.
No Jake, you are not the only one - I too have never heard of any 'Gora Canadian' saying that. However, the fact remains that it is said not once, but over and over again. I have read it sometime - but I can't dig out the article, or remember where I read it. But I distinctly remember one evening three weeks ago, while driving back from office, I was listening to radio 1010 CFRB and I think it was John More show around 5.15. I was so pleasently surprised when he brought up the same topic and read out a government report of 2003 praising immigrants and proving why they are better (yes better - not at par!) than born Canadians! He read out the main points of report which said about lesser utilization of welfare or EI monies by immigrants, higher incomes, more taxes, more perseverance etc. And the way he said it, it was almost like he wanted to shout at those guys who say that immigrants are a burden to Canadian society.
The point I am trying to make is that people do it (call immigrants unwanted people) and government has tried to prove that they are wrong.
Quote:
What kind of locality do you people live in?
I do agree on that too.......but there are people who do not fall in the category 'most' and that is why such a topic is important enough to be discussed on a talk show! It is not a thing which is limited to some quarters, because if it was, it would not normally be discussed on a talk show.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chandresh
Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!
Quote:
Orginally posted by chandresh
The point I am trying to make is that people do it (call immigrants unwanted people) and government has tried to prove that they are wrong.
Yes you are right. There are enough ignorant people in this world. Let me ask you one thing. Did we ever worry about idiots when we were in India? Why do we worry about them now?Arent we proud of what we are doing here. Just the struggle that we go through is something those idiots will NEVER be able to stand up to. Each one of us have taken a huge risk in coming here. That alone shows our spirit. Many have made it here. That shows our perseverance in the face of all difficulties. We know the troubles that we go through to preserve/promote our culture and our identities. Since when did we decide to feel so inferior that we have to worry about what ignorant people say? Is it because of our own inferiority complex that we feel that anything coming out of a firangs mouth(even if ihe is an idiot) is to be taken seriously?
The general public is not ignorant. The "average Canadian" is not ignorant!! I stake my claim that I AM an average canadian too.
Quote:
I do agree on that too.......but there are people who do not fall in the category 'most' and that is why such a topic is important enough to be discussed on a talk show! It is not a thing which is limited to some quarters, because if it was, it would not normally be discussed on a talk show.
Talk shows are not exactly the respected venue for public opinion good taste or social issues. One only has to watch jerry springer to know that
.Again I am not arguing that these things dont happen. Its also good that the govt is trying to educate the ignorant out there and its being talked about. However, the way it was presented here, it sounded like it was an everyday occurence for us immigrants (see the openming lines of the first post in this thread). Its definitely not giving a correct picture of Canada. Like you said, you have not met any of those ignorant idiots and nor have I. The gora canadians I have met are as good or bad as the desis i have met. I am proud of Canada and am too confident of my place in it to be bothered by what idiots say. I did not have to read an article to know that most immigrants(of all colors) try harder to succeed in Canada than those born here.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Services- Servicedomino.com
http://www.servicedomino.com
