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[truesmile]

And just to factor in, many immigrants arrive here on a TWP. 2 years of employment (in many cases to abusive employers taking advantage), before applying for PR... 2 more years to get PR = minumum FOUR YEARS before even "applying" to be reunited with your family. There's your "benefit" to being a Citizen. Yes, they made a choice to come here. Without PR possible, there's NO carrot.

 

[Iay]

And just to factor in, many immigrants arrive here on a TWP. 2 years of employment (in many cases to abusive employers taking advantage), before applying for PR... 2 more years to get PR = minumum FOUR YEARS before even "applying" to be reunited with your family. There's your "benefit" to being a Citizen. Yes, they made a choice to come here. Without PR possible, there's NO carrot.

Definitely agree with this. I would say being a Canadian citizen is not ALWAYS being better or getting better opportunities than PR, except that you have a canadian passport which allows you to travel almost anywhere in the world. ;D

 

[truesmile]

Don't want to correct my "quoted" post, so I'll qualify it here... I should have written... "Without PR possible, AND the option to sponsor husband or wife." PR alone is no fresh carrot.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

I think it's not right to say this. Not all citizens are "helpful" in the econony. On the other hand, there are lots of PRs who give huge income to the government. No wonder the only difference between a PR and citizen is the citizen's right to vote. To think, PRs and citizens have the same emotions when it comes to being with their loved ones, so I see no reason to discriminate PRs from citizens when it comes to sponsoring their family.

Nevertheless, good luck on your application.

Not all immigrants are helpful to the economy either. Go check out the waiting area in any hospital emergency room. Entry level jobs that pay less than $25000/year would see a tax refund. As a citizen I would prefer every PR become a citizen and after 3 years a PR has that option. Right or wrong there is a sour taste in my mouth that allows a person who arrived last week to have access to all the same resources I have access to as a 7th generation Canadian.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

Don't want to correct my "quoted" post, so I'll qualify it here... I should have written... "Without PR possible, AND the option to sponsor husband or wife." PR alone is no fresh carrot.

Why do people immigrate to Canada? Mostly likely because it offers better opportunities then their native countries. I do not begrudge them this. I would do the same. Though someone working for a crappy employer for 2 years is hardly a qualifying factor to usurp or slow the resources for those of us who have no allegience to any other country.
As for having to offer "carrots" to immigrants who come from countries with no gardens at all maybe its better for them not to immigrate.

 

[truesmile]

Lest we forget, we are all here sponsoring someone who DOES have 'allegiance' to another country. But I hear you, and for the most part we are on the same page as far as immigration goes. Perhaps however now that I have gotten to know some of these people... it's interesting to see it from the other side, and to tell them you can NEVER sponsor somebody (your spouse), wouldn't be right either.

 

[jarry96]

The fact is we (Canada) need immigrants because of our low birth rate. Countries such as Japan will eventually have a very serious problem because of the aging of the population. Japan now has the oldest population in the world and the average age is projected to get much higher. With fewer workers their GDP will likely drop plus the tax paying population will have to support a growing number of retired.

The 250,000 immigrants to Canada every year helps our population to grow. I believe our country would be more independent and stronger with a larger population of say, 100,000,000.

By the way....here is an idea: the Philippines has vast numbers of young people without jobs. The Philippines and Japan should agree to exchange one million citizens each. Japan could send one million people age 80+ to the Philippines and the Philippines could send one million 25-years-olds to Japan. These new Philippine permanent residents of Japan could help Japan by growing the economy through their work and taxes and the Philippines could construct many top notch senior facilities and staff them with wonderfully caring Philippine nurses to provide a home for these elder Japanese permanent residents and at the same time employ many filipinos.

Everybody wins and both countries are better off!

 

[Steph C]

The fact is we (Canada) need immigrants because of our low birth rate.

I really dislike that argument, and I hear it often. The fact is, Canadians can't afford to even think about starting families until they are into their 30's. It's very expensive and most Canadians are quite responsible with family planning. We can't have kids without financial security, unlike in other countries where people have kids first and worry about it later. If the government was the one to argue that they needed immigration because of our low birth rate, I would argue that they should first facilitate Canadians who want to have families.

 

[Steph C]

The fact is we (Canada) need immigrants because of our low birth rate. Countries such as Japan will eventually have a very serious problem because of the aging of the population. Japan now has the oldest population in the world and the average age is projected to get much higher. With fewer workers their GDP will likely drop plus the tax paying population will have to support a growing number of retired.

The 250,000 immigrants to Canada every year helps our population to grow. I believe our country would be more independent and stronger with a larger population of say, 100,000,000.

By the way....here is an idea: the Philippines has vast numbers of young people without jobs. The Philippines and Japan should agree to exchange one million citizens each. Japan could send one million people age 80+ to the Philippines and the Philippines could send one million 25-years-olds to Japan. These new Philippine permanent residents of Japan could help Japan by growing the economy through their work and taxes and the Philippines could construct many top notch senior facilities and staff them with wonderfully caring Philippine nurses to provide a home for these elder Japanese permanent residents and at the same time employ many filipinos.

Everybody wins and both countries are better off!

The Philippines has a lot of people! I see that as a problem... the Philippine's problem. That's not Japan's problem! I would hate to see Canada's population more then double. Of course there's more then enough room, but people like to live in major cities. In the Philippines it seems like they're running out of room to fit all those people. The farther we travel into the country, we still see thousands of people everywhere. It's a really claustrophobic feeling for somebody who's not used to it. You guys don't seem to mind it.. you seem to find comfort being among so many people. I just find it completely overwhelming and draining.

 

[jarry96]

Canada is not doing so badly. Our unemployment is low compared to so many countries. Canada has a great future especially if the population grows and the economy along with it. The paradox is as countries become used to being relatively rich, the birth rate always drops because our lives are so hectic as we strive to improve our standard of living with two working spouses and working long hours to get ahead financially.

We won't admit it but it is human nature to compete and strive to get ahead of the "Joneses". (Essentially that is why the capitalist system works to enrich a country as opposed to a communist system where the individual feels he cannot surpass his neighbor so nobody works hard and everyone stays poor.)

It is not too expensive to have children in Canada if we don't find it necessary to spoil them with material things and if we raise them right to be appreciative of small things.

 

[Steph C]

It is not too expensive to have children in Canada if we don't find it necessary to spoil them with material things and if we raise them right to be appreciate of small things.

Well, we need the basic things like housing. Have you seen the Vancouver housing market? And affordable childcare, so that we can work to afford the expensive housing. I'm not talking about spoiling the child with material things - these are basics.

 

[jarry96]

This is very true and an interesting phenomena. When filipinos see a neighborhood street scene in Canada...they always say "Where are the people?"

I once had filipino friends stay at my condo while I went to Canada and they could not stand it....the silence...there were no people outside the windows or in the corridors!

 

[Steph C]

This is very true and an interesting phenomena. When filipinos see a neighborhood street scene in Canada...they always say "Where are the people?"

I once had filipino friends stay at my condo while I went to Canada and they could not stand it....the silence...there were no people outside the windows or in the corridors!

I know! It's so funny. I brought a group of my closest friends to my house for the day, while they were in port on our cruise ship. They looked at the street.. Where are all the people? They looked at my family's 3 bedroom bungalow. What do you do here in this big house all day if you're all alone? It's creepy for them if there's nobody around. lol. For me it's creepy in the Philippines to have a thousand eyes staring into the back of my blonde head.

 

[jarry96]

Yes exactly!

That is what I love about seeing the world and meeting other cultures. Different people see the same things oppositely.

For another example, we, in Canada spend millions of dollars at sun-tanning salons to get browner and Filipinos spend on whitening creams to be whiter! Again this is a phenomena of human nature....we want whatever we don't have.

 

[Steph C]

Yes exactly!

That is what I love about seeing the world and meeting other cultures. Different people see the same things oppositely.

For another example, we, in Canada spend millions of dollars at sun-tanning salons to get browner and Filipinos spend on whitening creams to be whiter! Again this is a phenomena of human nature....we want whatever we don't have.

So true! My whole life I have been teased by my father, brother, uncles about how white my poor legs are in the first days of summer. I was so embarrassed to show my legs in public! There was even a while when I would use different bronzing creams to try and cover it up. After visiting the Philippines I learned to finally be proud of my blueish white hue. :