unfortunate but true

[realtexdex]

I don't think the system is broken, It isn't the job of the government to find anyone a job. Just that there isn't much for a skilled, educated workforce. Semi skilled, low skilled folks have a better chance.

 

[ZingyDNA]

If it was so easy to go to the US than most people would do it and skip Canada altogether. Its not that most people haven't tried. Having been in Canada all this time while fulfilling conditions of PR and citizenship and yet not getting any professional jobs, most people move to the US for better opportunities.

Yeah it's not like they don't want to go to the US and live and work there. They just can't! Not legally anyways

 

[aashay12]

Finally some good news, H4 visa dependents can work if they have their green card petition approved...
huge relief for lot of people.

 

[Ramelak]

All,

quite an interesting exchange of views at the top of the thread. I would agree with Newtone that the immigration system is totally flawed - a meaningless and out of context "points system" that qualifies a person as a top engineer in their country but only meets the requirements to drive a cab in Canada - added to the mere handful of jobs available in Canada and above all, the general reluctance to welcome immigrants into the mainstream. I believe all this is true and yes, unless you are at the bottom of the heap where anything else would be a better life, or you have way too much money and have taken a whim to Canada, the country can be very daunting for a professional with limited resources trying to get a foothold in the corporate world. There may be a few success stories, but almost every immigrant has a nightmarish time in the first few years. I see some readers here are loathe to read this view and I might be condemned as being too negative. But facts are facts. I believe it's better to come with no expectations so anything will be a bonus, while quite the opposite happens with most newcomers, thanks to all the official hogwash floating around that Canada is the most liveable country in the world, etc. Sorry fellas, that's my view. I migrated to Canada in 1999 from S. Africa and lived in Toronto for a year. Everyone looks so miserable and worn, dampening your already damp spirits. in 2000 I decided that I'd had enough and returned to SA, and never looked back since. My only regret is having had to part with the thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it. I will never go there again, and my advice to those thinking of migrating - ask yourself if you have a good job and decent money where you are. If so, and if your country is not a war zone or terror ridden, please stay back!

 

[trytry]

All,

quite an interesting exchange of views at the top of the thread. I would agree with Newtone that the immigration system is totally flawed - a meaningless and out of context "points system" that qualifies a person as a top engineer in their country but only meets the requirements to drive a cab in Canada - added to the mere handful of jobs available in Canada and above all, the general reluctance to welcome immigrants into the mainstream. I believe all this is true and yes, unless you are at the bottom of the heap where anything else would be a better life, or you have way too much money and have taken a whim to Canada, the country can be very daunting for a professional with limited resources trying to get a foothold in the corporate world. There may be a few success stories, but almost every immigrant has a nightmarish time in the first few years. I see some readers here are loathe to read this view and I might be condemned as being too negative. But facts are facts. I believe it's better to come with no expectations so anything will be a bonus, while quite the opposite happens with most newcomers, thanks to all the official hogwash floating around that Canada is the most liveable country in the world, etc. Sorry fellas, that's my view. I migrated to Canada in 1999 from S. Africa and lived in Toronto for a year. Everyone looks so miserable and worn, dampening your already damp spirits. in 2000 I decided that I'd had enough and returned to SA, and never looked back since. My only regret is having had to part with the thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it. I will never go there again, and my advice to those thinking of migrating - ask yourself if you have a good job and decent money where you are. If so, and if your country is not a war zone or terror ridden, please stay back!

Awesome..Salute to you buddy. You took a right step. I mean "if a person is earning good and living his/her life calmly and is not living under the bullets, then stay where you are."

 

[DirectEnergy]

I agree, and I think that Canada's response should be to reduce the number of immigrants accepted until market forces balance out. I don't understand why both major parties insist on raising the number of new immigrants each year when the economy and infrastructure obviously can't support it. And, I think they should crack down further on people seeking to immigrate to obtain passports of convenience. Make the mandatory residency period 10 years at a minimum before someone can apply for citizenship.

You agree, but you don't realize that reducing the number of immigrants (in other words making it harder to immigrate) and 10 years residence before citizenship would make Canada lose in the competition for immigrants right away.

 

[torontosm]

You agree, but you don't realize that reducing the number of immigrants (in other words making it harder to immigrate) and 10 years residence before citizenship would make Canada lose in the competition for immigrants right away.

What competition for immigrants? From some of the earlier comments on this thread, it sounds like people are only using Canada as a stepping stone to get to the US. Why not just close that loophole, while concurrently allowing the entire supply/demand paradigm to normalize. Following this, the Government can reevaluate just how many immigrants the economy can support, and allow that many in. When those immigrants land jobs within a short period of time, Canada will naturally become a more attractive place to come to, and the demand will go up again.

 

[realtexdex]

Quit forcing the cool-aid on us!

 

[newtone]

When those immigrants land jobs within a short period of time, Canada will naturally become a more attractive place to come to, and the demand will go up again.

This is like saying when a pink elephant with wings lands in Canada I will use it as a means of transportation to heaven. Unfortunately reality is very different. Even a company like Master card advertises that. The cost of doing something like what you propose outweighs the benefits. It is more profitable for the Canadian government to bring in educated professional immigrants in large numbers because:

1) Most immigrants bring money
2) Most immigrants spend money
3) Most immigrants do most of the dirty/least desirable/temp/no benefit jobs
4) Most immigrants hope things will change for the better because people like you are always harping that Canada is such a great country and everything in the world is wrong with them



..................than to be selective, pick and choose and only bring some according to jobs required.

Its basically a number game, bring thousands, may be 10 or 15 will be successful and most will fail, either way the house wins. Its like Canada saying heads I win tails I don't loose. Its really that simple

 

[david1697]

What competition for immigrants? From some of the earlier comments on this thread, it sounds like people are only using Canada as a stepping stone to get to the US. Why not just close that loophole, while concurrently allowing the entire supply/demand paradigm to normalize. Following this, the Government can reevaluate just how many immigrants the economy can support, and allow that many in. When those immigrants land jobs within a short period of time, Canada will naturally become a more attractive place to come to, and the demand will go up again.

Canada is NOT a stepping stone to US for most of the immigrants. I don't know why this is being repeated so much.
I believe it's a proverbial stepping stone for one specific group of immigrants: the INDIANS

The reason is: Indians have extremely long waiting time to obtain a Green Card as IT (or other) professionals, they are the people who have skills and education to qualify for FSW and , perhaps, are the ones who go to Canada ONLY BECAUSE they can't stay in US on a Perm Basis.
Everyone else (with minor exception of, may be, Chinese nationals, I am not sure, haven't been following US Immigration News for a while now), who has higher education and professional experience in US can get a GC in US without much delay, hence no need for a "backdoor" through Canada.

I would NOT equate ONE segment of immigrants to EVERYONE ELSE, and make a blanket judgment about intentions of all Immigrants based on what may be true for one segment out of many others.

In my family NO ONE lacks the right to work or stay in US or travel the whole world when we want to.

The ONLY reasons we wish we could move to Canada NOW are:

1. Future of our kids (US Born US Citizens), who we believe will have harder time to get a top college education without breaking the bank (my elder daughter wants to be a doctor , I do not want her to reach her dream at the cost of US$200,000 in loans and desperate search for job to pay off her debt immediately after graduation, with no room to finance purchase of house and etc, like most fresh graduates in US now).

2. My spouse likes it there, and I share some of her sentiments. We both think Canada is milder country, people there are friendlier to each other and happier. It doesn't mean Americans are bad, in fact we have a lot of people here with good heart and intentions, but (not sure what is exact reason)
people in general becoming rougher and less courteous to each other , and you can sense the trend wherever you go.
We have more bulletproof glasses on gas stations now (use to be only on very bad neighborhoods), people are less open and friendly in casual encounters if they don't know you (I wouldn't know it, but witnessed in person a difference when traveled to Canada) , and overall we think people in Canada happier. These are things you can't buy for money, in fact once you earn certain amount of money you realize that more does nothing to enhance your life, you can even get bored. But happiness and inner comfort are priceless, people who know what I am talking about would easily sacrifice some extra income for higher quality of life.

On all above accounts, we (me and my wife) think ->AS OF THIS MOMENT <- (not sure what will happen in future) Canada is a better place to live and live happily, than US. And I say it as someone who LOVES US, US Flag is My flag, I am ready to fight and defend this country from all enemies, foreign and domestic. So, I am not speaking from point of view of someone who is bashing US. But, I think Canada is happier place to be now.

And we definitely don't look up to Canada as backdoor to US, we are in US, no one restricts any of our freedoms to work, travel or indefinitely live in US.

Please do not mix the subject of "US backdoor" with a serious issue that currently exists, and it's related to ECONOMY.
The big issue is, no matter how wonderful Canada is and how anyone wants to be there, how can you enjoy benefits of living in Canada
if you can't get as much as an interview for a job, and everyone tells you that you should work in a survival job (no matter what your skills and qualifications) until you network and find a way to be known to hiring managers in person ? Even then (according to poster above) you may not ever land a job in white collar industry, because you will always lack Canadian experience in the field, which you won't be able to obtain because you need it to get it.

Am I the only one who sees there is the problem with economy and lack of white collar jobs is a serious obstacle to move permanently to Canada?

 

[DirectEnergy]

the Government can reevaluate just how many immigrants the economy can support, and allow that many in.

This depends entirely on what kind of work those immigrants are supposed to do. If you have survival/menial jobs in mind, then the Canadian economy can support many more immigrants than it does now. If you mean professional jobs - Canada does not need anyone.

But the weird thing is that instead of being honest and inviting best McDonalds or KFC workers from Asia or Africa you almost have to be a doctor or an engineer to qualify for immigration. Only to discover that nobody needs your professional skills no matter what they are. McDonalds workers from Mumbai would probably be super happy to work in Brampton doing the work they know and are content with for a lot more more money and in a safer environment. Likewise McDonalds customers would be delighted to be served by professional, polite, and happy people. A medical doctor from Mumbai would not be happy flipping burgers in McDonalds. But the irony is that the former does not qualify for immigration, and the latter does.

 

[Politren]

Canada is trying to attract the educated immigrants, because naturally they can bring more fresh money here.
The second stage is when those people have to go back to Universities in Canada, because they are lied that after graduation from Canadian university everything will be just fine.
So those people are double lied at the end, but now they have to pay back the student loan... guess with what...of course with survival jobs

 

[DirectEnergy]

Canada is trying to attract the educated immigrants, because naturally they can bring more fresh money here.
The second stage is when those people have to go back to Universities in Canada, because they are lied that after graduation from Canadian university everything will be just fine.
So those people are double lied at the end, but now they have to pay back the student loan... guess with what...of course with survival jobs

Exactly. A doctor would bring more money, and he would probably represent a higher quality human capital from the point of view of Canada (less prone to crime, better educated kids, etc.). Just business...

 

[Politren]

I have to admit, that this problem with the lack of good jobs is for everybody in Canada (Native and immigrants). There is simply no positions available for the huge amount of waiting people already on the line.

If somebody is coming here as a general labour with the expectation to continue working as a general labour, then Canada would be really good option.

 

[steaky]

Exactly. A doctor would bring more money, and he would probably represent a higher quality human capital from the point of view of Canada (less prone to crime, better educated kids, etc.). Just business...

Not necessary. A corrupted Chinese official and other upstarts maybe less educated than a doctor, can be more wealthy than a doctor. They might buy million dollars mansions in Canada, don't need a job to sustain their lifestyles while enjoys the benefit in living Canada, drive luxury cars (such as Ferari), send their children to private schools, etc... In short, they probably bring more money to Canada than a professional doctor.