Opinionated Fool

They must be, considering the UN has crowned Canada’s policies on immigration as a shining example for the rest of the world. A shining example of what happens when you have a very generous system in place, and several thousand people very willing to abuse, misuse or otherwise screw up that generous system.

3. (1) The objectives of this Act with respect to immigration are

(a) to permit Canada to pursue the maximum social, cultural and economic benefits of immigration;

(b) to enrich and strengthen the social and cultural fabric of Canadian society, while respecting the federal, bilingual and multicultural character of Canada;

(b.1) to support and assist the development of minority official languages communities in Canada;

(c) to support the development of a strong and prosperous Canadian economy, in which the benefits of immigration are shared across all regions of Canada;

(d) to see that families are reunited in Canada;

(e) to promote the successful integration of permanent residents into Canada, while recognizing that integration involves mutual obligations for new immigrants and Canadian society;

(f) to support, by means of consistent standards and prompt processing, the attainment of immigration goals established by the Government of Canada in consultation with the provinces;

(g) to facilitate the entry of visitors, students and temporary workers for purposes such as trade, commerce, tourism, international understanding and cultural, educational and scientific activities;

(h) to protect the health and safety of Canadians and to maintain the security of Canadian society;

(i) to promote international justice and security by fostering respect for human rights and by denying access to Canadian territory to persons who are criminals or security risks; and

(j) to work in cooperation with the provinces to secure better recognition of the foreign credentials of permanent residents and their more rapid integration into society.

Roughly translated: the Canadian government will just assume when folks come to the country to live they will also adapt to fit in with Canada’s culture, rather than expecting Canada’s culture to adapt to fit in with them and theirs. A noble idea, in theory. But in practice? Not so much. Canada’s refugee system, at the very least–if not the immigration system as a whole, is very badly broken, to the tune of several thousand bogus claims of refugee status being submitted and requiring the introduction of visas from the biggest offenders–Mexico and the Czech Republic, who are supposed to be allies and therefore ineligible for refugee claims.

People love trying to get into Canada. Particularly from places like Mexico etc. And, while Canada would be more than happy to have them, the opinionated fool fails to see why it is Canada should support them. The current unemployment rate is nearly 9%. Yet, there are programs in place to get people from other countries here, educate them if necessary, and find them work. Or, and this is a more frequent occurance, send the jobs off to other countries. Meanwhile, citicens of Canada and people who’ve been here for years on already existing permanent visas are having a hell of a time finding work–hence the current unemployment rate. Of course, those that don’t come here to work just end up collecting social services checks–welfare, etc–instead of actually contributing to the betterment of the country–which is, on paper at least, the original intent of Canada’s immigration regulations.

At least Canada’s still getting global recognission for something–much to the dismay of Michael Ignatieff, who probably still maintains the country’s image globally is shot. In this inistance, though? Personally, I wish Ignatieff was right.

That’s his reasoning to Mexico’s president for why it is Mexican visitors require visas when crossing the border. The requirement was introduced in early July in response to a sharp increase in bogus refugee claims from both Mexico and the Czech Republic.

You don’t need to look all that far to see why it is he can blame Canada’s immigration policies for the current situation–Mexico and the Czech Republic are supposed to be allies, as well as supposed to be legitimatly democratic countries. So there shouldn’t be refugee claims coming from those particular countries. Applications for refugee status are, or were pre-visas, getting to the point where legitimate refugees escaping legitimate crises ended up waiting significantly longer for their hearings than they should have been.

Canada is far too soft on immigration in a lot of cases–and this would be one of them. Now, though, that the hopefully temporary visa requirement is in place and claims have been appropriately decreased, here’s hoping Stephen Harper can actually push through some much needed reforms in that area. His press team will appreciate it.

That’s kind of the message Mexico looks like it’s sending. A whole two weeks after Canada closed the door on Mexican citizens floating across the border and then immediately applying for refugee status, Mexico has decided to get downright childish. Canada’s putting the breaks on the old habbit of folks coming across from the US, either by choice or by force, and claiming refugee status once they get here. And what does Mexico plan to do? Why, require the reporters etc accompanying Stephen Harper to Mexico, of course. And it’s not about diplomacy or anything, as I’m sure we’ll be hearing it is later on. If Harper wants the press to accompany him to Mexico, he’s not allowed to make sure his people get them their visas. Mexico wants every reporter, camera person, and equipment carrier accompanying the prime minister on his visit to apply for their own visas, sans assistance from the prime minister’s office.

I’m not exactly sure what that’s supposed to accomplish, aside from making sure Canada’s government has even less to do with anything going on on Mexican soil. The majority of Canada’s population–that is, those who aren’t actually going as reporters with the prime minister–also known as tourists, still aren’t required to get visas before entering Mexico. Which sort of begs the question, please do explain? I somehow don’t think requiring 20 members of the press to apply for visas will do a whole lot more than make Canada’s government do a little tiny bit of a WTF. Which may or may not be all Mexico’s after–I have no idea. But if their government expects anything more to come of it than that, well, good luck. That’s really all anyone can say.

It started with Obama’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, and now, Canada’s engaging in its own, much smaller version of a crackdown. This one, targetting Czech refugees. The Harper government ended up lifting the previously in effect visa requirements for Czech tourists and other such visitors coming to Canada in 2007, and the number of refugee claims pretty well exploded–over 3000 since then, as compared to just 5 while the requirement was in place. Many of these refugees went on to accomplish such amazing feats as claiming welfare and other social assistance services, effectively being a drain on what is now an already drained economy.

As it stands now, the EU hasn’t done much beyond criticise Canada’s reaction to the problem, although they did go on to say they would be speaking to diplomatic officials on the matter in short order. The Czech Republic, for its own efforts, has apparently recalled its ambasador to Canada in protest. It does take sometimes as long as 5 years for a legitimate immigrant to gain entry into Canada. If this is a contributer to that backlog, as some are quick to claim it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if that becomes a more permanent fix to the current situation.

The visa requirement was extended to Mexico, as well, many of who’s immigrants end up in Canada and also filing refugee applications–often times after being deported from the US. They, like the Czech immigrants, more often than not don’t go on to do a whole lot beyond collecting social assistance. In a time when a growing number of Canadians are out of work and looking to social programs for assistance until they can get back into the workforce, and in a time when Canada is contemplating an easing of some of the mentioned social assistance programs because of the economic problems we’re now seeing, any steps to curb this type of immigration practice is welcomed with open arms. Now, if we can just talk the immigration department out of certain other practices.

That’s what Sabir Mohammed Sheikh and his wife are finding out now. The couple, from Pakistan originally and now living in Montreal, Canada, is being deported to the US–through which they originally gained entry into Canada claiming refugee status. That status has since been revoked, on the grounds that on their application for the said status, they had lied as to exactly how long they were living in Dubai, India. They declared 3 years on their application, but in reality had been living there for 20.

That’s hardly the kicker here, though. While the couple themselves are being ordered to leave the country, their 4 children, only one of whom was actually born here, are being allowed to stay. With the children being between the ages of 5 and 21–with the 5-year-old being the only one having been born in Canada–it raises serious questions as to exactly what the immigration department in Canada actually calls its priorities. On the one hand, they should be commended for sticking to the letter of the law when it comes to immigration and refugee status, but on the other, what are they thinking? Clearly, the oldest of their children is not what most people would consider old enough to be taking care of his 3 younger siblings full-time. Nor are they old enough to really do a whole lot of taking care of themselves. Which means they’ll most likely be relying on community members and family friends, or on social services, to take care of them until such time as they reach 18 years old. Of course, those that are 18 already are pretty much on their own, ready or not. I guess so much for the conservative preaching of family values. This family values staying together–and Canada’s government says no.

Whichever side of that fence you happen to fall on, this may more than likely be some semi-good news if you happen to live in the US. The Obama administration is trying to push through a bill that was floated during the Bush days of government, designed to get tougher on immigrants. Specificly, of the illegal variety. The basics behind the legislation as it stands now would require employers to run all applicants through an online database to varify that they are, in fact, legally entitled to work in the US. Since one of the major things I hear plenty of from folks I talk to from that side of the border is the fact that there’s a large number of illegals that don’t end up actually doing a whole lot for the country, I wouldn’t be surprised if this particular piece of legislation ends up passing with very little governmental resistance. And, to the extent that it probably has a baring on what happens with immigration on this side of the border–everyone knows, after all, that the US and Canadian governments tend to be pretty arm in arm on things like this, particularly post-9/11–I’ll be keeping an eye on this just to see where it ends up stopping. Maybe we’ll get lucky and it won’t take the remaining 2.5-3 years of Obama’s term before it ends up being law.