Stupidity of Dual Citizenship

[tracy]

I agree with Tracy, and I'm sure it's just a coincidence I'm in a similar situation :wink:

Probably :lol: I think until I stop saying "I'm going home" when talking about trips to Canada, I'll still be Canadian. I said it today when talking about going back to BC for my brother's wedding. One of the girls said "I thought you lived here" and then I had to explain "well, yeah I live here, but I'm really Canadian"...

 

[DurkaDurka]

Tracy wrote:

They had to earn their pensions by working a lot of years in Canada, I don't care where they spend them. My parents have friends who moved to Thailand in their retirement (they were not Thai citizens and have no Thai family, they just liked it there after seeing it on vacation).

I have no argument with what you say Tracy. It just strikes me as a bit extreme that Canada has to evacuate 50,000 citizens from Lebanon, a good number of whom have obviously made the decision to take up permanent residence in that country. Lebanon has not had a great history of being a peaceful refuge for anyone. Maybe some of these people should have had emergency escape plans of their own ready. Am I being unreasonable?

I agree with your statement Juan, if you choose to be a permanent resident in a country that has a history of strife and unstableness you should damn well have a backup plan.

Canada should not have to play the role of International Taxi due to people choosing to live in a possible war zone.

I suggest that Canada charges citizens $5000.00/year to mantain their citizenship if they have lived abroad more then 5 years. This way we can recoup costs due to their freeloading.

 

[Simpleton]

Re: RE: Stupidity of Dual Cit

So you're proposing to adopt a dual standard for Canadians? Those whose primary residence is outside of Canada is less of a Canadian than those living within? Doesn't sound like the Canada I know and love.

Here we are, a first world nation, touting equality amongst ourselves and showing it off to the world then all of a sudden we are willing to sacrifice it on the issue of money....

I don't mind people having dual citizenship. I don't mind Canadians living abroad. I don't mind the Canadian government expending energy and resources to bail out Canadians in jeopardy. I take exception, however, to those who would use Canadian citizenship as a "get out of jail free" card, if you will.

If you're a Lebonese patriot for example, and you're wanting a way to cover your ass in times of turmoil, I would suggest that you find other means of dealing with your problems. Canadian citizenship is not a credit card to tide you over in times of trouble. And I feel that is what many foreigners are doing. They are using Canadian citizenship as a "Canadian Express" card which entitles the bearer to no preset spending limit.

I can sympathize with people that live in war torn countries like Lebanon, but I don't think it fair that Lebonese people should use Canadian citizenship for all expenses paid vacations to Canada when their country is getting bombed to shit -- through no fault of the Canadian government or people. We didn't create the problem in Lebanon -- why should we have to pay for it? Lebonese-Canadians that choose to make Lebanon their principle residence, do so at their own risk and to their own detriment. C'est la vie... as they say.

 

[#juan]

What is the cost of a one way ticket from Beruit to Canada? Is it $800.00? If it is $800 dollars, this evacuation could cost $40 million dollars. Okay, let's do it. After while things might settle down and they can all go back.

Now, the next time Israel and Hezbolla start throwing bombs and rockets around, do we do it all again?

 

[Kodiak]

I think what is really getting me mad is the complaining that we aren't doing enough. They apparently aren't travelling in luxury, I am under the impression that we should have sent cruise ships. Next complaint will be that the govenment is not doing enough to find housing and food.

I totally agree that Canadian Citizenship(or any citizenship) should not be a get out of jail free.

 

[Simpleton]

What is the cost of a one way ticket from Beruit to Canada? Is it $800.00? If it is $800 dollars, this evacuation could cost $40 million dollars. Okay, let's do it. After while things might settle down and they can all go back.

Now, the next time Israel and Hezbolla start throwing bombs and rockets around, do we do it all again?

That's my point. If Israel and Hezbollah start doing this again in ten years time, Canada will have to send ships to evacuate these same people all over again. Obviously, Canada is not where these people want to be. And if they don't want to be here, why should Canadian taxpayers have to foot the bill to bring them here, when they didn't want to be here in the first place?

This is also part of the reason why I support Israel in this latest round of hostilities: Israel doesn't want to be doing this all over again in ten years time either. Israel has finally woken up and realized that Hezbollah needs to be eliminated. And I think this is why countries like Canada, Britain, and the USA, are letting Israel have at it. They realize that the hostilities will never end until somebody goes in there and ends them. And they're giving Israel the greenlight to do just that.

 

[nelk]

What is the saying?

"you can't have the cake and eat it too"

Well with liberal ideas; and they are the main cause for our screwed up immigration laws, you actually can.

Because all the nice and liberal Canadians are very friendly indeed. Eager to foot the bill for all this nonsense.

That makes Canada the number one place to live.

Unfortunately it also attracts all kinds of freeloaders.

Study the Europaen scene and see your future! 8O

 

[proudpegger]

Peter Worthinton is a racist idiot who doesn't bother with facts.

It's all rant, no truth. Don't waste your time.

 

[SaintLucifer]

Re: RE: Stupidity of Dual Citizenship

Anyone who thinks it's easy to become a Canadian citizen obviously never had to do it as an adult. I hear the same thing from Americans all the time (how easy it is to become a citizen here). They're talking out of their a$$e$. It wasn't easy for me to come here on a work permit, it wouldn't be easy for me to get a greencard, it is certainly not easy to get citizenship.

Here's the problem with Canada revoking my citizenship: I am Canadian. If you think that's just about where a person lives in this moment, you don't get it and never will.

btw, I'm actually agnostic so I don't have any God, mythical or real.

It is very easy to get into this country unless you are European. An African can paddle a canoe all the way from Africa, land off Newfoundland and immediately be given benefits many Canadians can only dream of having. If you are European? Forget it. Coming to Canada from Europe is nothing more than a pipe dream. I would know. I have a relative in Great Britain who wishes to immigrate to Canada. He has family here obviously. He has a job offer already. Immigration Canada has told him in no uncertain terms 'no!'. His immigration lawyer explained to him why he cannot get into Canada. You want to know what he told my relative the reason he cannot get into Canada? Simple. 'I am sorry but you cannot get into Canada because you are white.' That is exactly what the lawyer told him. Wait! There's more! This lawyer knows people inside Immigration Canada. He discussed his client's case with an employee of Immigration Canada that he knows very well. This employee told my relative's lawyer that yes indeed he was refused entry into Canada because 'he is white'. My relative was told had he been black and from African he would not only have been allowed into Canada but the Canadian government would have turned the world upside-down to get him here.

Your take on Canadians in the USA is correct. The USA does not want just any Canadian. They only seek out professionals such as doctors, nurses etc. They will not accept the average Joe Canadian. Not in a million years. The Americans want non-professional Canadians in the USA about as much as they want the plague. Why? Socialism. The Americans do not like the way Canadians think. Unions here, unions there, unions everywhere. They believe many average Canadians to be detrimental to their country. Americans have absolutely no idea just how right they are. It is the same reason they do not want British people in their country. It is also why Canada allows only those from Third-World countries entry. They know nothing about unions. They are undereducated.

At work I was talking to this woman who was doing a delivery to my company. Her daughter was with her. Beautiful young girl. She and her daughter are from Russia. How they got in I have no clue. She told me it was virtually impossible for Russians to get into Canada. When they managed to immigrate to Canada she took her daughter to school. The school tested her daughter after asking her a few questions about her education. They skipped her 2 grades forward! Why? She was far better-educated than any Canadian! I was embarassed to hear this. This is what we are denying just to allow uneducated Third-Worlders who would not benefit this country?

I shall never forget the story I read about the 7 Russians who wished to immigrate to Canada. Two nuclear physicists were among them! Canada literally screamed an emphatic 'no!' to these 7 Russians. They had far better education than any Canadian could ever dream of having. They were all professionals. Canada would not even give them a chance to appeal. Why were they denied a change to immigrate to Canada? I will tell you why. The majority of them were white blue-eyed blondes. There is absolutely no other reason why they were denied.

That is what you mean when you say it is difficult for anyone to get into Canada. Sure it is. For white people.

 

[SaintLucifer]

Tracy wrote:

They had to earn their pensions by working a lot of years in Canada, I don't care where they spend them. My parents have friends who moved to Thailand in their retirement (they were not Thai citizens and have no Thai family, they just liked it there after seeing it on vacation).

I have no argument with what you say Tracy. It just strikes me as a bit extreme that Canada has to evacuate 50,000 citizens from Lebanon, a good number of whom have obviously made the decision to take up permanent residence in that country. Lebanon has not had a great history of being a peaceful refuge for anyone. Maybe some of these people should have had emergency escape plans of their own ready. Am I being unreasonable?

I agree with your statement Juan, if you choose to be a permanent resident in a country that has a history of strife and unstableness you should damn well have a backup plan.

Canada should not have to play the role of International Taxi due to people choosing to live in a possible war zone.

I suggest that Canada charges citizens $5000.00/year to mantain their citizenship if they have lived abroad more then 5 years. This way we can recoup costs due to their freeloading.

$5000.00 per year? I am bloody insulted! That is all you think my country is worth? Cheap bastard! I say $10,000.00 per year with a few falafels should cover it! Now if you will excuse me! I am seething here.

:lol:

 

[Simpleton]

Re: RE: Stupidity of Dual Citizenship

Anyone who thinks it's easy to become a Canadian citizen obviously never had to do it as an adult. I hear the same thing from Americans all the time (how easy it is to become a citizen here). They're talking out of their a$$e$. It wasn't easy for me to come here on a work permit, it wouldn't be easy for me to get a greencard, it is certainly not easy to get citizenship.

Here's the problem with Canada revoking my citizenship: I am Canadian. If you think that's just about where a person lives in this moment, you don't get it and never will.

btw, I'm actually agnostic so I don't have any God, mythical or real.

It is very easy to get into this country unless you are European. An African can paddle a canoe all the way from Africa, land off Newfoundland and immediately be given benefits many Canadians can only dream of having. If you are European? Forget it. Coming to Canada from Europe is nothing more than a pipe dream. I would know. I have a relative in Great Britain who wishes to immigrate to Canada. He has family here obviously. He has a job offer already. Immigration Canada has told him in no uncertain terms 'no!'. His immigration lawyer explained to him why he cannot get into Canada. You want to know what he told my relative the reason he cannot get into Canada? Simple. 'I am sorry but you cannot get into Canada because you are white.' That is exactly what the lawyer told him. Wait! There's more! This lawyer knows people inside Immigration Canada. He discussed his client's case with an employee of Immigration Canada that he knows very well. This employee told my relative's lawyer that yes indeed he was refused entry into Canada because 'he is white'. My relative was told had he been black and from African he would not only have been allowed into Canada but the Canadian government would have turned the world upside-down to get him here.

Your take on Canadians in the USA is correct. The USA does not want just any Canadian. They only seek out professionals such as doctors, nurses etc. They will not accept the average Joe Canadian. Not in a million years. The Americans want non-professional Canadians in the USA about as much as they want the plague. Why? Socialism. The Americans do not like the way Canadians think. Unions here, unions there, unions everywhere. They believe many average Canadians to be detrimental to their country. Americans have absolutely no idea just how right they are. It is the same reason they do not want British people in their country. It is also why Canada allows only those from Third-World countries entry. They know nothing about unions. They are undereducated.

At work I was talking to this woman who was doing a delivery to my company. Her daughter was with her. Beautiful young girl. She and her daughter are from Russia. How they got in I have no clue. She told me it was virtually impossible for Russians to get into Canada. When they managed to immigrate to Canada she took her daughter to school. The school tested her daughter after asking her a few questions about her education. They skipped her 2 grades forward! Why? She was far better-educated than any Canadian! I was embarassed to hear this. This is what we are denying just to allow uneducated Third-Worlders who would not benefit this country?

I shall never forget the story I read about the 7 Russians who wished to immigrate to Canada. Two nuclear physicists were among them! Canada literally screamed an emphatic 'no!' to these 7 Russians. They had far better education than any Canadian could ever dream of having. They were all professionals. Canada would not even give them a chance to appeal. Why were they denied a change to immigrate to Canada? I will tell you why. The majority of them were white blue-eyed blondes. There is absolutely no other reason why they were denied.

That is what you mean when you say it is difficult for anyone to get into Canada. Sure it is. For white people.

I don't believe that the Canadian Immigration system is that blatantly racist. If you're wealthy and white, you're welcome to come to Canada. If you're a professional in a field where Canada is lacking, and you're white, you're welcome to come to Canada. However, if you're a middle-classed, white person, in a country where there is no turmoil, and your field of endevour is already well served by the existing Canadian population, then, yeah, you should expect a "rejected" stamp on your application.

There are many factors to consider when deciding who should or shouldn't be permitted entry into Canada. We don't need to welcome foreigners that will compete for jobs that are already in short supply for existing Canadians. We do need to be selective in who we choose, when evaluating applicants based on best reciprocal benefit. Obviously, we want to have immigrants that will both be of benefit to our nation, while simultaneously deriving some personal benefit from receiving the privilege of entering Canada. We're looking for win-win applicants. If your relative was rejected, he/she obviously didn't fit the win-win category.

Bring on the attacks, SaintLucifer. I know you're going to say that I'm clueless, and that I had somehow suggested that your relatives are losers. :wink:

 

[SaintLucifer]

Re: RE: Stupidity of Dual Citizenship

Anyone who thinks it's easy to become a Canadian citizen obviously never had to do it as an adult. I hear the same thing from Americans all the time (how easy it is to become a citizen here). They're talking out of their a$$e$. It wasn't easy for me to come here on a work permit, it wouldn't be easy for me to get a greencard, it is certainly not easy to get citizenship.

Here's the problem with Canada revoking my citizenship: I am Canadian. If you think that's just about where a person lives in this moment, you don't get it and never will.

btw, I'm actually agnostic so I don't have any God, mythical or real.

It is very easy to get into this country unless you are European. An African can paddle a canoe all the way from Africa, land off Newfoundland and immediately be given benefits many Canadians can only dream of having. If you are European? Forget it. Coming to Canada from Europe is nothing more than a pipe dream. I would know. I have a relative in Great Britain who wishes to immigrate to Canada. He has family here obviously. He has a job offer already. Immigration Canada has told him in no uncertain terms 'no!'. His immigration lawyer explained to him why he cannot get into Canada. You want to know what he told my relative the reason he cannot get into Canada? Simple. 'I am sorry but you cannot get into Canada because you are white.' That is exactly what the lawyer told him. Wait! There's more! This lawyer knows people inside Immigration Canada. He discussed his client's case with an employee of Immigration Canada that he knows very well. This employee told my relative's lawyer that yes indeed he was refused entry into Canada because 'he is white'. My relative was told had he been black and from African he would not only have been allowed into Canada but the Canadian government would have turned the world upside-down to get him here.

Your take on Canadians in the USA is correct. The USA does not want just any Canadian. They only seek out professionals such as doctors, nurses etc. They will not accept the average Joe Canadian. Not in a million years. The Americans want non-professional Canadians in the USA about as much as they want the plague. Why? Socialism. The Americans do not like the way Canadians think. Unions here, unions there, unions everywhere. They believe many average Canadians to be detrimental to their country. Americans have absolutely no idea just how right they are. It is the same reason they do not want British people in their country. It is also why Canada allows only those from Third-World countries entry. They know nothing about unions. They are undereducated.

At work I was talking to this woman who was doing a delivery to my company. Her daughter was with her. Beautiful young girl. She and her daughter are from Russia. How they got in I have no clue. She told me it was virtually impossible for Russians to get into Canada. When they managed to immigrate to Canada she took her daughter to school. The school tested her daughter after asking her a few questions about her education. They skipped her 2 grades forward! Why? She was far better-educated than any Canadian! I was embarassed to hear this. This is what we are denying just to allow uneducated Third-Worlders who would not benefit this country?

I shall never forget the story I read about the 7 Russians who wished to immigrate to Canada. Two nuclear physicists were among them! Canada literally screamed an emphatic 'no!' to these 7 Russians. They had far better education than any Canadian could ever dream of having. They were all professionals. Canada would not even give them a chance to appeal. Why were they denied a change to immigrate to Canada? I will tell you why. The majority of them were white blue-eyed blondes. There is absolutely no other reason why they were denied.

That is what you mean when you say it is difficult for anyone to get into Canada. Sure it is. For white people.

I don't believe that the Canadian Immigration system is that blatantly racist. If you're wealthy and white, you're welcome to come to Canada. If you're a professional in a field where Canada is lacking, and you're white, you're welcome to come to Canada. However, if you're a middle-classed, white person, in a country where there is no turmoil, and your field of endevour is already well served by the existing Canadian population, then, yeah, you should expect a "rejected" stamp on your application.

There are many factors to consider when deciding who should or shouldn't be permitted entry into Canada. We don't need to welcome foreigners that will compete for jobs that are already in short supply for existing Canadians. We do need to be selective in who we choose, when evaluating applicants based on best reciprocal benefit. Obviously, we want to have immigrants that will both be of benefit to our nation, while simultaneously deriving some personal benefit from receiving the privilege of entering Canada. We're looking for win-win applicants. If your relative was rejected, he/she obviously didn't fit the win-win category.

Bring on the attacks, SaintLucifer. I know you're going to say that I'm clueless, and that I had somehow suggested that your relatives are losers. :wink:

Clueless? Attacks? What attacks? You silly little man you! SaintLucifer does not attack. I merely point out any inconsistencies that I may find in one's argument of which there are many.

Now let us get down to brass tacks here. If you are wealthy and white you are not welcome here. I have read many an article about wealthy Americans wanting to relocate to Canada but were rebuffed. One such American was a famous female but I cannot recall her name. She was not only rebuffed but told to 'piss off'.

You mention if one is a white 'middle-class' citizen in a white country you not only fail to be surprised to see a 'rejected' stamp upon his application but you expect it to be there as if you approve. Did I not state this person who is exactly what you have described as above is a relative of mine? Why should he be rejected simply because he is a middle-class white man from Scotland which has no turmoil? There was surely no turmoil when my immediate family managed to come to Canada from Great Britain. What exactly has changed? Simple. The criteria for citizenship has changed thanks to Trudeau and the Liberal party as a means of purchasing votes from visible minorities. Why should someone from India get preference over my relative? Everyone knows the majority of people who come to Canada from India are middle-class citizens back in the country of their birth. How does this differ from my relative? Simple. Skin colour. He is white. The individual from India is brown. *gasp!* We must help the poor downtrodden brown man from India! Screw the white guy as he has had it made for so many centuries! Forget the fact that his people the Scots contributed far more to the building of this great country than any Indian could ever hope to.

You claim my relative did not fit the 'win-win' category for immigrants. Let me see... he has a job waiting for him in Canada. He has many relatives here in Canada. Ooh but it looks to me like there is absolutely no chance he will ever require the assistance of the State, exactly the opposite of the majority of immigrants who come here from non-white countries. I would say my relative epitomizes a 'win-win' immigrant!

The majority of immigrants are from Third-World countries. How does this meet your criteria of immigrants who would benefit our nation? As they have no skills they are therefore candidates for the public purse. That is extra money wasted on a nobody who has nothing to offer my country. You mean to tell me you believe all those criminals from the Caribbean are a better fit for Canada than my relative who has never even received so much as a traffic ticket which I might remind you is a virtual impossibility on the roads of Scotland? What of the Indians and Chinese who are coming here in such large numbers? They come from huge countries that are capable of sustaining a large population. Scotland is also receiving the very same immigrants from India and China yet it is a tiny island nation. Should we not expect to have Scots applying for immigration to Canada? Let me get this straight. It is alright and demanded that Scotland allow Indian and Chinese immigrants into what is their homeland yet Canada, a nation built by the Scots, will not allow any Scots into Canada but it will allow Indians and Chinese here? I fail to understand this. I believe it is owed to my relative that he be allowed into Canada after all it is we who built this country when nary a Chinese or Indian had ever set foot upon Canadian soil. It is my relative's historical right that he be allowed to immigrate to Canada.

By the way, your attempt at provoking me was a nice touch. Cute but silly at the same time.

 

[Simpleton]

Provoking you? I wasn't provoking you, I was disarming you. I was being tactful in forcing you to respond with rational thought out arguments, as opposed to personal attacks and insults. For the most part, it worked.

As for your relative, I am assuming the following applies to your relative:

- Employed in his/her home country.
- Middle-class.
- White.
- Not a victim of political or economic persecution.
- Offers a skillset that is already well-served by existing Canadians.

Am I incorrect in any of my assumptions?

I will concede that your relative will probably not be of any detriment to the Canadian government or its people.

I will concede that your relative is sufficiently capable of performing his/her job to a satisfactory level.

I will also reject your relative's immigration application. Do you want to know why?

Because he/she will not receive any real benefit from being Canadian. While it is certainly true that your relative will not cost the Canadian government anything, we as a nation have a limited number of immigrants that we can accept. We will choose the candidates that best fit our needs and will best benefit from being granted the opportunity to become Canadian.

Suppose your relative were a doctor, a field where Canada is sorely lacking, then your relative would make it to the short list of applicants with preferential status.

However, if we can satisfy our needs by accepting a Doctor from a country that is persecuting educated individuals for their political views, then we'll choose this applicant over your relative.

It has nothing to do with the fact that your relative is white, black, yellow, or red. It has everything to do with getting the people that best fill the criteria for the very limited number of applicants that Canada is able to accept.

 

[sanch]

Saint Lucifer I think Simpleton has been very gentle in trying to get you to see the deficiencies in your understanding of Canadian immigration. I will also say that your relative the Scot who is no doubt languishing in some pub trying to improve his dart game is not being well served by his kin in Canada. If this Scot were an Indian his relatives would have gone to the Canadian immigration website and looked at the rules and then filled in the forms to begin the immigration process. Instead as this Scot’s relatives were so sure of the unfairness of the immigration system they did not bother with this essential ordeal. Rather they sat back with their 24’s and bemoaned how this ultimate example of natural selection was being denied by a system too stupid to understand the wonderful contribution he would make to Canada after his arrival.

What I have noticed about your posts Saint Lucifer is that they are usually structured around an exaggeration of some sort that then gives you license to launch into sexist,. racist and nonsensical invectives. Take your example of African women giving birth to 18 children. You obviously know nothing about life expectancy in Africa. You know nothing about the survival rate of children in Africa. You know nothing about Africa period. Yet you have managed a good 9 or 10 paragraphs on this subject.

And you know nothing about Canadian immigration. What you have are a bunch of silly examples like that of the Russian woman that buttress your theory that the system is unfair to whites. I was in a new restaurant last night in Montreal called the Kremlin which was full of Russians. I am seeing new French and Spanish and Polish immigrants who all look pretty white to me. It is very simple for an American to move to Canada.

And your statement that “if you are wealthy and white you are not welcome here.” Where is here? Pluto. If you go to either Quebec’s or Canada’s immigration websites you will see there is a special immigration class for investors and entrepreneurs. How does this square with your statement they are not welcome in Canada? It doesn’t and that explains why there are so many of them in Canada now.

Well your relative the Scot could be a fiction. I just finished the application for my children at immigration and nothing about your relative’s case smells right. It’s just not how the system works.

 

[sanch]

1) First the Canadian government encourages dual nationals to use their Canadian passports when they travel so that they can be helped in emergencies.

2) For many Lebanese this was the summer of return to see families they had been separated from for years. About 25,000 live in Lebanon and the rest were there temporarily.

3) Trudeau had cut immigration to Canada but Brian Mulroney increased it by 25%. Here is a short history of Lebanese immigration.

In the mid-1970s, during the height of the Lebanese civil war, Canada was one of the very few western countries to adopt special immigration measures to assist those Lebanese fleeing the conflict. It later even set up emergency visa offices in Cyprus to help with family reunification and refugee applications.
That was in 1989 and the result was a spectacular increase in Lebanese immigration in the early 1990s.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/middleeast-crisis/canada-lebanon.html

So policies that increased the level of Lebanese immigarnts in Canada were introduced by the consrvatives and not the liberals.

 

[Maggiemygosh]

Sanch you know nothing whatsoever about Canadian Immigration and your post proves it.

Under the Communist Fiberal Regime starting with Elinor the idiot crook Caplan who was then Immigration Minister from Scarborough Ontario and her husband at that time worked in a private firm as an immigration lawyer. No conflict of interest there is there?

She issued the orders under the guise of the Communist idiot Trudeau to the Department of Immigration that was messaged to all Canadian Embassies around the world to allow into Canada 250,000 immigrants/refugees a year. There will not be any security or background checks for any of those people arriving. The RCMP and eventually CSIS went beserk but the idiot fiberals made this idiotic policy.

The immigration staff couldn't believe the stupidity of the fiberals and the pending harm that one day will come to this nation and it will.

That is why we have over 100,000 terrorists in this country most of whom are Tamil Tigers who fund raise in GTA, send the money overseas to an International Bank and their rep then withdraws some of it to purchase guns ammo and explosives that are then sent to Sri Lanka where the terrorists then use them to murder innocent men women and children who are riding transit buses, shopping or dining out. Paul the crook Martin was a guest speaker at one of the Tamil Tigers fundraising dinner.

Our Immigration policies suck thanks to those idiot fiberals.

 

[tamarin]

Trudeau cut immigration during the last year of his pmship in response to the severe recession of the early 80's. But it's no contest: his views and practices on immigration have changed the country forever. Mulroney came in as the economy was rebuilding and it didn't take much to restore previous immigration numbers initiated by the Liberals. Mulroney won two consecutive majority governments in part by stealing Liberal immigration and multicultural policies. It was Lyin' Brian who in 1987 made MC official.

 

[Chelle]

Aaaah, I've been burning up Google looking for a discussion on this topic just so I could weigh in :wink:

I agree with the original poster. The system is currently flawed. Regardless of citizenship, there should be a residency requirement in foreign evacuation policies such as this. I think priority absolutely should have been given to residents of Canada. Residents who call Canada home, raise their families and make their livelihood here. The vast majority of evacuees are 'Canadians' in name only. And I'm not talking about Lebanese-Canadian families who are there visiting relatives for the summer, I'm talking about the ones who haven't called Canada home in years. Why should Canadian residents be put in line behind THOUSANDS of Lebanese residents who whip out their Canadian passports solely when it suits their purpose - only to get the hell out of dodge when the going gets rough? And you know they are the ones bitching the loudest about the Canadian evacuation efforts. There is a serious flaw in this system.

I am so sick of the bitching. Hell, I watched one report of a furious Lebanese woman at the airport say it "would have been easier to stay under the bombs" in Lebanon than to go through the horrific evacuation process by the Canadian government. Fine, if you think it would be better to have a BOMB blow up in your face than to sit on a boat for 15 hours, then maybe you should have done just that! I wish I could have reached through the TV and slap the ingrate.

A couple comments....

It is so hard to get Canadian citizenship and the Canadian government is generally so bad at helping its citizens overseas that I seriously doubt any of them are obtaining citizenship just so that the Canadian government will rescue them when something bad happens in Lebanon.

It's not a matter of being rescued, it's simply a matter of having somewhere else to go when all hell breaks loose. As Canadian citizens, there would have been nothing stopping them from going on their own. But with Canada picking up the tab, why not jump right on that bandwagon, eh? And from someone who's just spent 2 years slugging through the logistics and bureaucracy of the Canadian Immigration system with my American husband, I can tell you first hand that for the majority of these people it wasn't "so hard" to obtain Canadian citizenship. I can almost guarantee you most of these people had it handed to them under Refugee Status or were granted Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds, given the political history of Lebanon.

Now, take a skilled, educated American with university degrees and try to get him through the immigration process under the family class, and that's another story - and a whole 'nother rant :wink:

Anyone who thinks it's easy to become a Canadian citizen obviously never had to do it as an adult. I hear the same thing from Americans all the time (how easy it is to become a citizen here). They're talking out of their a$$e$. It wasn't easy for me to come here on a work permit, it wouldn't be easy for me to get a green card, it is certainly not easy to get citizenship.

Here's the problem with Canada revoking my citizenship: I am Canadian. If you think that's just about where a person lives in this moment, you don't get it and never will.

Then you should know that the US is the only country that bases its tax filing requirements on Citizenship rather than residency. An American citizen, in order to maintain their Citizenship is required to file an income tax return to the IRS every year and report all foreign income earned abroad (there's an exemption amount, of course, but it still needs to be filed). Perhaps if Canada adopted this policy, we would eliminate half of the 'fake Canadians' out there. Why would anyone feel a country owes them anything when they haven't contributed to the economy or society in that country for 'x' amount of years? There's more to being a Canadian than whipping out your passport when it happens to suit YOU. It's just wrong, period. Canada needs to tighten it's policies and stop allowing itself to be used as a door mat. Because who pays for it? Ultimately WE do, the taxpayers.

Did you also know that the US is billing their residents for their evacuations? Maybe they have the right idea afterall.

Whew, I feel better. Thank you for indulging me

 

[tamarin]

You're behind the news. The US has waived any fees for evacuation.

 

[Chelle]

Re: RE: Stupidity of Dual Citizenship

I don't believe that the Canadian Immigration system is that blatantly racist. If you're wealthy and white, you're welcome to come to Canada. If you're a professional in a field where Canada is lacking, and you're white, you're welcome to come to Canada. However, if you're a middle-classed, white person, in a country where there is no turmoil, and your field of endevour is already well served by the existing Canadian population, then, yeah, you should expect a "rejected" stamp on your application.

Are you serious? You are basing this assessment on personal experience, or just plain ignorance? Because you're quite mistaken. If you read CIC's website, they will make it sound completely feasible for skilled worker's and entrepreneurs to come into Canada. Sure. Until you try to do it. My husband is American, and had more than enough points to qualify under the Skilled Worker's program.. until we started doing some homework, only to find out it could take upward of 3 years to process. No, they do not make it easy at all. What they also don't tell Skilled Workers is that your PhD will likely be served driving a TAXI CAB for the first 5 years, because all the credentials you are bringing with you will not be recognized by the Canadian government. I have several gripes about the existing Immigration system, but none are relevant to the topic at hand... but I get annoyed when I hear people spewing ignorance.