Quote:
Originally Posted by fredr123
At the risk of putting words in Jolinar's mouth, I think this was part of his initial concern. There are plenty of ways for illegal immigrants (however you want to define that word) to work in Canada illegally. Happens all the time. These workers, in turn, do not contribute to social programs in Canada by paying taxes and all those other awesome deductions that come off our paychecks every two weeks. That's a problem, I think, in Jolinar's eyes.
In the same way, these same illegal immigrants do have access to a lot of social support systems in Canada despite their status here. There's no way an ambulance is going to refuse to take a sick person to the hospital if the person really is in need. They don't pause to ask for a Permanent Resident Card. Likewise, hospitals will treat these people and ask about status and insurance later. Invariably, illegals don't have health insurance and/or can't/won't pay the bills on their own. Those who pay taxes to the government are left picking up the tab. That, again, is part of the problem I thought Jolinar was trying to identify.
Perhaps the way to "fix" these problems is not to prevent illegal migrants from working or staying in Canada. Maybe the ideal solution involves ensuring they pay their way once they're here.
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I don't think any Canadian wants people to be able to work here illegally and/or exploit the social system, not just Jolinar. What I'm arguing with Jolinar is that I don't think dropping the visa requirements for these five or six nations listed in the originally posted article, is going to bring an influx of illegal Eastern European workers into Canada. My point is its still going to be difficult and illegal for them to work here even if they do gain entry. What makes Canada such a desirable destination that they would eliminate other closer, equally prosperous nations where they can move to, and in most cases work, legally?
As we can see the chart below, the countries in question have a wide variety of very prosperous countries available to them where they can live and work with no restrictions whatsoever:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom...nt_for_workers
Being worried about these workers trying to immigrate to Canada is
almost like US being worried that residents of the poorest Canadian provinces are going to immigrate and try to illegally work in the United States. Why would these people do this when its far, far easier and legal for them just to go somewhere else within Canada instead?