Canada's Fast Track Immigration

Sounds like a good move on the part of government. Issue invitations and rules and regulations permitting potential immigrants to the country with private wealth to come along, share Canada's social welfare system, in a peaceful, law-abiding nation with guaranteed equality rights accorded to minorities, religion, ethnicity, politics, and gender. The immigrant who can prove he has the money to invest gets fast-tracked into the system to become a landed immigrant with a point system that benefits him on the basis of his ability to invest in the country; his entrance price.

Canada has a surfeit of immigration lawyers prepared to offer to prospective immigrant-investors ready-made investment opportunities, packages set up and ready to go whenever they are. Franchise operations, small business ventures, geographic placement, banking contacts with specific programs,  assurances that all will be well. The government scheme succeeds in economic investment, the landed immigrant is already employed in his own business and may even employ others, and the lawyers get their fees.

This is the fast-track edge of Canada's immigration system where level of education, command of official languages and other criteria are relaxed for immigrant-investors for whom 35 points out of a 100 score will be deemed sufficient for acceptance. The skilled immigrant sector by contrast requires a passing grade of 67 to be accepted for immigrant status. That's called getting a leg up, and money to invest will assure it. Sadly, many of the businesses that immigrant-investors set up fail.

And now, another Quebec confidence racket brought to bear by the province that has succeeded in formulating methodology by which it may legally double-fleece its neighbours. Quebec is unique among the provinces of confederation, having extorted over the years concessions from the federal government denied to other provinces, but granted Quebec in recognition of its unique status as a "nation" within a national confederation.

Quebec is able to administer its own immigration program, bypassing the federal government. And its requirements are sufficiently relaxed to make it easier to enter the country as a landed immigrant than through the federal plan. Quebec accepts a greater number of immigrant investors than the federal program does, and it does so by sly design. In so doing, it succeeds in receiving operating 'loans' from immigrant investors at $800,000 a pop.

Because it's easier to get into Canada via Quebec, entry into Quebec represents that critical foot in the door. The immigrant finds their migration track quicker and easier, and the province benefits from all that investment loot. But a strange thing happens on the way to settling, the vast majority of such immigrants have a tendency to move on with their families to other provinces. Those other provinces haven't, as it happens, received the investment gift on entry to Canada.

But once within Canada, immigrants are free to move wherever they wish. The receiving province must then provide out of its normal revenue stream which hasn't been enhanced by the $800,000 investment, social services to the immigrant family, inclusive of education and health care which local taxpayers have paid for. That would include of course many other benefits such as guaranteed universal retirement benefits.

Consider this: Quebec is the major recipient of transfer payments within Canada whereby wealthy provinces pony up to provide 'have-not' provinces with additional operating expenses to enable each province to provide for their residents comparable social services. As a major recipient of such payments Quebec in fact, provides for its residents social services above and beyond what even most 'have' provinces can afford for their own residents.

Quebec sees nothing amiss in double-dipping into the treasuries of sister provinces. It is a province that feels itself entitled to receive everything it can grasp from others who must pay for the privilege of having such an exceptional 'nation' existing so graciously within their midst.