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I am an immigrant myself and came here through Express Entry, before that I studied in the U.S. I am all for Immigration but with recent events, I think the government should spend more time on the cost of living crisis and housing crisis. What I am proposing is we make room and keep cost low if we are to bring in more immigrants. The hard to find workers argument is basically people not working low paying jobs, most of these immigrants will be educated, have degrees and mostly in Finance or Tech fields, the talent in these fields are saturated and it's very hard to have job mobility in these sectors. I am not for kicking the ladder down once I made it, I am just saying we should focus on cost of living and housing so that these immigrants can succeed and better contribute when they come here, instead of living in the living room because they can't afford rent in the cities and not finding work since most are in saturated fields.

Come to the US, spend 6 months here and you'll be running back to Canada in no time. It's literally the same problem times 10! Of course I believe anyone has their legit reasons not to like the place they live. But to compare to the US is somewhat a joke.

One of the top issues is being black. Seen as black and identified as black when you leave a predominantly Black Country. \nWhen I watch the various Realestate shows of white people buying property abroad as second home or just packing up and moving. I always say it must be nice! Because the reality is they can see them self almost everywhere unless they choose to go into a remote area then that’s the only exception but even then as long they learn the language and respect the culture they are good they are liked welcomed and even seen as fascinating. Not saying they don’t have to struggle but the colour of their skin is the least! \nAmerica is great if your trying to be self made, be your own business owner, and other random ventures you want to dabble in. But to just go there and be a regular teacher, doctor, lawyer, engineer to the low and middle class you’ll end up with the same financial issues and struggles as a result. You gotta now cater to the rich and famous wealthy people but then it’s back to never being home and not enough time for family. \nThe reality is if we could make the money we make here in North America and Uk back home in in the Caribbean and specific countries in Africa it would be a dream come true and that goes for other communist countries too. You truly have to know what makes you happy. Make money but enjoy life it might mean living below your means even though you can can afford a bit better life style. People do it all the time back home (not because they want to I know) but for some reason when you move abroad a one bedroom for your single self is to small, the car under $24k isn’t good enough, you don’t want your kids to share a room so you need a bigger house and the list goes on and on. \nCanada is boring if your not in a major city with money to spend you know why? Because people forget the population of the entire country of Canada is only a 3rd, 4th, 10th of the population of certain countries that immigrants came from and in the case of the US population it’s 100x more than Canada. So of course there’s more opportunities there. \nAnd finally imagine if more countries didn’t need visas to travel? They really would just come to make money and go back home or live bicoastal. Even just the freedom of travel half of the immigrants would of settled elsewhere before the year was up or go back home.

Canada is what you make of it. You can arrive rich and end up poor and you can arrive poor and end up rich. In between that, you can have a great life that balances your needs. I’ve seen immigrants succeed simply because they see the opportunity in front of them . They worked hard in their own counties to stay just above the poverty line ,but when they apply that same effort here it pays off ten times greater. I feel that compared to a lot of immigrants, natural born Canadians come across as spoiled and a little lazy…we are. We haven’t had to struggle the same way someone from a poorer country might have. I’ve talked to people who’ve worked ten to twelve hours a day just to stay afloat. If you did that here you could make plenty of money to live and have some left over. As far as owning a house goes,yes it’s expensive . I feel that homeownership in any country is relatively expensive. Here is a tip; use that soaring home prices to your advantage. Houses are expensive but you can make a lot of money buying and selling. I recommend putting together a buyers group and share the house for a few years, then sell at a profit, buy a bigger house or two smaller houses.try to buy the worst house in the best neighbourhood and fix it up slowly . That house could double in value in five or six years in the Toronto market. This is nothing new of course ,the people from India and China seem to do this a lot here ,it drives up prices and profits. On the downside to this ,you are now part of the problem. As the housing prices are driven up the non wealthy can no longer afford to own a house . They are at the mercy of high rents with no rewards of ownership. They are caught in a cycle of hard work and (relative)poverty. This could also be you if you can’t keep up the house payments and are forced to rent.\nHow well you speak English is important but your native language is also useful here because Canada is half immigrants . As a Canadian that speaks only english (Irish descent)I have to say to all newcomers that I’m very impressed that you have learned a new language and that you may even speak more than two! Don’t be embarrassed about your abilities . I find that in my experience , Canadians do not look down on people just because they don’t know English. In fact ,I’ve known people that have lived here for decades and still know very little English. They are comfortable in their communities and they function just fine. Learn as much English as suits your needs and be proud of any gains you make.\nOutside of Toronto are other cities that you might consider when looking at southern Ontario.From my experience,most are generally the same, just not as big . There are large immigrant communities in London Ontario, Hamilton and just outside of Toronto where housing is just a little bit less expensive but the commute to work is probably longer. This is just my opinion but in the small towns there are less people of colour , (which is what people of no colour call everyone else . I wonder if I’m called a person of no colour in some other culture ? LoL ). That might make it harder for you to feel integrated ,if that’s what you want. I’m not saying that people from other cultures can’t make it in a small town , I’m just saying that it’s definitely not Toronto . Here, people of any nationality can feel like they have a place where they can belong . It seems that no matter where you are from ,there is a community already here that’s set up restaurants and stores and clothing shops and newcomer support systems. And if your from Portugal or China or India or Africa or the Middle East, there are large groups of your kin here that have established roots for generations and you probably know this already.\nToronto means meeting place and that becomes evident quickly. I was born here and it’s one of the things I love the most about my city. I’m not going to say that there isn’t systemic racism here ,the people of no colour still kind of keep the top position , but as we become a minority in a decade or so ,I hope that will shift to a broader spectrum. It’s certainly happening already. One good thing is that the police department tries to hire people of colour so that racialism may play a smaller role. We’re getting used to seeing our politicians more and more reflect their constituents.\nI have to talk about the weather. Because I’m from here I’m used to the extremes of minus thirty and plus thirty . Eventually you get used to it (somewhat). Dressing in the right clothes is important. Summer is easy , but winter is different. It’s trying to kill you. Spend the most that you can afford on winter cloths . If you can afford a quality parka you should get one. The hood can be drawn around the face and stay out of the wind.\nIf not ,think of layers with a outer layer that blocks the wind. We have things called long Johns that are basically full length thick cotton or nylon pants that go on under your pants and a pair of extra thick socks. Buy your boots to fit your thick socks. Try to get the best boots you can afford ,it’s something that you might spend a little extra for but never regret.\nAll in all we are a fairly organized and peaceful society. Most people are friendly and will give you a chance . We have a good social safety net here and you don’t have to be homeless or starving if you don’t want to. There are people and organizations set up to help ,that truly try to get people back on their feet. It’s a good investment that pays off in ways that matter for the quality of life in a big city. I’m not putting my American neighbours down when I say they do things differently. They have their ways ,we have ours. This is just something that we do because we’re trying to learn how to help those that society has discarded or can’t find their place. Sure we have one or two areas where the homeless have pitched tents and we have some resources for them if they want. Unfortunately The mayor recently forced a small camp to move from a very visible place to more scattered locations. There were social workers involved as well as protesters trying to protect them. I didn’t like that happening and I want to see even more resources dedicated to them ,but on the other hand ,we are trying to avoid something like what happens on the streets when it’s just ignored. When I see YouTube videos of the streets of Philadelphia I’m extremely saddened. I thank the lucky stars that I was born in Toronto Canada.\nFor all it’s pollution and expense and crowds ,I think it’s a great place to do almost anything your heart desires . For every ugly building there is a beautiful park ,for every honked horn there is a birds call , for every cold and dark day there is beautiful sunny one around the corner.

So here is the thing about what you have said about retraining and going back to school over here in Canada..\nMy wife has spent ten years going to universities in BC becoming a counselor but now we have moved to BN they want her to spend another 4 years proving to someone in NB that she can do the job she has been doing for 15 years , oh and she is a Canadian!\nI have 20 years experience as a plumber even before I moved to Canada, I prove this to the canadain goverment I can do my job get my visa. Then you have to do this all over again because the unions are really in charge over here, they dont want people like me moving here from the UK taking their jobs as they put it...\nWhy say to someone that, hey you can come over as you are exactly what we need! then tell them they have to go back to Collage and sit more exams and do schooling all over again.. I came over as a Plumber been here ten years and have worked as a plumber in Canada for 3 years tops as it was getting harder to get work, what is the point in this? \nAnd don't even think about leaving one province for another and expecting to be able to just do your job, that is not going to happen.. If I had known what I know now about Canada before I came here I would still be in the UK

there are dozens of flaws in Canada's immigration system. I am surprised to see that a person who has not spent a single minute in Canada enters the country as a permanent resident . has not paid a single dollar in taxes enters as a permanent resident. has not played his part in Canada's society and doesn't know fuck about Canada enters as a permanent resident of Canada. it does not surprise me to see people commenting about residents living in Canada do not speak English. \n \nI will give an example of the UK here which is far more developed than Canada and have very high standards. first of all, no one can enter the UK as a permanent resident of the UK. even if their partner is British, they will still come to the UK on a visa. depending on how much their British partner earns, it will take 5 to 10 years for them to settle in the UK, provided they pass the residency test in the UK(which Canada does not ask for whether you are in Canada applying for a PNP or PR or you come directly from another part of the world). a person who gets in the UK as a student spends minimum 7 years, if he is not married to a British /EU national to get a PR, most spend 10 for a UK PR(known as ILR in the UK) provided they pass the test for English and life in the UK (citizenship test). in return, the UK offers to its residents what no other nation offers. canada is giving away residencies as if its a leaflet. it's easier to get a Canadian residency than it is to extend a skilled visa in the UK. I have lived in Canada and felt that standard of living in canada is not very high as compared to the UK. so if Canada offers easy residency to people, it is only because they also know they are not giving away something precious :)

Also thousands of Chinese underage children are brought here and left with 'fake relatives' all Living together even though not related. They attend Chinese 'schools' that are in office buildings mainly in Scarborough and North York. They come here to attend these 'fake high schools' so they can eventually take the IELTS English test to get into University. It's a complex system but this group https://myetc.ca/officetest-location-spadina-college/. Works closely with these FAKE Chinese high schools with students who are underage and entering with fake id or varying levels. the MYETC is an IELTS company that tests the Chinese High School students but doesn't follow the REAL British Council Rules and the seating is millimetres apart in dirty classrooms where these kids spend their days. Why is this happening on such a mass scale? Is there internal corruption for this to happen on so many levels. Well, feel free to check it out. It's real. @britishcouncil #britishcoucil The ONLY proper rules from the British Council IELTS test is followed when they use the U of T as a test centre the other places around Ontario are not proper testing and students have been known to have fake documents and you can see they are underage living with 'families' . Big scam.

I feel bad for his innocent children to have to go through this. You want to live in another country, you need to follow the law like every else. You learn the language, get the same I.D. We all have to have , and be treated the same as if any American were to illegally cross boarders! What we have to go through just to have identification here should be no different for anyone else! You can’t just live off our tax dollars and government ins., food stamps etc.. While we pay for you to live here!! I don’t reap those benefits, yet I’m paying yours!! I can’t feel bad! When I go to a dr. Or dentist and an immigrant or a lazy able bodied parent gets everything done free and I’m struggling to pay with full ins.. I literally walk out so pissed off! These are straight facts!! He had fifteen years to make it right. Instead he took a shot doing it his way to reap the American benefits and the feel bad for me card!If they ever let him come back and he collected any kind of help in those last fifteen years, “if” , he should have to get proper I.D., citizenship, and pay back anything he was given! It’s only fair! He was able to save all that money tax free, hmmm must be nice! I don’t feel bad he had to spend it. That’s real life!I’m tired of watching my citizens no matter race or color, work hard paying taxes and giving their hard earned money away!!If we just let anyone walk right through our boarder than what’s the point of any American needing any I.D.??? Don’t people get why it’s so important to keep track for so many obvious different reasons!! I believe certain citizens with outrageous offenses should be chipped!In every race!I don’t care who the president is any president that doesn’t believe this is the right thing to do sucks! I didn’t vote for a Trump! I think he’s smart and a moron at the same time!