============================================ Leave Canada. Become a citizen of another 3 rd world country. Apply as a refuge and come back to Canada. -------------------------------------------- Now there's an intersting concept! LOL It has always amazed me how various countries seem to give more to the refugees coming into a country than to natural born residents. But then again, it all boils down to knowing where to look for what you need I think.

David and Winston, Does Canada really give more to refugees than to natural citizens? I know that US citizens have often complained that people who have come here from elsewhere, whether as refugees or simply immigrants, seem to achieve financial success effortlessly. If one looks more closely, one can see that those people are more often willing to work hard, and definitely more willing to sacrifice the non-necessities to achieve a savings or investment goal than our natural citizens, who have come to expect ease and plenty as a matter of entitlement. I know nothing of your government's policies, so I'm not challenging what you're saying, just wondering. Cheri

Hi Cheri; ========================================= Does Canada really give more to refugees than to natural citizens? ... I know nothing of your government's policies, so I'm not challenging what you're saying, just wondering. ========================================= Yup. Articles to that effect have even been published in magazines here. I'm sure that it's (at least in part) dependant on knowing 'who' to contact, too. We have a fair number of people who immigrated here and start businesses to "help" others immigrate so they can make the most of the benefits offered to those that know the channels to get them. : ) Linda

Does Canada really give more to refugees than to natural citizens? Yes and no but more yes and there are some reasons for this. I have worked in a few different positons that have shown me some of the "inside" stuff that goes on and my father worked for Manpower and Immigration for what seems like forever, so I have a lot of inside information from that as well. One of the things that we see is refugees that qualify for landed immigrant status getting houses that a lot of others could not afford. Given houses through various departments of immigration or welfare. What happens is the working immigrants will get job placement inside a lot of the various agencies that deal diredtly with the ability to live in this country. They in turn work hand in hand with immigration lawyers of the same ethnicity that they are. They learn how to manipulate the system from the inside, nothing illegal just very good manipulation of an immigration system that doesn't work. People can come to Canada with zero job prospects and live out their entire lives that way. We have always had one of the most releaxed immigration policies going. I also know of other cases that went the exact opposite way, but those seem to be more rare. I think that when all is said and done the price that this costs will end up being paid off by the offspring of these people. Free rides can only last so long and sometime down the road someone has to pay the price. As one final note, there are those that come to this country and work very hard at building a new life and embrace Canada for all it is worth. They open businesses and create a lot of employment opportunities, not just for other immigrants but for anyone willing to work and give an honest account of themselves. No matter what country in the free world there will always be those that make a living out of abusing and manipulating any system that is in place. We have a lot of immigrants that come to Canada as doctors but they are not allowed to pursue that position and end up working as a janitor for years, until they make board approval. In the mean time, a lot of their fellow country men end up going to doctors that have no understanding of the specific needs of these new paitients. At best it is a flawed system but fixing it is never easy, as even in Canada we change governments so often that it just can't haapen. Again this is my opinion only and it bounces all over the place and I am sure that there are more facts that anyone person could ever present in this forum. There are two sides to every coin and as I like to say there is also the edge and a lot happens on the edge.

I think Peter has hit the nail right on the head! Also, we don't realize just how good things are here compared to most of the rest of the world. From what I see, opportunity abounds, but there's a lot of truth to the old saying "it's not what you know, but rather, who you know".