Close Reading

Canadians like to make fun of the USA a lot but deep down, a lot of people are looking south right now for better economic opportunities than what we have here. Pretty much any U.S. city will offer more jobs that pay better, with higher mobility, better weather and much lower taxes.

I feel you. I have a somewhat similar upbringing. Immigrated to Canada, from Lebanon, when I was 7 (with my family), so 42 years and I consider myself to be Canadian. And I've always justified paying our high taxes as the price we have to pay for the great services we have. But more and more I'm feeling these services are falling apart and cost of living has skyrocketed. \n\nI'm not sure where I'll retire.

There are so many Canadians graduated from universities no jobs and paying hard osap , why need professionals from international , use our resources.

I came to this country with a very selective immigration program and I chose Canada because of this. And my surprise is that now they come only by paying for their studies and these people do not have the financial capacity to support themselves and they are a tragedy for their families and themselves. And they are given jobs that belong to Canadians and health care is paid for by our taxes.

Because the average Canadian cannot afford to pay their bills. How can we afford to support more and more people from elsewhere? Do we provide services for people from somewhere else or Canadians who live here?

I set up an offshore asset protection trust before I immigrate to Canada. Not paying half of my income to Canadian government.?

I'm a Canadian & this is crazy, I pay 859$ month plus hydro and internet it runs me 1000-1075 max\nI have million dollar view looking at Canadian Rockie mountains and Purcell mountain ranges, \nThere. Is 60000 ppl iny city & greater area around it so how am I paying lower for better views & better place?!?\nGuess BC ain't bring cash anymore \nAlso you don't pay first and last anywhere but Ontario

I think all we need to do is pay more attention to what’s happening throughout Europe! Mass migration is destroying everything in its wake, it should and must be stopped immediately, this country is not prepared nor able to support any more immigrants, what we need is to take care of and create security for the Canadians born in this country, the natural population, not immigrant population, extend our hand when we are certain that our own future security is firmly rooted! Including our laws, and ideologies,First Nations and generational Canadian before immigrants.

In some countries, they are showing a made-in-Canada TV show about how easy it is supposedly in Canada flip a house, do a bit of renovations and make money? I some money laundering going on? How can people from so-called sweatshop factory lands pay millions for houses in Canada? Canadians, natives are losing their homes!

As a Canadian citizen, I’m interrogated trying to re enter Canada if I travel, told to pay duty, taxes on any purchases.\nThese illegal immigrants walk right on in, get put up in a hotel, given room service meals and a govt cheque in the works.\nWe are punished just for being Canadian citizens

As a canadian im going to the usa as a refugee. Fuck paying taxes for these immigrants. Ill take the free room board and job in the usa.

These are people who have decent jobs why are they allowed be refugee while we work so hard to be here officially and to pay taxes and work. This is so wrong. As a Canadian this is wrong. If it was genuine reason then it’s okay but not this way.

Trudeau has completely failed. Shariat and Khalistan has been allowed to be created within Canadian boundary. How many more truck drivers are needed ? Canadians are forced to pay Jiziya Tax so Shariat-people can live on welfare money.

Canadians pay billions each year for immigrants... they only see lowered living standards, more crowding, more un-affordability, more crime.

Well this is happening in the whole world !\n\nUncontrolled mass influx of wealthy people and foreign investment has triggered the housing crisis we are facing.\n\nIt is not only immigrants but wealthy international students too, coming with whole families and able to pay whatever it takes to rent the the house they want. \n\nThey have inflated rents to the point that young Canadians can no longer fulfill their dream of owning a house as their parents did.\n\nThe first step is to turn off the immigration flow and start building bungalows, which people can afford to buy, as was done in the post-war period.\n\nNo more bullding luxury condos or townhouses. Young Canadians need something affordable to be able to leave their parents' homes.

This is the Canadian way to save for your own house , just rent somewhere and dont pay !!! Live rent free and save you're money

As an Indian student, i would like to share with you my perspective \n1) you will never see me dancing in public, blasting music and littering \n\nI actually spend my sundays cleaning plastic from trails \n\n2) i am a full time student for 4 years funding over 90 grand for a bachelor on top of that paying my taxes and paying 1100$ a month for rent being limited to 24 hours a week I do not work outside campus I work the job the college provided to me \n\nThe problem comes up when people use the 1 year and 6 month diploma program to enter the country and work here full time \n\nThey associate themselves only with indians mainly because they cant speak the English language fluently \nTherefore they associate with the exact people they associated with back home \n\nHow will they adapt to a new country if they hang out with the same people \n\n\nI came to canada with a goal \n\nTo make Canadian friends \nLearn about Canadian culture \nStart a new life \nAnd work my ass off to get my degree \n\n\nMost people move here to make more money \n\nThey sell their land and do so \n\nPlease do not associate hard working indians who adapt and leave their past behind with these people who have come here purely to exploit the system\n\n\nTrust me I know it's hard to hear this but good Indians do exist. I have so many Canadian friends who love me as much as I love them. I know how hard you guys work and I am so amazed at how well you carry yourself through this hard time I unfortunately happen to be Indian something I cannot control and I have been a victim to so much discrimination and hate just because I happen to be born in India it's crazy. \n\nWe are respectful Indians we do exist we do have Canadian friends we do adapt to Canadian values and we work hard for the land that gave us this wonderful opportunity to grow . Not all 5 fingures are the same . \n\nYou ask us all to leave but completely forget That it was your institutions invited us in accepted our massive payment , stamped our visas at immigration and let us in \nThe tax money that I pay goes to your government \nThe double fees we pay funds your colleges allowing it to provide quality education to domestic students at half the rate. \n\n\nDon't demonize hard working students because of the people who exploit the system. We have the right to a good life just as much as each and every one of you . We have family we have People we love and we have sacrificed a lot please don't demonize each and every one of us because of the ones who don't know how to behave

Foreigner ARE to blame for the housing situation. Why should Canadians pay taxes to provide societal services to foreigners?

Dear Canada, if you stop putting your nose in other country's affairs and stop following your big bully cousin, USA in meddling in evry corner of the world with the not-funny anymore DEMOCRACY, perhaps, people in Africa and middle east would leave their homeland less to move to your country; and, the Canadian people can pay less tax and keep their living standard.

It's crazy how Canadians who pay taxes think, against Canadians who don't pay taxes ?

Canada, like Australia and etc., faces a fundamental issue that makes it reliant on—or even more severely, dependent on—immigration. Of course discussing this fundamental issue is inappropriate for Canadians. The housing crisis is not caused by immigrants. While you can criticize immigration policies, they are merely the straw that broke the camel's back. It's similar to inflation; like, even if it remains at 2% per year, we will still experience the peaks and troughs of business cycles, just less intensely. Sure you can have a public housing program, where does that money come from? More and more tax money. Having to work harder to only end up with paying more taxes for those who either did not have the opporunities or didn't work as hard (who cares what the actual reasons are), just feels like a ripoff.

Canadian law favours our criminals & law abiding citizens are the ones who get shafted smh. It’s one thing for an honest person to go broke for one reason or another & I can have empathy for them & even wanna help in the short term . However , what she is doing is clearly just taking advantage of the situation & more than likely has the funds to pay she just won’t do it.

She looks like criminal mind set. She must be thrown out from the house. How come she is having 3 meals, coffee and other luxury. Pay rent or leave. Dont take advantage of Canadian laws.

Steal from me and I would steal your oxygen. Condo owner has not been persuasive enough to get them to pay or leave. Criminals in Canada seem to have free rein because Canadian have become weak.

In another news PM Trudeau has found credible allegations that Indian diplomats are encouraging Canadians to not pay their rents. ??

Zero-net population growth or very slow growth is desirable for a host of reasons. Immigration is not inherently a virtue. Not inherently a vice either. Its value depends entirely upon the context in which it is taking place. Here are some reasons why Canada should reduce immigration to achieve eventual zero-net population growth.\n\n(1) The ecology: Canada is possibly the world's worst country per capita in producing waste – certainly among the worst. (a) As of now we have a population of 40 million. At its present rate of growth our population will reach 50 million in 2041. This will require a 20% reduction in waste production per capita simply to keep waste production at the present level. This reduction will not happen. (b) In addition, freshwater resources cannot be expanded at all, really (desalinization can only produce a drop in the bucket). Hence, look for shortfalls in water availability. (c) From a global perspective, it is the rich countries, such as Canada, that pollute the most, both absolutely and on a per capita basis. Therefore rich countries should not increase their populations. Immigrants do not come to rich countries to be better ecologists than the citizens of those countries. Immigrants to Canada want to live like Canadians, as Canadians. The problem here is not that they will not assimilate to Canadian ways, but that they will. \n\n(2) Housing: with 500,000 new immigrants a year, housing starts cannot keep pace. The result: ever-inflating housing costs. Rich immigrants compound the problem. \n\n(3) Suburbanization: most of the new housing in Canada is in highway suburbs (over 80%), with their car-driven way of life. Once again, this is bad for the country’s ecological health. In addition, the result will be ever-growing geographies of nowhere. We will not be creating more Victorias or Quebec Cities. We will be creating more Surreys. \n\n(4) Downward pressure on the incomes of most people: the law of supply and demand is very simple: when there is a surplus of any commodity, that commodity becomes cheaper. When a commodity is scarce, its value rises. Labor is a commodity. Workers rightly do not want there to be a surplus of labor. Their livelihoods are threatened. \n\n(5) Future care of the old: the more people we add now, the more people we will have to take care of later, when their working lives are done. Adding immigrants now to pay for the care of the old is therefore a pyramid scheme. Eventually, in a generation or two, the population of the world is set to decline, and the well of immigrants will run dry. Canada should aim for fewer, rather than more, retirees – as preparation for that coming moment.

When I think about my time in Canada, it's bittersweet. I moved there for my undergraduate studies and spent 5 great years soaking up the Canadian culture. After graduating from McGill University, I had a tough time finding a job. Fortunately, I had the support of my boyfriend and didn't struggle with housing, especially in more affordable Montreal.\n\nWe moved to Australia a few months ago, and wow, what a change! I do miss my Canadian friends, but I can't complain about not having to tip for a take-out coffee here! As well as not paying an astronomical amount for asking for alternative milk!

Please learn the difference between refugees and immigrants. Canada needs immigrants to fuel its economy. Profofessionals come here in Canada ready to work and pay taxes while Canadians were educated for free (k to 12) and even availed student loans before even contributing to Canada's economy. Be specific with what immigration programs you are referring to. Some immigrants do not owe you anything for being immigrants in Canada. We came here fully equipped with education and skills, bringing our savings and ready to work and pay taxes.

Why isn't anyone talking about the money these immigrants brought in paying 3 times more than locals for tuition , working minimum wage jobs that profited Canadian business owners ?

I was watching Flight Radar. I clicked on a Random flight coming to Toronto Pearson. It was Air India, It was supposed to land just across the lake in USA. It had been diverted. I wonder if it was diverted intentionally so all of them could stay in Canada? We build 200K homes a year, we bring in more than 500K people/year. U Can't get a job, all places are hiring newcomers cuz the Gov offers them subsidies to help pay their wages. Meanwhile, Canadians end up homeless.

The Canadian government subsidizes the wages of workers from India through a work-study arrangement. Most of the unskilled work in my small town (fast food and restaurants in particular) is taken by these students from India, while the teens and adults who have lived in the town their entire lives cannot get jobs because of it. My tax dollars are helping huge corporations pay wages of foreign workers, and my own child and MANY others were turned down for employment by these same companies. Not sure where these workers are living, because there is also a housing crisis in our area. Our immigration system is failing immigrants and Canadians alike.

Students who can’t pay their living in Canada should go back home. As an ex international student, who came here in 2011 I feel more than entitled to say so, because that what the Canadian police was back then. We didn’t even have right to work! So sorry but I don’t feel for all this students

it will take 10 to 15 years , even longer for Canadians to fix this issue and the future generations are the ones who pay the costs

The lady at 7:55 hit the nail on head. People blame immigrants for $3K rents. If anything, immigrants are driving down rents because they can't pay nowhere near that kind of money. The fact is that capitalism is kicking into high gear, there are Canadians who make enormous amount of money in the new digital economy, and they are paying 2 million dollars for a house or 5K rents, and that tide of affluance is lifting all the boats across. Its the very successful Canadians who are outpricing the average Canadians from living in Canada.

Because Canadian born students with exceptional grades have difficulty accessing post secondary money first institutions perhaps? Or when non-canadian born immigrants purchase a gas station and purge the canadin born kids and hire one race? Or when non-canadian born managers only hire from their ethnic group in security jobs? Because temporary foriegn workers keep wages low? I guess they're paying CPP to keep it afloat.

The immigrants who come here on student visa and do 3 jobs to survive are not a problem. Problem are those who pay big $ to come in. They are the ones who launder their money through Canadian real estate and make Canadian living costs rise. They use Canadian real estate market for speculation and live off flipping houses and condos. They did the same in countries they came from after they earned their money through smuggling illegal staff. Book Crazy Rich Asians explains it well.

*they gave gen-z's future of affording houses and getting high paying jobs to immigrants. canadians don't have any where else to go, immigrants still have their home countries where they could live but they've taken away our future opportunities from us in our own home country, canada. I did not consent to this*

I had applied for Canadian immigration 2 years back, have a phd in Economics, hold Post Graduate Diploma in Communication and Visual arts, am from the hills in India. I never got the approval despite having money to pay for all. Then came to know someone with basic school education got the approval for driving cars in Canada. Decided to move to china instead and am happy with the decision.

Time to start exploring beyond Toronto and our big cities. Too many Canadians and new Canadians can't seem to look past Toronto. Those that can't pay the price, others make the big moves. I'd say quit complaining.

Family immigrated there in 85. Back then my parents needed to prove and bring certain assets as part of the requirements. \n\nNow it seems they don’t really care, just come in with nothing, and the first thing to figure out is how to get the gov to pay out to sustain.\n\nHow this change came about… got no idea. \n\nAnd when looking at it culturally, that has changed as well. Being Chinese, we brought along our traditions. Those were celebrated and introduced to other Canadians, and it was a joyous thing. That being said, Canadian culture should come first and foremost. That should be understood. You are living underneath someone else’s roof, you should learn their culture and accept it. If not, why are you there.\n\nNowadays, it feels like it is a right to alter, and place your original culture above that of Canada’s. That’s just weird. Why did you move there in the first place if you can’t accept and get along with everyone else there.\n\nI decided to move back to Hong Kong because I didn’t like it, and for people that feel the same, get out of there. People that want to stay in Canada should be contributing, and live like a Canadian.\n\nProud to be Canadian, but it feels different now. Only hear crimes and homelessness, drugs… gun violence. How things have changed in these past 25 years or so.\n\nI do hope the gov wakes up. But yeah, not betting on it. Wish my fellow Canadians the best of luck. It’s a pity that groups fighting for this issue is being called racist. Utterly ridiculous… the power of the western media. ?

Family immigrated there in 85. Back then my parents needed to prove and bring certain assets as part of the requirements. \n\nNow it seems they don’t really care, just come in with nothing, and the first thing to figure out is how to get the gov to pay out to sustain.\n\nHow this change came about… got no idea. \n\nAnd when looking at it culturally, that has changed as well. Being Chinese, we brought along our traditions. Those were celebrated and introduced to other Canadians, and it was a joyous thing. That being said, Canadian culture should come first and foremost. That should be understood. You are living underneath someone else’s roof, you should learn their culture and accept it. If not, why are you there.\n\nNowadays, it feels like it is a right to alter, and place your original culture above that of Canada’s. That’s just weird. Why did you move there in the first place if you can’t accept and get along with everyone else there.\n\nI decided to move back to Hong Kong because I didn’t like it, and for people that feel the same, get out of there. People that want to stay in Canada should be contributing, and live like a Canadian.\n\nProud to be Canadian, but it feels different now. Only hear crimes and homelessness, drugs… gun violence. How things have changed in these past 25 years or so.\n\nI do hope the gov wakes up. But yeah, not betting on it. Wish my fellow Canadians the best of luck. It’s a pity that groups fighting for this issue is being called racist. Utterly ridiculous… the power of the western media. ?

Canadians pay more in taxes than rent and groceries!!!! It’s disastrous here ??

As a Canadian, immigration is a net positive. Immigration primarily based on international students at bogus community colleges and family reunification visas for people who have no chance to get a high paying job and contribute to our public services is not.

Always wondered why we need a continuously growing population. \nIts a giant ponzi scheme from what i can see. We cant pay the bills for the debt that our governments pile up with their vote buying, virue posturing, corruption, and general squandering of our tax money, so we continuously look for new suckers to buy into our scam.\nJust let the population fall naturally, it will level out eventually. \nGovernments have to stop the social engineering and fix the roads and education system and Healthcare. Lower that tax burden and get out of people's lives and young canadians will find it economically viable to have children again

People voted for Trudeau falling for his promises to the LGBTQ, legalizing Marijuana, Medical Assisted Death, and women that want to continue having the freedom to get all type of abortions. People didn't even read his proposed agenda where he clearly said that people will own nothing and be happy. Now people are realizing what he really is up to, destroying the Canadian economy. Now most Canadians are paying the price of their vote without deep knowledge.

It is absolutely laughable that anyone would ignore the degradation of Canada thanks to the insane immigration policies that are both exploitative and predatory. I work in a field where I speak with hundreds of Canadians a month, and the ratio of immigrant to Canadian born individual I speak to is 4:1. The problem is NOT with the immigrants but the policies, and those of us who work and pay taxes who essentially support the integration/lifestyle of some of these immigrants should NOT be shamed into hiding for expressing our concerns. Canada has to reform all immigration policies immediately. Let’s get housing, healthcare and public services in place before we allow hundreds of thousands more people into Canada.

I agree that immigration should be regulated based on need or requirement. But let me ask this, are Canadians willing to work in the fields and do all blue-collar jobs for $8/hour? I don't know about Canada, but the problem in the US is that most Americans don't want to do these tasks for low pay so businesses rely on immigrant workers. If businesses pay a higher salary they won't be competitive with foreign companies. There is no easy solution to this. At least Canada doesn't have a green card lottery (which is 100% useless) system but a skilled-based immigration.

Chinese Mainlanders are buying up properties as investment in Canada with corrupted money from runaway business profit and not pay their own employees in China. Canadian government ignores the influx of international illegal funds from destroy the housing sector due to greed.

Finally a report that calls it the way it is. Canada is broken, all the services our tax dollars support are redirected to the new Canadians. There are no services available to me, after paying taxes for more then 40 years. Housing, rentals are outrageously priced, what once cost $800 a month a few years ago, is now $1,500 for the exact same unit. \n\nThe Canadians that built this country with their tax contributions are being shut out of all the services and we can't afford to live in our own country. Even immigrants don't want to live here anymore. Canada is broken!\n\nthere are a lot of reports that show immigrants using foodbanks like a grocery store. Food banks are not grocery stores, they are there to help people who are not able to buy food. Foreign students are expected to be able to support themselves while in Canada as foreign students. They lie about having the money to get in, then when they get here they complain, take our housing, our jobs (Ukrainians can work in Canada as soon as their plane lands, after receiving $3,000 in cash from the government of Canada).\n\nCanadians are treated as second class citizens, priority is given to new Canadians. There are absolutely no services available to me, no doctor, no affordable housing, double the price for food, no medical, nothing....

The ruling class is using immigrants as cheap labor. They don't care about their well being nor do they care about that of Canadian citizens. They want to bring in about 550K each year going forward when people are suffering. They don't build nearly enough homes or rental units. We don't have enough doctors and nurses. We get paid West Virginia wages but must pay California level housing costs. Diploma mills have sprung up like crazy charging $40,000 for worthless degrees. There are not enough jobs that pay even minimum wage. As a consequence many who immigrate to Canada leave after a year or two. Those smiling faces you see in this video are of those who are don't yet know the truth!