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Of course it is... When you allow people to come in that are not vetted, you end up with many social, criminal, contribution related issues, and fundamental society value consequences.\n\nHere is the reality... Every other government in Canada set the agenda for immigration, it helped us and it helped them... Under Trudeau and foreign agendas, the immigrants set the agenda, what helps them is the only important issue, hence why we have zero growth, building, etc. But lots of people. Yay.\n\nNow add to that, this desire to grow at this rate will set us on a path to forever change our environment. We will now have to use vastly more of our resources, forests, green spaces, etc. etc. Our population density to useable arable land is higher than the US, so why do we have this desire to become an overcrowded zoo?

No really! Try also hospital waits in emergency and traffic . You can’t double the population of Montreal and Toronto in a decade and not address these issues. Put a 5 year moratorium on immigration so we could catch up with our infrastructure. After open the gates up.

Unlimited increase immigrants would hurt citizens. But government doesn’t care. The government only care how much money that immigrants can bring to Canada in the short period. Housing issue? They all live in big properties.

Canadians need a election immediately and one of many issues should be immigration.

Makes no sense. Our population is declining. If there were enough home for boomers then it shouldn't be an insurmountable issue. Immigration is fine, it's letting companies buy up huge chunks of real estate that needs to stop. That and put higher taxes on unoccupied homes.

Actually Canada should first allow immigration from like minded countries and they must be fluent in English. The cost of immigration shouldn't be on local taxe payer's mostly because most people are living paycheck to paycheck. Just remember that the more there are people in any city the cost of housing will go up there are many issues that we should be talking about but most people who speak up are automatically called racist in order to shut them up. Canada on its own can't be responsible for feeding or educating the third world.. the effects on the environment by mass migration is never mentioned.

As a newcomer, let me tell you all that Canada needs ONLY productive immigrants, those who produce more than what they suck out of the system. \nAlso, it is indispensable that immigrants intend to proactively integrate and respect Canadian heritage and tradition, not imposing or demanding. If you have issues with Christmas, Easter or Thanksgiving, you shouldn’t come, we don’t need people who hate our culture here nor societal parasites.\nYes to balanced, severely screened immigration also with quotas for country of origin, no to the ongoing degenerating mass immigration.

I love Canada and I love the fact its mixing so many cultures in together, but we just can't keep up at the current pace. Another thing lots of people have an issue with is the lack of diversity in the immigrants. Our services and lifestyles are being strained to the point where people are getting sick of it, put a cap on each country and only allow that cap to be broken for asylum seekers/refugees. This isn't a cultural/race issue either and people who say this shouldn't be called racist, I mean its honestly insane to call it racist when the very immigrants you bring in are making the same points.

Yet will the government who’s supposed to work for us do anything? Only the PPC have a clear answer - but the media insists on lying about them and can’t gain any ground on an important issue most Canadians support - less and safer immigration.

Canada is finished. You can't just keep taking them in without fixing the issues here first. It used to be that immigration would close when there were no jobs available or not enough housing, but now they keep flooding in due to crooked political schemes aimed at getting votes, while destroying the lives of others here who are already struggling. Then again, the majority coming in are no doubt just mooching off the tax paying workers here already, but not coming here to contribute in any way.

Diversity is a threat to Canadian culture and social cohesion. Immigration makes such issues worse, plus it adds to the nation's carbon footprint, congestion on the roads, strains in healthcare and food insecurity. And then there is housing. End immigration entirely until these problems are solved.

Why does Canada need Immigration? The Gap between Canadians who are retiring and those who are in the workforce (and hence are paying taxes) or are supposed to enter is increasing. There are more Canadians retiring than those working. Result? The Canadian government has less tax revenue (and perhaps more expenditure as a result of Increased pensions etc.). So now, either the government has to Increase Taxes (More taxes? Hell no!!) or bring in New Immigrants to increase the tax-paying workforce of the Canadian Economy. Hence, immigrants are needed and the political parties including Conservative, Liberal, NDP, etc. know this and are inviting immigrants in record numbers. The issue is too much red tape in Building housing options in Canada, not immigrants

,.....we need to take care of Canadians first, you know the ones that built this nation, created a country of fairness and compassion? and here's a point that will enrage the uneducated woke: limit immigration from Islamic nations.....look at Poland, they are protectting their Polish identity and way of life, why do Canadians not see the same issue??? unless you want your country to look like France or Great Britain. This country has changed for the worse. And unfortunately Islam is not a religion/ideology that can be integrated into western liberal democracies easily. Read the Koran folks its not like Christianity....its not about equality and fairness unless you are muslim perhaps... their Prophet was a warlord killing thousands and enslaving thousands, he married a 9 year old and consummated that marriage when she was 12 and he was 54. If you believe in God , pretty sure he didn't send Jesus to earth to preach peace and forgiveness and then , an all knowing God Changes his mind and brings us Mohammed, who kills and enslaves?? And addressing current issues, Canadian passport holders who choose to live in Gaza, which has no rights for women, LGBTQ, and especially jews and whose leaders drafted a charter calling for death of ALL jews, sounds more like NAZI Germany, well they do not belong in Canada. There are plenty of surrounding muslim nations they can go to.

Fix the money and financial systems in Canada to support the citizens of Canada first and then Canada can take in as many immigrants that want to immigrate to Canada. The primary issue of Canada is that its population is drastically low and if Canada is to exist into the future the citizens of Canada need to redress the financial systems of Canada and then turn into itself to manage its resources for supporting Canada's citizens first and then use the excess of resources for trade to other countries like the USA and Europe and Asia. Until that is done Canada will continue down the path of oblivion.

I was born in M.J. Sask, I will be leaving canada as soon as I get my nursing certificate. This is not just an immigrant issue.

It’s the immigrants coming in droves causing the issues. Again something liberals can’t figure out.

1) Toronto is poor value. Getting housing of any kind (buying or renting) is stupidly expensive. And the quality you get for the price is lousy. Especially the newer builds, which are just thrown up as quickly as possible and sold to investors. Policy measures generally all seem to serve to just inflate the price of housing further. The occasional lip service given to affordability is amusing, but ultimately sad. There are lots of people who really do not want the housing bubble to pop. They will fight against it with all they have.\n\n2) It has become kind of boring. There is lots to do if you have money, but it’s harder to find entertainment on a budget. Even the free stuff like parks are filling up. Stuff like sporting events, eating out, going out is very costly across the board. Even the “cheaper” stuff is expensive. It seems like a lot of local culture is disappearing. Even the cool neighbourhoods are filling up with the same chains. I think the high commercial rent and bureaucracy is deflating a lot of would-be entrepreneurs. Most landowners seem to just be banking on cashing out their land for condos.\n\n3) Canada overall has a high cost of living compared to salaries. In the US you can find lower cost of living areas that still give you a real city experience. And in Europe you can be poor but still live a decent, if no frills, life. In Canada the basic necessities are all expensive. Phone bills, grocery bills, rent, insurance are through the roof. Domestic travel is expensive. And the dollar sucks if you want to travel abroad. Health care is free but good luck finding a family doctor or waiting 8 hours in the ER these days. It’s expensive to be poor, or even middle class.\n\n4) Most of the Greater Toronto Area, outside the core, is soulless suburbs with awful transit - very “American” except with worse traffic congestion. You will need a car, which is another huge cost. Row upon row of old cookie cutter suburbs with the same crappy houses. Good luck walking anywhere, and if you do you will need to walk down boring, treeless arterial roads with cars zooming past right beside you, and cross giant eight lane intersections that were never built for humans on foot. In a rainstorm or on a fall evening you have to be really careful not to be run over by aggressive drivers.\n\n5) It is hard to raise a family in an apartment here. You can do it but it’s not very easy, and also you are still kind of judged for it. Lots of young people are feeling stuck and are deferring or avoiding starting a family. Buying any type of house, even a basic townhouse, requires pledging your soul to a bank by taking a massive mortgage with eye watering debt in a volatile market. But few apartment buildings have the kind of sensible gentle density, the family unit sizes and the common amenities, like little courtyards with jungle gyms, that you might find in Europe. No one ever contemplated that anyone would ever desire to raise kids in an apartment. It’s just a cultural thing that has worked its way into how things are planned and designed.\n\n6) The transit system is ok by North American standards but awful by international standards. There are only two real subway lines, one stub line, one line that is permanently out of service after a derailment, and another line that was supposed to open a couple years ago but still has no date for opening. The subways go out of service frequently, sometimes for the dumbest reasons, and then it is a zoo of shuttle buses. The streetcars are nice but so slow. The buses are fine if you find yourself dreaming about riding a daily herky jerky rolling tin of sardines. They are building a lot of transit but it will take decades to get done.\n\n7) There is still a lot of cool multiculturalism and opportunities to experience different foods and cultures - one of the best things about Toronto. Increasingly though it seems to be losing the fun vibe of the 90s, when everyone celebrated each other’s backgrounds and was chill. It seems the immigration is not as broad based anymore and also people are importing a lot of their “old country” grievances here. The immigration system also kind of preys on people abroad by selling them a false fairy tale, so they end up dejected when they arrive and see how things really are.\n\n8) This one might be controversial but it’s kind of an ugly city. There’s nothing particularly of historical meaning or value. Some of the older neighbourhoods are kind of nice, but the last 25 years they have only built giant glass skyboxes, one after another. There aren’t the cool “missing middle” walkups like in NY, Chicago or Montreal (or even LA). There are very few buildings with much architectural character. Some of the buildings they deem “heritage” here are an embarrassment.\n\n9) For safety, honestly on this score I think Toronto is not bad. There are not too many real “ghettos” and it’s night and day compared to much of the US. With that said, there is more vagrancy and social issues these days, with tents and such. It’s very sad but the shelters are full, lots of homeless go into the libraries, parks and transit system. It does make it harder to enjoy these public amenities safely. It is nowhere close to Europe where you might let your kids run free around town. Canadian parents still helicopter their kids and the place again is not designed to really be safe for kids, in the same way as Europe.\n\n10) Finally, a bit of a double edged sword. Toronto had a lot of youthful energy - people coming here from all over. It is definitely not as sleepy as many parts of the world. With that said, it is becoming a bit of a transient place (minus the world class experiences like London or NY). If you are from elsewhere you might find it hard making and keeping friends. I’ve seen lots of people struggle because it’s is hard to build a strong social network. We have a very “shallow” culture here - people are extremely polite but not overly warm and hospitable. We treat one another kind of like neighbours - meaning we’d like to have a cordial, drama-free coexistence and otherwise kind of stick to ourselves.

Views in Canada are changing rapidly as people realize most of the country's issues come from over immigration

I'm from Asia and recently moved to Canada with my family to live a slower-paced and safer life. I've seen firsthand that the drug problem here is worse than it was back home, and they're being coddled with no plans to discipline or rehabilitate them. I asked my friends how I could defend myself and my family if a random drug addict broke into our house and stole our belongings; could I at least beat that person up until the police arrived? They said you couldn't because you'd be charged with assault. It's funny. \n\nApart from the crimes and exorbitant living costs despite living in a rural area, even Canadians who have lived in the country since birth are struggling to make ends meet. \n\nSome positive comments, Canada provided me with a work-life balance that was not possible in Asia due to the competitive nature of the corporate world. So I had time to spend with my family, and you don't have to travel abroad to see beautiful scenery. Canadians are also very accommodating and friendly, in contrast to where I came from, where people will not help unless it benefits them as well. The Canadians here are extremely friendly. So Canada is great because of its people, but I can tell you that the government consistently makes bad decisions about how to solve certain problems, such as drugs and harm reduction strategies. Another issue is that they do not recognize internationally trained professionals, which could have helped alleviate healthcare issues in our area, where we have many internationally trained nurses from the Philippines working as restaurant servers and janitors. We have doctors from Kenya who have to work as general laborers and in other odd jobs where they can use their profession and experience to help people. I am also an immigrant, but the government should strategically distribute us based on our qualifications. I chose a rural area because I don't want to add to the number of immigrants in big cities and instead want to contribute to the local economy by bringing my skills and experience to the pool. \n\nCanada is a wonderful country, and I continue to believe so, but the government must reward and do more for its people who are trying their best to make this country great.

I'm not against immigration but if we have issues with healthcare, cost of society living and housing we Canadians are facing, how are we supposed to support immigrants? In other words, how can Canada take care of immigrants if it struggles to take care of Canadians?

oh look Global new is finally reporting on taboo issues. 3578 comments saying otherwise as to what immigration has brought. Free speech at last. Why all of a sudden is Global new reporting on this when for decades and decades y'all said immigration was solution. Is it because these immigrants who left are telling how it is eg the healthcare system and their experiences.(outside of Canada)

There is an adverse selection in the cohort of immigrants leaving Canada. Immigrants with skill and money will likely leave Canada, sometimes after obtaining the easiest-to-get citizenship among G7 as insurance policies, for greener pasture or return to their home countries. Thus, leaving behind unskilled immigrants working min. pay menial jobs. Many 2-year colleges in Canada, like Langara, also exploits international students with bait-and-switch schemes and false promises. These int‘l students will not gain meaningful employment after graduation but continue to work min. pay menial jobs. Depend on their home countries, some will stay, but others from more advanced economies will likely leave Canada. Thus, leaving Canadian tax payers holding the bags. \nInflation and housing are also high in other countries, but there are more high pay jobs too. \nThat‘s why the federal govt decides to address this issue. It is too late, I think.\nYes, I will also be leaving Canada soon. I don‘t want to cough up over 50% marginal tax to subsidize drug addicts, criminals, etc.

Housing costs,inflation are not just a Canadian issue. I am old enough to remember when interest rates went through the roof in the 80's and people lost their homes, and jobs were hard to come by including for my family. But things got better and they will again. For those who came here and were welcomed into the Country, and now want to leave, its probably for the best,for them and for the Country, They were not happy in their home Country, moved here,now are not happy here and want to move again. My parents were immigrants,they stuck it out through the good and the bad.

I have no issue with immigration, but when our country can't even seem to support it's current residents how can we expect to handle these massive influxes of immigrants?

Good, maybe we can now focus on the ones who live here, go back to our roots, get people working again We got ourselves in this mess of immigration and all it did was cause headaches for our country. Homelessness is a big problem, social handouts, and hospitals that can't keep up. We're not the only country with this issue even the US is feeling the squeeze too. So let's stop it and get to work!

Most immigrants come from more conservative places. They don’t wave rainbow flags and get all libtarded about social issues. They see a prime minister that is a flaming liberal and large cities failing due to liberal policies. And most of all the pushing of liberal ideologies in public schools on children. They are not having it and I don’t blame them one bit. I welcome Islam as it is the only religion pushing back on the gender fluid rainbow flag waiving liberal Canadians. Islam is the best chance to get things back on track in North America. I am saying this as a Canadian born white guy.

Not having welcoming committees is definitely not a significant issue. The economy, increased emphasis on MAID (i.e. death) over extensive medical care, and the new sociopolitical atmosphere of hating immigrants to Canada from the 16th century onward are definitely major factors. When people were encouraged to come and work in numerous professions all across Canada for centuries, it was not difficult to retain immigrants. The virtues of hard work and supporting your family were valuable treasures, but now there is much less emphasis (even some discouragement) concerning these things today. I am praying for our nation to turn itself around.

Meanwhile, Global Edmonton does not deal with serious issues of their own staff of how they mistreat not only immigrants but minorities. People are leaving and no only immigrants because press is still acting in same patterns they assure publicly is wiser. They have also hid a number of secrets for decades and taken part in rewriting history to protect certain clubs abusing their positions. Some pretty deep secrets relating to Monarchy were grossly interfered with since 90s. Most embarrassing is that the rest of the world remembers and came forward with what Canadian press was kept blacklisting like a bunch of cowards. So yeah, exposing Nazi in our parliament, privately hiring contractors to hire digging up children's skeletons, and following through on strong suggestion to make that change seems to have not taught some people when they still stick to old patterns that ultimately affected our Countries economy and image on global scale. That should also be added to why people in general are leaving.

This is a problem. However, this could create future issues. I knew many of them (myself is an immigrant) will return after they retire and our tax money will have to cover their medical and old age pension. Unfortunately not every Canadian has a chance to earn money overseas, I am proud of those immigrants that choose to stay and work hard

This is the real issue with Canada's immigration. What are the consequences of false promises to future Canadians, and how will they hurt Canada's reputation worldwide?

My immigration process took 14 years in total until I could get here, it was a blessing and I had a lot of gratitude to be here after living in a warzone. Ive lived in Winnipeg for 10 years, a part of me was always happy and okay to deal with the cold because at least nobody would be killing you or attempting to on a daily basis, with rockets and bombs. 10 years later, I was wondering that the only reason we came here was to escape war, and not find a better quality of life. You can tell me “you don’t like it then leave” but i find it disturbing that many Canadians here don’t recognize how bad the situation gets, when governments don’t do anything to enhance quality of life and corporates take control everywhere and raise the costs to unbelievable numbers. Housing crisis, most can’t afford houses or even rent a nice apartment. Healthcare system is a complete dogshit mess, people here don’t recognize the importance of how much this industry needs to be supported by governments and citizens because EVERYONE benefits from it and stay alive longer. I don’t know man, I only see it collapsing going forward, especially when everyone is divided and the aboriginal issues are a constant trend.

Acceptance of international work experience and qualifications has been an issue since I arrived here in 2002. It has all been false promises and a smoke screen by the government and these politicians in all these years. Canada is still far behind when compared to US which is more welcoming to immigrants and which is why it is still one of the most desirable places to live on the planet.

All countries oversell their benefits. Canada by far the worse. And mass immigration will create massive crimes and issues which are already turning us into a 3rd world country.

Most people blame the immigration programmes. But who considers that what are the percentages that should be added to the housing sector to build new houses and also the healthcare sector? \nThe Canadian economy is based on weekdays, and productivity/efficiency is lower than the USA worker. Canadian working hours are lower than US workers. The manufacturing industry is no longer expanding other than the USA. \nIn the meantime, healthcare is a nightmare. Canadians have new technologies but this system accepts fewer patients per day/hour. You can’t just get an appointment even in the banks. I mean what they are doing. Are they printing money inside the banks? No whole country’s productivity lowered day by day. \nWe have to find solutions for these issues other than that we can blame immigration programmes or immigrants but nothing changes.

I don't blame anyone for leaving Canada; the issue is that corporations are bringing in more immigrants without building more homes, and the quality of life is deteriorating beyond repair.\n\nI wouldn't mind newcomers if the housing was stable and there were more jobs available, but that isn't the case. \n\nOur issues stem from large corporations sucking the blood of the poor and looking for cheap labor. If you can afford it, leave Canada.

Honestly with the housing crisis and the economic issues we canadians face, immigration should be halted. I voted for Trudeau in the last elections but too many immigrants have been let into Canada. I wont vote for him or Polievre he is too Trumplike.

Immigrants are not the issue. Millions of illegal immigrants and Millions of free refugees are the issues. And those refugees and illegal immigrants don't have ethics.

The housing pricing in Canada are pretty insane. The value of my 900 SF condo in Victoria has doubled in the past 10 years. I don't know how anyone gets into the market today when you add in inflation for regular goods over the past couple years. I know it's become a hot button in parliament of late, and the government seems to be trying to spearhead more housing, but they are pretty late.\n\nI'm also a little surprised that a majority of conservatives don't think the immigration levels are too high. But I suspect that has gone down of late with the said housing issues. More skilled workers is better for Canada overall, and will generally drag wages up, but housing has to keep pace so costs don't escalate more than wages.

Immigrants yes, but from where, that is the important issue.

The Canadian way of dealing with issues: Throw money at it and bring more immigrants. in other words, provide a short term solution while creating a major long term issue.

Our birth-rate is low, so we do need immigrants, that being said, housing needs to keep up and so do appreciation of foreign experience. \nSome of the Ukrainian refugees that we welcomed in NL were doctors and nurses and they really wanted to start working, but were not allowed because they were not trained in Canada. This isn't even a foreigner issue, if a doctor/nurse wanted to move to a different province there are still obstacles, which doesn't make sense to me! Sure healthcare workers from other countries should be brought up to speed on the system, but at the end of the day, they still acquired the education and work experience to do their job and can provide proof of their credentials, it should not take years to work in Canada.

Hope everyone caught when he said we need immigrants to come here to keep building homes, what this is is yes some are building homes but most are buying homes and renting to their own . This housing issue is beyond fixing

It's over populated here with immigration issues

Is it not the same Canada it's citizens and immigrants are complaining about how expensive it's becoming with the issue of inflation also? \nNo country is easy\nBe it Europe or the US \nEach has their pros and cons\nFor Europe, just don't be lazy. Be determined to learn the language.

Seriously speaking i love this city but as you said it is very expensive to live in live in the midtown both my wife and myself are full time workers and we are managing the expenses, the declining ratio is for sure i blame the government, the bad thing is no matter what every other immigrant whether they lands in halifax or calgary they move to Gta or in toronto, the government should have a check and balance to those people who are nominated in other provinces and moved to Toronto, i dont blame the people it is the government they need to make the opportunity in every province and put a cap on the individual if you are landed in Saskatchewan you should stay in the same place for almost 5 years, if a person or a family live constantly for 5 years at one place they don’t even try to think to move any-other city unless they have some serious issues their, i am also an immigrant a landed PR from Pakistan Alhumdulillah i work hard my wife does the same Managing the expenses but it’s true it is not affordable for everyone now.

Nice information Chorkor. I live in the Netherlands ?? but I have not come across any racism. Language barrier is the major issue. \n\nI think Europe can work well for people who don’t want to strain too much heheh ?. You can still have something on the table with a lowest income. We have managed to pay a mortgage with our regular 8-5pm job. The immigration services in ?? are faster than Germany.\n\nThe social system is working for me.

The problem is not immigration. During the pandemic there was no immigration for a few years, yet the price of the houses increased by about 20% a year or more. The problem is demand and demand is hugely increased by investors. Investors don't live in the place and in many cases they don't even rent the place. At lease half of those seeking to buy houses are investors. Therefore investors double the demand.\n\nHouses are limited supply whereas investors are numerous and have access to unlimited money either cash or loan from banks. We have created a housing market. It means we made it something like share market where everyone can put their money in it and buy as many as they want. During the pandemic demand for toilet paper became very high and there were limited supply. Supermarkets limited one or 2 packs per customer because it would be unfair for some to stack most of the papers and others have none. Some customers wanted to buy tons and fill their homes with toilet paper and they did. House and land is limited too. Why can't we do the same for homes? Demand is important and always going to be there from those who want to move there and live in it. Investors buy many homes and bid higher in value than normal people because they have more money and they know the price will rise. They raise the demand sky high. Specially if they're foreign investors. They can buy hundreds of apartments or houses and leave it empty.\n\nAs I mentioned, we do need certain amount of demand for housing and that demand is going to be always there by people who want to buy and live in it whether they're local or immigrants. However, when many investors come in and they have greed, the demand becomes sky high and the price will become so high that only investors can afford them. Rent also depends on the value of the property. The higher the price, the higher the rent. So the issue is investors. Too many of them with too much greed.

I live in Toronto and I am not rich. I am regular person. \nIf you are an immigrant and especially if you are considered from visible minority group aka not white, DO NOT leave Toronto at all ! Work hard and make it work for you. I am sure the majority people from your coutires in Canada are located in Toronto and its close cities. If you chose to live outside this multicultural heaven called Toronto then expect to deal with deep racism. Yes people in Canada are rasicst althogh it is not openly like USA.\nIf you are into education and you want to do your degree, move to Montreal. Tuition fees in Montreal are way more cheaper than in Toronto or other parts of Canada. I lived in Montreal before and I went to university there. Montreal is great for education, aba rent are cheaper than Toronto but not for living there if you are visible immigrant. You will never feel you belong down there. Where as in Toronto, you will feel you belong to it within 30 mins max of you arruval. Toronto's motto are : you belong here and we have been waiting for you.\n62%of people in Toronto weren't born in Canada. You will find your community from your country in Toronto and the people are well established. I have been in different cities in Canada and I always felt stranger, even cities as close as ashawa.\nIn conclusion I would say to the visible minority immigrants stay in Toronto as much as you can for work and if you want to study in university go to Montreal. There are two major English universities in Montreal :Concordia university and McGill university, where McGill is one of top 10 university in the world.\n\nFor you Alina, I understand what you are saying and you can go somewhere in Canada and try it out with no racial or inclusiveness issues. Good luck and I hope you will come back to us again one day and I am sure you will. You belong here and we will be expecting you to come. No matter what enjoy your life wherever you are, darling.

Been in Canada for approximately 25 years. I can say that the effect that Canada has on a legal immigrant is neither here nor there. If you can make lemonade out of any lemon you’re dealt, you will thrive in Canada (and anywhere else where your efforts are not overwhelmingly quashed by corruption, blatant racism or other forms of segregation). \n \nLynn, I was a lecturer in Kenya, went back to school here in Canada after wallowing in culture shock the first year, then circled back to teaching in college again after an arduous journey in school, but this time in a different field. \n \nAfter becoming a single mother of four kids, I had to also hustle on the side to build a small business empire along my life’s ladder. Partnership with God, goal clarity, the get-up-and-go, and relentlessness truly work. It isn’t the size of the dog but the fight in the dog that does it, regardless of where you live. \n \nThe starting point for a new immigrant can be very low due to the weather, unpreparedness and culture shock, but if you know that the only way is up, and are self-motivated, those challenges are soon behind you as the tests become testimonies. \n \nBy comparison people have more human rights here regardless of their status. The wheels of justice grind slow but they do grind fine. Women and children have equal rights with men. Politicians are mostly there to serve not necessarily to exploit. \n \nOpportunities for self-development galore - including being trained to become employable and going to school at any age (sometimes for free while you are still at the bottom of the ladder). There are food banks so you never go hungry if it came to that. The disabled are better treated with dignity. \n \nThere are prolonged parental leaves for both moms and dads for up to 18 months. Commensurate with earnings, parents under certain thresholds are given Canada child tax benefits and other supplements for each child under 18 years of age. \n \nDepending on the number of kids and their ages, the money can add up handsomely. Not to mention that there’s no tuition to pay for primary and high school students. Tuition fees start at post-secondary level. \n \nTo see a doctor is free as it is paid for by taxes. It the meds that you and/or your insurance pays for. Some medical equipments may be paid for by either or both the individual/insurance and the government depending on eligibility. \n \nBy and large, there’s cleanliness of common spaces. There’s also safety and relative peace. At least wherever I have lived, I can’t tell you how many times I forgot to lock my door with impunity. \n \nThere’s a lot more stressful work here in my opinion, but like you said Lynn, systems work a lot more efficiently and effectively. \n \nThe elephant in the room is the extra hard work that those living abroad must put in to fulfil expectations back home. Also known as black tax, the overwhelming financial dependency of relatives on their diasporan loved ones places undue stress on many here, especially because there are no short cuts to getting money here. \n \nAnyway, Lynn, thanks for such a great topical issue you’ve shared. I have to stop here as I have written a lot. Hope this helps someone on this forum. \n \nAnd last but not least, you’ll be proud to hear that even though Canada has been good to me, my face may now be turning towards home to see how I can be of use to mama Africa. Super excited!

I wanted to share some concerns about the current situation faced by international students in 2023. It appears that the financial burden on students has reached a point where it resembles modern slavery.\n\nStudents are required to pay a substantial $12,000 for the GIC upfront, followed by semester fees ranging from $9,000 to $10,000, with a total cost of $40,000 for their education. When you factor in taxes and rent, the financial pressure becomes even more overwhelming.\n\nWhat's even more troubling is that a significant portion of these students, up to 80 out of 100, are compelled to take on labor jobs to meet the requirements for Permanent Residency. This situation raises serious concerns about the quality of education and the well-being of these students.\n\nIt's crucial that we address these issues and work towards fairer immigration policies and more affordable education to ensure that international students are not subjected to such challenging conditions. Their contributions to our society should be valued, and their rights protected.\n❤❤❤ \n\nstudents in Canada ?