4 ms·

Canadian reputation as a haven for immigration is a very well engineered and effective meme. Child has autism? No immigration for you. They have pretty severe

by alva 9y ago

Canadian reputation as a haven for immigration is a very well engineered and effective meme. Child has autism? No immigration for you. They have pretty severe criteria for immigrants compared to other western countries. After the '16 election it was all out PR stating how open they are to immigrants, but look how they have very quietly been handling illegal crossings. The Canadian government deserves a lot of credit for this sleight of hand. They have been unbelievably effective in their PR.

derefr 9y ago
> Child has autism? No immigration for you. Is that unusual? I would expect most countries with both public healthcare, and disability assistance programs, to not let people immigrate if they have a pre-existing medical condition that will either cost the public healthcare system boatloads of money, or will mean that they'll never be able to hold down a productive (i.e. tax-paying) job, thus putting them "on the dole" of the disability assistance program for the rest of their lives. Not saying it's a nice stance—but it's the norm, not the exception, in welfare states, no?
- alva 9y ago
  > Is that unusual? That specific Canadian criteria is particularly strict compared to others. In the UK an immigrant is allowed in even if they may place a larger than average burden on health/social services (autism would be covered usually in this case), but may face rejection if they are highly likely to require "major medical treatment" or infectious. It is quite fuzzy, but far more liberal than the Canadian system. > or will mean that they'll never be able to hold down a productive (i.e. tax-paying) job When you look carefully at a number of Western countries, this is not as important as you think it might be! In the short/medium term (up to 20 years), many countries are not expecting the 1st generation to be anywhere close to net-contributors. The hope is to compensate for the major age demographic shifts in the west, 2nd gen. immigrants might be able to compensate for the huge welfare state. Of course, the 1st gen will also be eligible for pensions/social security/healthcare etc. It is a gamble.
52-6F-62 9y ago
Meme? No, I think you're wrongly mixing public opinion and public policy here. Canada's reputation for being accepting of immigration and refugees comes from general public opinion on the matter. While some Canadians tend to align themselves with more modern socially-conservative American values, much of the country has moved on to realize the benefit to the social growth we see by expanding our viewpoints, and trying to make amends for historical transgressions. Federal policy on immigration is something that your average Canadian is probably more out of touch with than they'd like to admit. It's a work in progress. This isn't some PR gag. Sleight of hand implies you think there's some crafty, nefarious manipulation going on but I think you're either just jaded, misinformed, or misinterpreting the matter. I encourage you to spend some serious time in different parts of Canada to see for yourself. I've made many friends with people passing through the country on study or temporary work visas, and according to them it's not all that difficult to arrange. (especially if you're from a commonwealth country) Also, to note: your line about autism is patently false. Conditions like autism will probably garner some further questioning and confirmation, but is not necessarily an immediate, flat-out rejection. If anybody else is reading these comments, please don't take them at face value and look it up for yourselves. There's a lot of cynicism in this thread. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/medic/admiss/index.asp http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/medic/admiss/in...

by alva 9y ago

derefr 9y ago

> Child has autism? No immigration for you. Is that unusual? I would expect most countries with both public healthcare, and disability assistance programs, to not let people immigrate if they have a pre-existing medical condition that will either cost the public healthcare system boatloads of money, or will mean that they'll never be able to hold down a productive (i.e. tax-paying) job, thus putting them "on the dole" of the disability assistance program for the rest of their lives. Not saying it's a nice stance—but it's the norm, not the exception, in welfare states, no?

alva 9y ago
> Is that unusual? That specific Canadian criteria is particularly strict compared to others. In the UK an immigrant is allowed in even if they may place a larger than average burden on health/social services (autism would be covered usually in this case), but may face rejection if they are highly likely to require "major medical treatment" or infectious. It is quite fuzzy, but far more liberal than the Canadian system. > or will mean that they'll never be able to hold down a productive (i.e. tax-paying) job When you look carefully at a number of Western countries, this is not as important as you think it might be! In the short/medium term (up to 20 years), many countries are not expecting the 1st generation to be anywhere close to net-contributors. The hope is to compensate for the major age demographic shifts in the west, 2nd gen. immigrants might be able to compensate for the huge welfare state. Of course, the 1st gen will also be eligible for pensions/social security/healthcare etc. It is a gamble.

52-6F-62 9y ago

Meme? No, I think you're wrongly mixing public opinion and public policy here. Canada's reputation for being accepting of immigration and refugees comes from general public opinion on the matter. While some Canadians tend to align themselves with more modern socially-conservative American values, much of the country has moved on to realize the benefit to the social growth we see by expanding our viewpoints, and trying to make amends for historical transgressions. Federal policy on immigration is something that your average Canadian is probably more out of touch with than they'd like to admit. It's a work in progress. This isn't some PR gag. Sleight of hand implies you think there's some crafty, nefarious manipulation going on but I think you're either just jaded, misinformed, or misinterpreting the matter. I encourage you to spend some serious time in different parts of Canada to see for yourself. I've made many friends with people passing through the country on study or temporary work visas, and according to them it's not all that difficult to arrange. (especially if you're from a commonwealth country) Also, to note: your line about autism is patently false. Conditions like autism will probably garner some further questioning and confirmation, but is not necessarily an immediate, flat-out rejection. If anybody else is reading these comments, please don't take them at face value and look it up for yourselves. There's a lot of cynicism in this thread. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/medic/admiss/index.asp http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/medic/admiss/in...