Good and bad news, New Canadian Immigrants!

The good news is that on October 2nd, 2003, a historic election day, the people of Ontario decided that the far-right ideas of the "Common Sense Revolution", a neo-conservative ideology, implemented by the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party are no longer welcome in this province. On this historic election, the Ontario Liberal Party won a majority of 72 out of 103 seats in the Legislature, and, consequently, the previous Conservative government has been swept from power. The Conservative Party has fallen to 24 from 56 seats, and the NDP to 7 from 9 seats (it was expected to be better, not worse). So, the people of Ontario have decided to get rid of a dictatorial regime oriented too far to the right. It is a great victory for democracy in this province!
According to its platform, the new Liberal government, which took power on Oct. 23, 2003, promised to adopt a more responsible social policy by improving the public education and the health care (stop privatization) and eliminating the corporate tax cuts (over two billions) handed out to the rich. The new Liberal government also promised to undo some undemocratic laws implemented against the poor.

The bad news is that the previous government has left a deficit of $5.6 billions and it is possible that the promised reforms could not be implemented as quickly as people expected to. We do not expect miracles over night, but we know that we are going in a right direction. The most important thing at this time is that the "Common Sense Revolution" is over and the people of Ontario can hope and dream together again of a better life. Regarding immigration, it would take some time until the situation could be improved. So, before getting too enthusiastic about coming in Ontario, the best approach is to wait and see.

Here is what I was informing the new Canadian immigrants under the previous Neo-Conservative government:

Watch out, New Canadian Immigrants!

Believe it or not, although Canada was considered the best country in the world many years in a row, right now you will be confronted here in the province of Ontario with a lot of unpleasant problems, especially if you are a new immigrant. That's because the Ontario government, a very-far-right government known as Harris government, implemented since 1995 a policy that is crystal clear against immigrants. Here are some problems that you, as a new Canadian immigrant, will be confronted here:

• It will be very difficult to rent an apartment at an affordable price. That's because the previous Ontario government amended the law for renting apartments and houses (ironically called "Tenant Protection Act") in favour of landlords (owners or proprietors). You will be surprised to see that the landlord will ask you a rental price as high as he wants, without limitation. The first ones who are hit by this law are the new immigrants. Consequently, this kind of policy discriminates against the new Canadian immigrants. If, for example, the superintendent would not like your face, your colour, your clothes, your spoken English, etc., he could ask you a very high price in order to determine you to go away. If you would be lucky to rent an apartment, do not be surprised if your rent could be $400 to $800 more than the rent of other tenants in the same building;

• Many programs created in the past for newcomers have disappeared. No more "Welcome House", a government agency for helping newcomers to integrate into Canadian society. No more special programs for helping the immigrants' children to learn English. No more special programs for the integration of professional immigrants, and so on. So, if you are determined to make any sacrifices coming here for the future of your children, do not be surprised if your children will lose the appetite for learning and will not finish even the high school;

• If you will not find a job (very much so to happen in this recession) and your financial resources will disappear paying the rent, you can apply for social assistance (welfare) after six months from your arrival. Before getting one, you have to prove how you spent your money brought from your country and you have to declare all your assets (including your car). You would not qualify for assistance if your assets exceed a certain level and your money (cash & bank accounts) exceeds a monthly welfare cheque (i.e. $1,066 for a family with one child). Keep in mind that if your car is an expensive one, you could be asked to sell it and buy a cheaper one.
  If you get assistance, you will be very surprised to see that the welfare cheque is not even enough to pay your rent, and you have to rely on food banks (free stores for poor people) or to move again to a cheaper apartment with less comfort and fewer rooms (if you could find one). Otherwise, if you are not able to pay your rent, you will be evicted on street, and you will lose all belongings (furniture, computer, Tv. set, etc.) bought with your money from your country. The only thing you could keep is your car (if you were able to buy one). So, you could enjoy your freedom sleeping on streets and traveling around using your car (if you have money for car insurance, parking and gas);

• If you have good friends or relatives, your integration will be less painful and maybe you will be able to find finally a job, but do not be surprised if your salary will be with a few thousands less than the others doing the same job. That's because Ontario is the best province of the best country in the world, and article 23(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is fully implemented and respected: "Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work" !;

• If you will end up on welfare, you will be surprised to see that you will be forced to go to work 17 hours per week (up to 70 hours per month) at community placements in exchange for your welfare cheque. Otherwise, if you refuse, your welfare cheque will be cancelled. That's because Ontario is the best province of the best country in the world where article 8 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is respected: "No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour", with a few exceptions, of course, like criminals in prisons!;

• If you do not find a job to be able to pay your rent and survive, you will be evicted and have to live on shelter (if you would find one) or on streets as homeless. If you would try to not obey the order, the sheriff would force you to evict the apartment. That's because, again, Ontario is the best province in the best country in the world where article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is fully implemented and respected: "Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control"!;

• If, eventually, some of you would think that you could get some money begging, keep in mind that there is already a law in place that interdicts you (as a beggar) to stay near important places or buildings and get in touch with rich people. That's because the previous government was going to protect the rich people's money and sight, called in democratic terms "protection against visual pollution", and eventually to not damage the reputation of the best country in the world!;

• One more important thing: be advised that if the "Common Sense Revolution" would continue in this province, you would not be allowed to sleep as homeless on the streets. You would have to go in a shelter, and, if you would refuse to do so, you could end up in a prison. That's because this government is going to eliminate the visual pollution of the streets and protect our freedom, the foundation of a free society !

Therefore, think twice before you are going to leave your wonderful country and come to the province of Ontario thinking that Canada is the best country in the world. If Canada needs more immigrants in order to grow, then it has to put in place some standards for their integration into Canadian society and, most importantly, to respect their human rights. Moreover, if Canada wants to remain among the best countries in the world, then it has to force the Ontario government to change its immigration policy in order to show some respect for newcomers. Until then, you should avoid coming to the province of Ontario. Otherwise, sooner or later, you will deeply regret that you came to Canada and you will rediscover that "there is no place like home!" The real life that you are going to find here is totally different from that one seen on movies and commercials. For more details, please see "Canadian Experience under Harris Government", "Human Rights Harassment and Discrimination" and "Globalization".

P.S. Some good news:

The Premier of the "Far-Rich Common Sense Revolution" has stepped down on April 15, 2002, and it appears that the new Premier elected by the Progressive Conservative Party until the next election (that must be held until June 2004), has adopted a more moderate approach. He spoke public that his parents emigrated from Ukraine, and he was able to accomplish such a great success due to his university education. He acknowledged that every child in this province must have an opportunity for higher education, and education is one of his priorities. He is still convinced that "we are living in the best province in the best country in the world", as it was stated in his Web Page. However, we have to wait and see if he is going to undo the undemocratic laws and policy implemented by the "Common Sense Revolution" in order to regain the status of the best country in the world.

The candidate for the Premier's job who promised to eliminate the visual pollution of the streets with regard to homeless did not get an important position in this transition government that could allow him to pursue his very-far-right policy. Moreover, the Deputy Premier, a moderate conservative lady, has expressed a very clear message that sending the homeless to jail is a very inhumane approach. So, we could expect a more social conscience from this government until the next election, but we do not know yet what would be the policy regarding immigration, especially for new immigrants. Hard to believe, however, that this government would understand that every problem can be eradicated not by treating the effect of the cause, but by eliminating the cause of the effect.

Another good news is that Canada has reached the highest level in annual immigration in nearly a decade, with more than 250,000 newcomers arriving in 2001. The federal government is still not content with this level, and it made repeated promises to boost annual immigration to 300,000, around 1% of Canadian population. Unfortunately, this good news is accompanied by a bad news because almost half of newcomers chose to come in Ontario, more than 140,000 in 2001. According to an immigration report, more than half the immigrants came from the top 10 source countries: China, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Korea, the United States, Iran, Romania, Sri Lanka, and Britain. But, as you could notice, the Ontario government did not welcome them in the manner it should be. It appears that the federal government wants more immigrants, but the Ontario government does not want them. So, the best approach is to wait and see if the federal and Ontario governments would find together a better solution for creating them a friendly environment for their integration into Canadian society.

Unfortunately, for the first time in more than a decade, the quality of life in Canada has slipped in 2003 below the USA, Australia and Belgium as the world's best place to live. The evidence that Canada is going in a wrong direction is the United Nations' Human Development Report for 2003 which ranks Canada as the 8th best country in the world in terms of living conditions, after USA. The report is based on 2001 data. Canada was ranked third in 2002, behind Norway and Sweden. Until 2001, inclusive, Canada was ranked many years in a row as the best country in the world.

Disclaimer: The above information is intended to give you some aspects of how the new Canadian immigrants are treated in the province of Ontario in order to avoid some of the difficulties that you could face. If you are a new Canadian immigrant or you intend to immigrate to Ontario and need more information, I would like to give you a free and friendly advice if I would be informed enough about your problems. The above information must not be used for any other purposes. For immigration purposes, please consult the appropriate legislation.

Last updated: Nov. 12, 2003.