lol uhhh i never implied that's why canadians culture is, i thought it was pretty self explanitory that what i meant is my culture, as a canadian, is so bombarded and determined by business and the media that at this point in time, yes... for alot of canadians those things i said are the only "culture" we have... (less than 5% of

what i think is wrong.. or why i think we lack culture, is because usually culture is based on history and the roots of your ancestors .. right? tradition... what tradition do i have?? i dont have a traditional dance, songs (national anthem doesnt count) religion, etc.....


sorry i did a quick post so the part where it says "less than 5%" is supposed to be less than 5% of people are naturally blonde in north america yet 35% of the population is blonde... says a news article i read 3 years ago.

jo87 i couldnt agree more.. lol women's studies, white heterosexual males are the problem for every issue ... the other day i learned they're even to blame for black males being portrayed as sexist... there are alot of unfair things going on in Canada, like i said before (or in another thread) the government seems to be backtracking rather than obtaining equality

^^ and when i say i agree with you i meant the first post... not the one about excluding elderly from coming to canada. if youre parents were outside of the country you'd understand, and youd also understand how people come to canada

refugee (protection, therefore they would already have social assistance)
sponsorship ... someone needs to sponsor them to come to canada, prove their finances (above a cut off amount) and sign undertaking (that if they cannot provide for them any money taken from the government must be repaid by you

i think three years is pretty short, and it should stay ten, but saying no one over 45 should come here doesn't really make sense.... lots of skilled workers and entrepeneurs bring money into our economy. also that means if you met osmeone later in life, even if they lived in the U.S. ... they shouldnt be allowed in the country??? lol oook

Originally Posted by Bree_21

^^ and when i say i agree with you i meant the first post... not the one about excluding elderly from coming to canada. if youre parents were outside of the country you'd understand, and youd also understand how people come to canada

refugee (protection, therefore they would already have social assistance)
sponsorship ... someone needs to sponsor them to come to canada, prove their finances (above a cut off amount) and sign undertaking (that if they cannot provide for them any money taken from the government must be repaid by you

i think three years is pretty short, and it should stay ten, but saying no one over 45 should come here doesn't really make sense.... lots of skilled workers and entrepeneurs bring money into our economy. also that means if you met osmeone later in life, even if they lived in the U.S. ... they shouldnt be allowed in the country??? lol oook

My problem with bringing older people is that they won't be able to work as long or even find jobs. Even those trained in Canada have trouble finding jobs after 45, thats more the issue. Why hire a 50 year old immigrant who doesn't know english if you can hire a 25 year old. Plus there really isnt a market for low skilled work in Canada anymore that pays well. And to work at Tim Hortons you need to be able to communicate.

My problem with bringing older people is that they won't be able to work as long or even find jobs. Even those trained in Canada have trouble finding jobs after 45, thats more the issue. Why hire a 50 year old immigrant who doesn't know english if you can hire a 25 year old. Plus there really isnt a market for low skilled work in Canada anymore that pays well. And to work at Tim Hortons you need to be able to communicate.

************

There is no mandatory retirement age. Said 45-yr old immigrant can work for over 30 years if said immigrant wants to. I don't see a problem w. that.

Not having a mandatory retirement does not make it any easier to find jobs in old age.

I don't have an issue with immigrants or anyone working for a while then receiving the OAS pension. However, I do so an issue with people receiving pensions after 3 years of living in the country. This means they have not contributed to the taxes that pay for the pensions. Currently you need 10 years in the country before you can receive the OAS. This makes sense as it gives enough for the individual to contribute to the taxes that fund these programs.

That said.. think about this long term. The population overall (not including future immigrants) is aging. When ALL the baby boomers are well into old age, the younger generations are going to have a tough time supporting the economy financially. If people who have not contributed to the pensions themselves are receiving these pensions, it is just going to raise taxes even more.

If they come when they are younger, then fine.. they will contribute then grow old just like the rest of us. There has to be some kind of restriction on this or people might come just to get our free pensions.

Originally Posted by mtam

My problem with bringing older people is that they won't be able to work as long or even find jobs. Even those trained in Canada have trouble finding jobs after 45, thats more the issue. Why hire a 50 year old immigrant who doesn't know english if you can hire a 25 year old. Plus there really isnt a market for low skilled work in Canada anymore that pays well. And to work at Tim Hortons you need to be able to communicate.

************

There is no mandatory retirement age. Said 45-yr old immigrant can work for over 30 years if said immigrant wants to. I don't see a problem w. that.

What are you trying to say here? The older you get the harder it is to find jobs because employer wants someone younger. In manufacturing they will be physically stronger and in white collar jobs you pay younger people less money. Immigrant can't work if there are no jobs available. Thats my point, not sure what you're getting at.

jo you're making the assumption that people over 45 that come to canada can't speak english and are uneducated... helloooo did you not read my post? what about people from the states? what about people bringing alot of money to the economy??? and what about the people that are seeking protection???

people should not be able to access a pension within 3 years of being here, yes i agre... but you're not making creditable points. also, the country does not just let in random people and say hey heres your pension, it is a long and vigerous process. more people who are canadian citizens abuse social and government assistance like welfare than any immigrants. working under the table or just chosing not to work or having a doctor say you're phsically/mentally unable to.

I'm pretty sure pensions that are provided by the government are also not very much money monthly.......

Oh man. The Anthropologist in me is having a field day reading this thread.

Originally Posted by jo87

What are you trying to say here? The older you get the harder it is to find jobs because employer wants someone younger. In manufacturing they will be physically stronger and in white collar jobs you pay younger people less money. Immigrant can't work if there are no jobs available. Thats my point, not sure what you're getting at.

What I'm trying to say is don't write over 45yr olds off. They most likely have a wealth of work and life experience which employers love. They may also have another 30 years of work in them.

Originally Posted by Bree_21

jo you're making the assumption that people over 45 that come to canada can't speak english and are uneducated... helloooo did you not read my post? what about people from the states? what about people bringing alot of money to the economy??? and what about the people that are seeking protection???

people should not be able to access a pension within 3 years of being here, yes i agre... but you're not making creditable points. also, the country does not just let in random people and say hey heres your pension, it is a long and vigerous process. more people who are canadian citizens abuse social and government assistance like welfare than any immigrants. working under the table or just chosing not to work or having a doctor say you're phsically/mentally unable to.

I'm pretty sure pensions that are provided by the government are also not very much money monthly.......

Ummm Helloooo why would you bring people into Canada when we already have a high unemployment rate. Go read a newspaper. Siemens is cutting 550 jobs by next year, what a boommming labour market we have here. Go walk around an industrial area and see how many companies are leasing/selling their spaces. And btw....Nobody wants to hire old people especially OLD people with experience, because those people expect more MONEY. Also in this kind of economy people are less likely to retire meaning LESS job openings for everyone else. I don't know if this can be made any more clear to you.

Originally Posted by jo87

Ummm Helloooo why would you bring people into Canada when we already have a high unemployment rate. Go read a newspaper. Siemens is cutting 550 jobs by next year, what a boommming labour market we have here. Go walk around an industrial area and see how many companies are leasing/selling their spaces. And btw....Nobody wants to hire old people especially OLD people with experience, because those people expect more MONEY. Also in this kind of economy people are less likely to retire meaning LESS job openings for everyone else. I don't know if this can be made any more clear to you.

You think 45 is old?

This thread is hilarious.

Just because an individual is elderly it doesn't mean that they should be denied immigration rights solely on their age. The only reason why my mother immigrated to Canada was because her mother and grandmother were able to come to the country shortly after she arrived. Just because someone is elderly, it doesn't mean that they aren't able to contribute to society. My great grandmother and grandmother ended up raising myself and 5 other grandchildren so that both of my parents could work full-time.

As for the 'minorities are stealing our jobs and spots in grad school', I think it is silly to say that an individual was hired over another simply on the basis of their race. And I've heard the "Oh, you're a visible minority, shouldn't it be easy to get into X" and it made me laugh so hard. I don't get jobs/spots in grad school because I'm a minority, I get them because I'm the most qualified for that position - period.

I think this thread has really drifted from the original topic...

Originally Posted by Jay

I don't get jobs/spots in grad school because I'm a minority, I get them because I'm the most qualified for that position - period.

Perhaps you don't, but don't those opportunities exist?

For instance, on my grad school application it asked if I was a visible minority, and to list 5 'race related difficulties' I've encountered...I left it blank because I'm white (and if I was a visible minority, I'd probably leave it blank anyway, since I'd like to know for certain that I got in by merit and not by any sort of favouritism).

My girlfriend applied to teacher's college about 2 years back and had the same question on her application...the difference is, she is a visible minority. She however, left it blank because she didn't feel like it made a difference and she didn't feel like her race gave her any form of disadvantage (she had an almost 12 CA, I forget what it was exactly).

So you may prefer not to take advantage of these sort of things, but they definitely do exist...and they exist for a reason. It's not just "Oh by the way, just for our records, are you (insert colour/race)?"

Originally Posted by Mowicz

Perhaps you don't, but don't those opportunities exist?

For instance, on my grad school application it asked if I was a visible minority, and to list 5 'race related difficulties' I've encountered...I left it blank because I'm white (and if I was a visible minority, I'd probably leave it blank anyway, since I'd like to know for certain that I got in by merit and not by any sort of favouritism).

My girlfriend applied to teacher's college about 2 years back and had the same question on her application...the difference is, she is a visible minority. She however, left it blank because she didn't feel like it made a difference and she didn't feel like her race gave her any form of disadvantage (she had an almost 12 CA, I forget what it was exactly).

So you may prefer not to take advantage of these sort of things, but they definitely do exist...and they exist for a reason. It's not just "Oh by the way, just for our records, are you (insert colour/race)?"

They didn't ask what my race was. I wouldn't have mentioned it anyways.