Quote:
Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington
I didn't mean luck in that sense.........I meant that you are lucky to be living where you live.......that you have resources that are protected(by sensible legislation).
I don't suppose you have every tom, dick and harry knocking at your door to let them in and provide them with everything their own country cannot......I guess you don't have people there who hate your guts,despise the country they have adopted, but who will take every benefit that is on offer...try to blow you up...... and we can't deport them....because of simpering EU rules.
We had a wonderful stock of gold reserves.....some chancellor or other was short sighted enough to think that we didn't need a buffer against hard times.....he thought that the days of boom and bust were over and could never come back.
So yes.......please consider yourself lucky. Because if you ar buffered against the current crisis...you are lucky.
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The immigration thinggy: Obviously lots of folks in other countries would love to come to Canada. But there are stringent rules, and a points system. We usually take only those with the skills that we need. At the moment, people working in the health care field are needed. Skilled trades also. And the present government is on a rampage to find those who are here illegally and ship them off home. There is a hot line system by which citizens can report those whom they suspect are in the country illegally. Quebec has its own set of rules ... mainly to do with the French language. And Quebec also demands that immigrants "fit in", in the sense that they have to respect democracy, freedom of speech, separation of church and state, equality of opportunity, and equality between the sexes ... this last one upsets some muslims, but screw 'em if they can't take a joke.
However, we are generous when it comes to aid. Canadian warships and troops were very quick to respond in the recent Haitian earthquake crisis. The immigration rules were relaxed for victims, esp. the ones that had family already in Canada. For reasons that are obvious, most of them went to Quebec ... but you can bet your bottom dollar that it won't be long before they are eating poutine and cheering for the Montreal Canadiens. Apart from the First Nations, we are a country of immigrants. However, and it was admittedly just after the winter olympics, over 80% of folks polled considered themselves "Proud Canadians". And in la belle province, the figure was over 60%
And we have lots of gold ... most of it still in the ground though
