A reader sent this to me, noting the sanitization of language. Though, “sanitization” doesn’t really do this Toronto Star item justice – a dripping propoganda piece by “immigration and diversity(?)” ‘reporter’ Nicholas Keung. The ‘scare’ words are worth a drinking game of their own – why, there’s even a dead baby!
Hope fades…
Plan by the Liberal government to legalize up to 200,000 workers could die
200,000 workers could die…
A plan to legalize thousands of undocumented workers in Canada’s underground economy would be in jeopardy if the Liberal minority government falls as a result of a non- confidence vote on Thursday, says Immigration Minister Joe Volpe. The Toronto MP has already signed off on a final draft of the long-anticipated “regularization” plan, which is now “in the queue” for the cabinet’s feedback and approval – provided there isn’t an election call.
The issue leaves in limbo many of the 100,000 to 200,000 undocumented workers living under the radar in Canada, as well as employers facing shortages of the skills some of them bring.
Initiating the “skill watch” … at this point in the article, Canada has a shortage of skilled labour….
“We’re bringing things closer to a point where some decisions could be made.” Juan Sierra, a construction-union outreach worker, said he has fielded calls from hundreds of undocumented construction workers since Conservative leader Stephen Harper vowed publicly to bring down the Liberal government in mid-April.
Hundreds. Panic in the streets.
They’re worried the plan to legalize their status in Canada will go down, too. “They are really freaked out by the prospect,” said Sierra, of the Labourers’ International Union of North America. “Their hopes were so high because Volpe has promised that this is a priority for the government. If nothing happens, their hopes would be destroyed totally.”
(Harper = “Go down. Worried. Freaked out. Destroyed”. Volpe = “Hope”)
Vilma Filici, president of the Canadian Hispanic Congress […] fears a Conservative government could dump the plan as, he says, the Tories tend to view undocumented workers more as security risks than as potentially valuable contributors to Canadian society.
(Fear Conservatives. Note that the security risk is a “Tory view”, compared to the “non-partisan” description of illegal immigrant as “valuable contributor”.)
Daniel Castro, his wife and their two teenage sons from Argentina are among those living in limbo. The family arrived here in early 2001 and had their refugee claim rejected last May. Together they earn $6,000 a month, which they take in cash. Savings are stashed under a mattress because they’re afraid to keep a bank account. They don’t get to know neighbours because they move every few months to keep ahead of immigration authorities.
That’s some kind of limbo. Any readers here from Canada Revenue Agency who can fill us in on what a family of four has to earn to take home $72,000 a year?
When eldest son Walter was robbed of his pay at gunpoint near Jane St. and Lawrence Ave. W. last summer, the 18-year-old didn’t dare go to the police. “Our life is between work and home, but we are grateful when we see everyone home in one piece at the end of the day,” Daniel Castro said. “We pray the family will still be together the next day.” Their lives are typical among those in the underground economy, who do jobs Canadians often consider undesirable, particularly in construction, the hotel and hospitality industries, domestic help and general labour. They don’t qualify for social assistance or employment insurance, and if they get sick they pay for care out of pocket.
Gone are those paragraphs of the past when illegals were sought after “skilled workers” .
They literally live their lives out of a suitcase …
Q: How many undocumented workers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A: Don’t be stupid. They’re too tiny to lift a lightbulb.
Authorities sometimes sweep down on construction sites, where undocumented workers help fill a shortage of skilled workers.
Skilled, unskilled, skillled… my head is spinning….
A string of broken promises by Volpe’s predecessors, who never seemed to stick around long enough to deal with the issue…
“We just want to live a normal life, but it appears that Canada thinks that it is easier to keep people like us illegally here in the country than to deal with the issue head-on,” said Luis Vargas, 43, who came from Mendoza, Argentina, in 1988. “Every time you have a new minister, they always say they will help. But all they want is some cheap labour for the economy. They want to give us no benefit.”
But wait! It gets better – this skilled unskilled undocumented worker who lives in a suitcase, keeps thousands under his mattress and fears for his life, owns a construction company;
In fact, Vargas, a failed refugee claimant, has been a successful construction subcontractor in Canada since his arrival and hired three others: one undocumented and two with refugee claims still active. His company makes about $150,000 a year. …
What is the number for Revenue Canada, anyway? Ready now… here it comes ….
All 29-year-old Martin wants is a better future for his 2-month-old daughter. Her birth followed a miscarriage that, in addition to the emotional toll, brought a hospital bill of $4,500.
A dead baby and no medicare! Holy crap! Does it get any better than this for a Star “reporter”?
Martin, another Argentine afraid to be identified, said undocumented migrants are not “jumping the queue” in the usual sense, since most would never qualify under the immigration points system, geared as it is toward immigrants with higher skills or money to invest.
All of you teeming, law-abiding, queue respecting masses, yearning to be taxed…
You’re going about things all the wrong way. Why are you patiently awaiting your legal fate under Canadian immigration policy, when you could just flush your passport down the airplane toilet and begin a new life in Canada as an skilled unskilled Liberal voter?
Offer ends soon.
Aside from the not-relevent comment that I’ve never lived that well:
$6000 a month? Moving every few months? I have to suspect they’re not working at Walmart. I think illicit substances would be closer to the mark.
Either that or they’re government employees and they’re liberals (check their trash for envelopes).
“Offer ends soon” – Kate, you are soooo naive 🙂
The offer never ends. The amnesty never comes. The Liberals make an offer, get elected, renege, make an offer, get elected, renege, rinse and repeat. Sing it with me, now:
“It’s the Circle
The Circle of Life…”
I was sort of alluding to that…
Damn…………….. no comment… waiting for Thursday…
Also impressed by the 300 tractors that showed up on the hill and not one mention of anything else. Guess were getting the idea of where were going…. :-\
Quite a few are probably part of the underground sex trade. That would explain the large sums of money.
Off course, making them legal would have them increase their fees. Liberal Cabinent Ministers would have to pay quite a bit more. I don’t think they thought this one out. 😉
Photos up of Librano$ hanging (in effigy) at:
http://www.autonomoussource.com
First who reports sighting of these photos in MSM, please advise.
I read that article this morning. My take was that the motive for the article lay in the fact the Red Star is back in full elect-a-Liberal mode.
Very interesting that the Star would make West-baiter (“you are all a bunch of KKK”) Volpe, the central Libranos politico for the article. The Star’s take must be, that with a little prodding Ontario and the immigrants will vote Liberal, no matter how much the Libranos are shown to have stolen from the rest of us and no matter how many federal government institutions the Libranos are shown to havie corrupted.
Unfortunately, the Star might be right.
Personally, though, as a Torontonian, I am afraid of losing the West if we elect another Liberal government which is likely simply carry on in the Libranos’ corrupt ways. Moreover, I believe whether Libranos or Conservatives form the government will have little effect on whether Quebec leaves or stays, no matter how many times the Libranos claim the contrary.
Furthermore, the consequences of losing the West to Ontario are to my mind more serious than losing Quebec. Will my fellow Ontarians and the immigrants see this; however, I doubt it. Too many of them believe the Red Star and the CBC
“Their lives are typical among those in the underground economy, who do jobs Canadians often consider undesirable, particularly in construction, the hotel and hospitality industries, domestic help and general labour.”
So it’s typical for those in the UG economy to make 72 grand a year for a family of four? I think they just listed 80% of the jobs in B.C. and Alberta. Don’t tell me that Canadians don’t want to be in construction! Well, then there must be some other reason why people are moving to Alberta other than construction jobs.
I’m sorry, but I can’t resist-
Blazing Saddles (1974):
When the townspeople soon realize that he’s a “ni-,” they threaten to shoot him. To divert the mob, hold them at bay and escape, Bart holds a gun to his own neck, shouting:
“Hold it. The next man makes a move, the nigger gets it…Drop it! For I swear, I’ll blow this nigger’s head all over this town. Oh Lordy-lord, he’s desperate. Do what he say. Do what he say.”
When he successfully holds the lynch mob at bay and is allowed safe passage out of harm’s way, he marvels at his accomplishment and congratulates himself for bluffing them: “Oh baby, you are so talented, and they are so dumb.”
Note how the article says they are not eligible for health care, social assistance etc. No; that’s not quite the full story. The real problem is that, unlike all other citizens, these people pay NO TAXES. Their gross pay and their net pay are the same. We others see our pay deductions take up to half our gross pay. That’s why we are ‘eligible’ for these social benefits. Because we have already paid for them, over and over and over again, via our tax deductions.
The whole family is working; they pay no taxes, no unemployment, no pension deductions. That’s why they have this income. But, they don’t go without medical care; they pay cash for it…and their cost is probably cheaper than our deductions of many, many years.
Hey Kate, any reason why all these Argentinians are coming to Canada. Beautiful country, great climate, lots of resources, a diverse well educated population.
JLD … speaking as an Albertan, I do not want to leave Canada, and I know most Albertans don’t. We just need a reason to stay. But you’re right, if Ontario goes liberal again it’s going to get pretty tense here.
Saskamoose, you can probaby take comfort in knowing we won’t be first. There already lining up at the PQ office….
Like ET say’s, there taking a lot of your paycheck now plus all the additional taxes on everything purchased, what figure pushes you over the line.
In 2004, a single income earner in Ontario making $104,000 would pay about $32,000 in tax (leaving an after tax income of $72,000)
If each of the 4 people declared $18,000 each, then their total income tax bill will $8,800
I’ve always been amazed (…or more appropriately shocked, then annoyed) how a single earner family of 4, gets to pay 4 times the income tax as another family, everyone working, making the same total family income.
As info, the average Canadian family after tax income is only around $60,000
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/050512/d050512a.htm
Sorry, but I’m not feeling very sorry for these people.
Warren:
That may be the number for Ontario, but it decreases significantly in other provinces. In AB for example, the average single persons take home pay is around $38K/year. For a family it’s around $72K or something close to that number.
The Cdn Taxpayers Assoc calculated the average Cdn loses 49% or $36.5K on a salary of $72K per year in taxes.
I’d say this points out also how absolutely dreadful the immigration dept is in keeping track of illegal aliens… pretty pitiful if you ask me.
Rob … as bad as the tax grab situation is, that’s not what is pushing me over the line. What’s pushing me over the line is the arrogant attitude of the liberals as they engage in criminal, fraudulant use of my tax dollars. That and the fact that so many Ontario voters don’t give a damn. They’d rather vote for organized crime that vote for an “angry, scary westerner with some kind of vague but never defined hidden agenda” because the state controlled media in this country tell them to. I’m a member of the media, and I’m ashamed. That’s what is pushing me over the line.
Aizlynne, your numbers seem more realistic. I looked at Warren’s and went huh?
“… speaking as an Albertan, I do not want to leave Canada, and I know most Albertans don’t.”
Speaking as an Albertan with separatist leanings, I don’t want to separate from Canada, I just want to separate from Ottawa (and Toronto).
“… speaking as an Albertan, I do not want to leave Canada, and I know most Albertans don’t.”
Speaking as an Albertan, I don’t condone corruption and scandal, and I know most Albertans don’t. If it doesn’t heal, cut it off.
Speaking as an albertan Im ready to separate,what would we be losing but chaff.
When I said “Speaking as an Albertan, I don’t want to leave Canada” I didn’t mean I wasn’t ready to leave. I just meant, as I stated, that I don’t want to. I have friends all over this country, I love many different parts of Canada, and I’m proud of our heritage. That’s why I don’t want to leave. But the status quo from the past 30 or 40 years, and particularly the last 10 to 15 years, can no longer be countenanced. So sadly, I am ready to leave if the liberals are returned to power. When I said I’m looking for a reason to stay, that would be a Conservative government with a chance to make some meaningful changes. I am not optimistic this will happen though … hopeful, but not opptimistic. It’s a sad day in Muddville.
And as a British Columbian, (although the geography does not really matter), I consider it imperative to leave Bananada if Ontarians choose to support this blatantly corrupt Party.
Just to eliminate confusion, the numbers I gave were for combined Federal / Provincial Income Taxes only.
(I used a tax calculator from http://www.timcestnick.com, a demo version – up to $60,000 income – is available online, and lets you calculate taxes by province)
Aizlynne, you are correct Albera does have lower combined income taxes in some cases, but not always. Using the calculator above, one person earning $72,000 of employment income will pay MORE Fed/Prov tax in Alberta ($18,304) vs Ontario ($18,084).
It sounded like these people were in Ontario, so I used those rates.
The 50% tax numbers listed for the Cdn Taxpayers Assoc include all taxes at all levels of government (income, plus sales, plus city taxes, plus gas, etc)
While it is possible to avoid income taxes (underground economy), but it pretty hard to avoid all of the other taxes, esp sales taxes.
Nice to see others echoing my sentiments.
As a born and raised Albertan and Canadian, I don’t “want” to see it come to this. However, it has. As I wrote elsewhere, last May Alberta separatists were pretty much fringe. The day that lying unelected scum got some legitimacy was the day Alberta Separatism started being a legitimate concept.
If they get back in, I will do everything in my power to change the map. Everything.
Is all this seperation talk just talk? If I recall correctly the seperatists in Alberta got a very small share of the vote in the last provincial election.
“significantly in other provinces. In AB for example, the average single persons take home pay is around $38K/year. For a family it’s around $72K or something close to that number.”
38k take home? family 72k??l
Where do you live……Fort Mc Murray???
Most Albertans are NOT at that take home. Course I live in a rural area with semi-skilled or unskilled jobs. But from the look of the vehicles and the older housing even in the cities, I ‘d say Albertans ON AVERAGE are no better off than in Southern ontario. Outside of the cities hunting is still a prime source of FOOD!! And Gargens if your smart..I’m Not!
Don’t forget that of blue collar factory type workers out number the college or university trained workers in any labour pool.
Why is it that Immigration “knows” we have 100-200,000 illegal immigrants and have done nothing about it? Why, if they don’t qualify under our immigration system, should we grant them “asylum”?
Frankly, 72k for a family of 4 (with at least one child/teen working) isn’t a whole lot; they’re possibly doing laborer work and/or cleaning office buildings (I can’t be the only one that has garbage stickers with 5-6 languages on them). For the family mentioned that’s been here for 10+ years, there’s probably an argument (somewhere).
With respect to the “skilled” construction workers, most companies requiring overseas help in that area are currently negotiating with Immigration Canada to bring them in on ‘fast track’ visas. (I’m in the industry, I know.) So if we have 100-200,000 illegal workers, they certainly aren’t on union jobs (no SIN, no union dues, no job) and the companies hiring them are pretty low on the radar.
If I were to go to the States & work illegally, I would get kicked out. If I were to go to the UK and work illegally, I would get kicked out.
What the reporter ‘neglected’ to mention is that by paying the illegal immigrants cash, the employer is avoiding paying EI, CPP, WCB (these three total anywhere from 8-12% depending on the job…WCB) and the new, improved Ont Health Care Tax, including his/her portion, not to mention any kind of benefits like stat holidays (4%), vacation pay (4%)… Not to mention not remitting the appropriate income taxes for said employees (and guess who is on the hook for the taxes not paid/remitted? that would be the employer.) Does the employer expect “amnesty” as well? Does he really think Revenue Canada is going to give him “asylum” for all those years of unpaid taxes? In fact, this reporter is withholding info from Revenue Canada “as we speak” so probably could be held partially to blame. Pity.
With respect to AB separatism, I’ll cry at the polls, but I’ll vote for it. I’d prefer Canada remain intact, but if Paul & his “team” get re-elected I want no part of it. I’ll quit my job & go work for the separatist party. (Maybe illegally, it would be so much cheaper for those involved. I bet Alberta would grant me amnesty if I just repaid the 10% provincial tax after-the-fact.)
If there are ONLY 200,000 illegals in Canada, I would be truly surprised. I personally know OF dozens, and with the relatively small circle of acquaintances I have it’s not difficult to extrapolate to a much larger number than 200,000.
True story. Online friend of mine in London, England decided she wanted to immigrate. She simply got on a plane and flew here, then filled in the forms. There is a fairly strict policy on immigration from Europe now, so she was turned down. That was 4 years ago. She’s still here… living, working, now raising a child. That’s one.
Of maybe forty business owners I know, easily half of them have someone (or several) working under the table. That’s not good. And I’m talking about all over Canada, not just here. I know of people skipping GST, skipping income tax, skipping car insurance and almost everything else you can name. Some of them have even been investigated and not charged.
That’s the Canadian way. Payment = cash in an envelope. I’d really like to see the libs prosecute someone who gets paid that way.
With over a million unemployed the obvious solution to a labour shortage is to bring in more workers.
That’s why for decades productivity and real incomes have flatlined they are soooo good for the economy.
Plus theres the house prices in toronto how much more affordable would they be if the 200,000 left the country?