Immigration Is a Joke

It is a cheap and easy method for welfare and getting into the US.

Change my mind:

Newly published figures by Statistics Canada revealed that fewer than half of permanent residents now take Canadian citizenship within 10 years, a 40 per cent decline over two decades.

Cue soul-searching among the usual Ottawa think tankers, wondering why the world’s denizens no longer wanted to be on “Team Canada.” Why did so many recent immigrants, arriving in record numbers, refuse the citizenship we hand to them practically for free and after as little as three years’ residence, or 1,095 days spent within the country out of the last five years?

Citizenship and Immigration Canada think it knows the answer: even with some of the world’s least onerous requirements for naturalization, we are still asking too much of would-be Canadians, who for the trouble of filling out a few forms only receive one of the world’s most privileged citizenships, carrying with it the lifetime and hereditary protection of the Canadian state for practically nothing in return.

Last month, in a notice buried in the bowels of the Canada Gazette, the department announced its intention to “modernize” the “Citizenship Program” (for Canadian citizenship is really just another government program, like Medicare or the Canada Child Benefit) by allowing “self-administration of the Oath of Citizenship” “via a secure online solution.”

If CIC gets its way, in a few months, new citizens will be able to swear to be “faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles the Third, King of Canada, His Heirs and Successors,” as well as to “faithfully observe the laws of Canada” by checking a box on an online form.

This will “benefit clients” (because becoming a Canadian citizen is really like getting a new credit card) by “providing greater flexibility in client service and promote inclusivity” (obviously) by “allowing them to take the Oath of Citizenship in a manner that works best and at a time that is most convenient for them during the allocated time frame”.

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Think of the time savings! Back in the less-inclusive dark ages of 2022, you had to go to some nondescript government building, wave a miniature flag, mouth a few words with a few dozen people, and perhaps listen to a homily about the duties of citizenship given by a citizenship judge, typically a failed political hack appointed to the $121,700/year job by way of consolation prize.

But, on second thought, that wasn’t very inclusive nor flexible. Maybe you needed to buy some groceries during that time; or maybe you finally managed to get, rara avis, an appointment with a family doctor; or maybe you are abroad and cannot be bothered to fly back to complete the formalities.

Thanks to the miracles of modern technology, those inconveniences will be a thing of the past. Log in to a web portal, click on a few buttons, and voilà! You are now a Canadian citizen. Your passport and voter registration will be in the mail shortly. Then you can go back scrolling Twitter where, at this rate, you will soon see ads begging you to become a citizen. Please, just join Team Canada.

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Soon after becoming prime minister, Justin Trudeau bragged to The New York Times that Canada is the world’s “first postnational state,” where “there is no core identity, no mainstream,” merely “shared values” (except in Quebec, but that’s too obvious for words.)

Conversely, “a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian,” as Mr Trudeau said when defending the Canadianess of convicted terrorists, who certainly had a core identity and did not share whatever values the prime minister thinks are what makes a Canadian. But given the choice between checking the box and statelessness, they would probably check the box, too.

Who is a Canadian exactly? Someone who adheres to a set of buzzwords masquerading as national values? Someone who happens to pay taxes and use public services on a piece of land in northern America now tainted with genocide? And if they live abroad, not even that? Someone who checked a box on a website swearing allegiance to a monarch whose coronation the Canadian government is too embarrassed to celebrate?

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With this proposal, Canada has now perfected the idea of citizenship as a commodity. Being Canadian doesn’t have to be your only, or even primary, or even top three national identities. Come to study, work, or invest, and we’ll give you a passport as soon as we can. It will help you skip queues at most airports and, if you so wish, use our world-class healthcare system from birth to MAiD.

Given how seriously we take our citizenship, the wonder is not that so many new immigrants refuse it when we offer it to them, but that so many accept it in the first place.

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DOCUMENTS: Thousands of foreigners flagged as security risks received immigration dep't permits anyway, auditors disclose. https://t.co/keyB4ElVVr #cdnpoli @SeanFraserMP @CitImmCanada @CanBorder pic.twitter.com/pBTfCsDmB5

— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) March 3, 2023

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Look how well we vet everyone!:

Police have arrested five people and have issued arrest warrants for two others following a months-long investigation into an alleged human trafficking ring that they say was enticing Mexican nationals into Canada with promises of a “better life” and then exploiting them for their labour.

The investigation, dubbed “Project Norte,” began in November after York Regional Police received a complaint from a single Mexican national about his work and living conditions in Canada.

Det. Sgt. Gary McBride said that officers then spoke with other Mexican nationals who also indicated that they had been exploited by an organized crime group operating in the Greater Toronto Area.