Courtesy: Facebook/HeroOrTraitor Chris Alexander - Hero or Traitor? The new federal Immigration Minister recently announced that Canada took in 50,000 parents/grandparents of immigrants in the two-year period 2012 to 2013 and is scheduled to take another 20,000 in 2013. An economist recently estimated that these 70,000 individuals alone in 2013-14 will cost the Canadian taxpayers 84.0 Billion dollars. Thats money that could be earmarked for Canadian education, health, and infrastructure. The Old Age Security (OAS) is paid on a scale of 10 to 40, meaning that if a person has lived in Canada for 40 years they will get the full OAS (about $6500 per year), but if they have lived only 10 years in Canada they will receive only 1/4 of the OAS. Seniors who have lived in Canada less than 10 years are not eligible for OAS. The income tested Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is fully available to those who qualify for the minimum OAS, which can be claimed after 10 years residence in Canada. This means that Canada is transferring massive amounts of money to elderly immigrants who have never contributed to the country, and that the restriction on the OAS is meaningless in most cases because the GIS will make up the shortfall (the exception is [the relatively few] wealthy immigrant seniors who will receive the OAS but not a GIS because their income will be above the threshold). In addition to the Guaranteed Income Supplement, we are paying for health care expenses on the provincial level. It is estimated that we pay, on average, about $300,000 for each elderly parent sponsored (assuming a 20 year lifespan in Canada as a senior). If a husband and wife sponsor all of their parents, this will amount to $1,200,000 per family for people who have never contributed. The other issue with bringing over parents/grandparents is that the vast majority do not speak English or French and tend to slow down the integration process of the children and grandchildren into Canadian society. Is Minister Chris Alexander appeasing the ethnic immigrant vote despite the significant cost to our tax system over the long run? Or is he simply supporting new Canadian families by enabling the whole family to reside in one location and create more societal harmony? Who is Canadian Federal Minister Chris Alexander truly serving? He can be reached at: [email protected]
Posted on: Thu, 28 Nov 2013 03:48:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015