Kip Powick Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Letter to the editor from the Toronto Star Re : New refugee plan eyes small cities article QUOTE…..I think the effort to resettle refugees in smaller communities is an excellent effort. These refugees may find it easier to integrate into a smaller community especially if accompanied by some of their compatriots. I also found it interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00 and each can also get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2,470.00 . This compares very well to a single pensioner who after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for 40 to 50 years can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement. Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees! Lets send this to all Canadians, so we can all be appalled and maybe we can get the refugees cut back to $1,012.00 and the pensioners up to $2,470.00 and enjoy some of the money we are forced to submit to the Government over 40 or 50 years!!…UNQUOTE Perhaps I should go away………. and come back and apply as a refugee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Get youself a small raft and paddle off the coast of Newfoundland then just drift ashore and pretend to not speak english....After that just hold out your hand. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moon The Loon Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Difficult topic to address objectively: So much of government aid and organized charity organiation money goes directly into the pockets of the local governments. Whether its the oil money going to the PM of Ivory Coast in the form of a bribe, or the oil money going to the President (for life) of Gabon. Incidentally, the president of Gabon owns more property (land) in Paris than any non-France resident. Then there's the animals..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 The problem with small cities is that they also have a small job base and of course their infrastructure for ESL etc. is very poor. I have been following the case of some refugees that have chosen YXY as their home. Here is the latest from the CBC Refugees heading north to Yukon WebPosted Aug 9 2004 08:48 AM CDT WHITEHORSE - Immigration workers say they've been caught off guard by requests from almost 50 refugees who have settled in Whitehorse over the summer. They say they can't explain why the refugees, mostly Spanish-speaking claimants in Toronto, have decided to make the Klondike their home. Agnes Fortune started work at the Settlement Information Services office in June, and has helped a dozen refugee claimants from Mexico, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Argentina. And she's spoken to others who are on the way. "Just on Monday I get a message on the answering machine that he's trying to come over here and he wanted to know how he could transfer his files from Ontario to the Yukon," she says. "The trend continues, the influx of refugee claimants from Ontario coming to Whitehorse." Fortune is at a loss to say why they're heading North. So far, she's helped claimants obtain drivers licences and set up their new homes. Some await hearings with the Immigration and Refugee Board. Fortune says the adults want to improve their English and find jobs in their fields. Brent Slobodin of Yukon Advanced Education says 48 refugee claimants are now in Whitehorse, including 18 school-age children. "The Department of Education is confident that it will be able to accommodate the children of the refugee claimants if need be," he says. For the adults, Slobodin says governments don't pay for English lessons for refugee claimants anywhere in Canada. Fortune is calling for volunteer language tutors to fill the gap. Yukon to ask feds for help supporting refugees WebPosted Sep 16 2004 08:25 AM MDT WHITEHORSE - The Yukon government says refugee claimants are putting a strain on the territory's Social Assistance program. Social Services Minister Peter Jenkins says the refugees helped boost Yukon welfare payments to record numbers this summer. Jenkins says health and welfare records show 52 refugee claimants currently in the Yukon. He says the federal government covers their health care costs, but the Yukon government must cover social assistance costs. "Currently of the 52, all but one is receiving social assistance from the department, but it could be very, very costly," he says. Jenkins says Yukon welfare payouts are up by $1.2 million this summer over last. He says not all that money can be accounted for by the refugee influx, but he questions the motives of some of the new Yukoners. "You know the Yukon is a great place, anybody with appropriate skills, we would welcome them, but some seem to have come here for reasons other than gainful employment," he says. Jenkins says he's been told about 25 more refugee claimants who are coming to the Yukon over the next few weeks. He says he plans to ask the federal government to reimburse the Yukon for some of the increased costs. Refugees not mooching off dole, supporters say WebPosted Sep 20 2004 08:55 AM MDT WHITEHORSE - Yukoners supporting refugee claimants in Whitehorse say government criticisms are unfair. They say the Spanish-speaking immigrants are looking for work wherever they can find it. Peter Jenkins has raised concerns that too many refugees are on the government dole Social Services Minister Peter Jenkins has raised concerns, claiming all but one of the 52 refugee claimants are on social assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Jenkins says health and welfare records show 52 refugee claimants currently in the Yukon. "Currently of the 52, all but one is receiving social assistance from the department, but it could be very, very costly," he says. Only 52????????????????? Hell, living in the GTA, I probably have that many on my block. Iceman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W5 Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Are these "Economic Refugees" , illegal immigrants or immigration queue jumpers; because I didn't know that there was any strife going on in Costa Rica (for example). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conehead Posted September 23, 2004 Share Posted September 23, 2004 In my small city in Ontario (125,000), there are more and more refugees showing up every year. 10 years ago you wouldn't spot any on the streets. Now you see lots. The YMCA runs extensive ESL courses for them, and offers them other help too. Not sure where they get their funding. I admire these people for trying to improve their lives. Try and imagine what life would be like in some of their home-lands. And I don't begrudge the government spending some of my tax-dollars on trying to help them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flapsforty Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I don't know. My parents were refugees and the gov't gave them squat. The church gave them forty bucks and a list of people who would let them live in their garage for house cleaning services until they got jobs. They became Canadians and have contributed to Canadas society and helped with the tax burden for 50 years now. Retired they get the minimum in Gov't pension. Why should a refugee now recieve that much money when single mothers , Canada pensioners, and our own disadvataged get less? Seems skewed to me. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I continue to be puzzled re the movement of the refugees from where they landed in Canada up to the Yukon. Not exactly cheap to get there and I wonder where the idea to do so came from??? So far the news has not been forthcoming on their origins and what type of refugee claims they are making. It is however clear that the smaller communities are not set up to cope with refugees and this illustrates the need for a central processing center coupled with a def. plan of action re the processing of refugee claims + of course a plan re intergration into Canadian Society if they are deemed wothy of being allowed to stay in Canada. Anthing less, is unfair to all. Perhaps someone from YXY can fill us in on details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted September 24, 2004 Author Share Posted September 24, 2004 I continue to be puzzled re the movement of the refugees from where they landed in Canada up to the Yukon. Not exactly cheap to get there and I wonder where the idea to do so came from??? So far the news has not been forthcoming on their origins and what type of refugee claims they are making. Here is an article for you..... Up North They Go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Thanks Kip..... Interesting article esp. the one who is a Refugee from "Domestic Violence".... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rattler Posted September 25, 2004 Share Posted September 25, 2004 Seems that the attraction is both Jobs and perhaps a delay in any proceedings.. Jobs, case delays attracting refugees north WebPosted Aug 11 2004 08:46 AM CDT WHITEHORSE - A Toronto immigration worker says Yukoners can expect to see more refugee claimants driving North before winter sets in. Javier Cervantes and his family moved to Whitehorse this spring looking for work and a safe place to live More than 50 claimants have left Ontario recently for Whitehorse, puzzling the few immigration service workers in the northern capital. FROM AUG. 10, 2004 : Refugee finds safe haven in territorial capital But Francisco Rico-Martinez, who's with the FCJ Hamilton House Refugee Project, says he saw it coming. He's predicting more Spanish-speaking refugee claimants will be heading North. Rico-Martinez says a couple from Argentina moved to Whitehorse earlier this year after hearing there were lots of jobs. "Now this couple were back in St. Catherine's two months ago basically telling everybody the situation in Whitehorse was great, you know, and there is a lot of jobs," he says. "And also this couple were saying everything is delayed if they transferred their case to Whitehorse, the immigration case, no?" Some recent Yukon arrivals have not had their refugee cases heard yet. Many are working full-time. And they're searching for affordable language lessons, and lawyers to handle their refugee cases. Rico-Martinez says others whose claims were rejected believe Ottawa won't deport them from remote areas. He says that's not the case. He says they may try to stay in Canada on compassionate and humanitarian grounds. "In my opinion a lot of people they have really lost hope to stay here in Ontario," he says. Rico-Martinez says Canada is turning away more and more refugee claimants. Less than 40 per cent of claims are accepted now, compared to 10 years ago, when Canada accepted 70 per cent of all claims. "The process after Sept. 11 is becoming harder for people to be accepted in Canada for different reasons," he says. "The perception is an anti-immigration approach as well from some authorities." So the familiar story is coming back with a twist: southerners seeking peace, adventure and opportunity in the land of the midnight sun. Only in this case, it's people who already have fled their homes in Latin America. Most recent article... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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