Immigrants to Canada are increasingly leaving this country for opportunities elsewhere, according to a study(opens in a new tab) conducted by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the Conference Board of Canada.
In fact, the number of immigrants who left Canada rose by 31 per cent above the national average(opens in a new tab) in 2017 and 2019.
According to the study, factors that influence onward migration include economic integration, a sense of belonging, racism, homeownership, or a lack thereof, and economic opportunities in other countries, the report revealed.
I wonder who is expected to fix the country if everyone hops from whatever place they are for the next one as long as their personal income gets a little more money. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for personal progress and it’s pursuit. But I also realize personal progress is anchored on collective stability. There is something off with someone who hops and ditches a place based on assumed better outcomes round the bend.
Or maybe many immigrants feel lied to about how Canada was advertised to them versus the reality of the cost of living and stagnant wages.
I have some sympathy for that point if view, but it’s not that simple.
Nobody, not even the most libertarian, wants to find themselves holding the shitty end of the stick, yet our political and economic systems are operating in ways that leave only the shitty end to hang on to.
We vote for improvement and get either the status quo or degradation.
We’re told to vote with our wallets, but that just means bigger wallets get more votes. And if it looks like maybe the collective size of wallets is getting too big, corporations, aided and abetted by the political class, just arrange for fewer choices and smaller wallets.
Unsurprisingly, those with the will are starting to vote with their feet. People are starting to walk away from bad situations in search of better ones. Whether those better situations exist may be an open question, but they are not being any more selfish than those who insist on skimming the cream off for themselves.
It’s actually an easy fix, if only the political class realized it. Tax every dollar sent out of the country at 90%. Tax every stock buyback at 90%. Tax every corporate cash reserve at 80%. Limit total compensation of each executive to 10 times that of their lowest paid employee. For essential goods and services, tax away any rise in profits beyond, say, 1% above inflation. No person or company is allowed to own more than 1 rental property with multifamily units treated as one property.
Take all that tax money and pour it into public health care, starting with free tuition to any health related education. Foreign students accessing this free education must practice in Canada for 5 years after graduation or be returning to work in public health initiatives. And fix the definition of health care so that it means what it says (dental, vision, hearing, mental, vaccines, and prescriptions are all health care that is uncovered or poorly covered).
Any money left over from that can be spent on actual environmental protection and remediation, starting with the climate crisis.
If any of that needs to be adjusted based on actual negative outcomes, then it will be adjusted, but the political class has to start by showing the general public that they mean business.
And if that sounds like I’ve got brain damage, that’s fine. What we’re doing is obviously not working out, so continuing the path we’re on is also a sign of brain damage. At least I’m pointing out a different path.