First thing to Do after becoming Citizen

[BLT]

I realized that there is a bit of too much generalization in my post, so it is edited.
Any country that has a large market for exotic products that are imports, is a sight for corruption however. There are the "elites" and the "crowd" in China and they are two very different groups. The elites held political and media power in their hands and they are the ones who is consuming the exotic imports, sending their children to western developed countries and moving big money aboard. Who produces the wealth? The crowd. Who controls the wealth and the politics? Elites. Why are the elites moving stuff out of the county but not enjoying their lives as Kings and Queens there? The politics went bad and they are losing their political wars.

This elites-and-crowds stuff happened everywhere in the world. And the strongest elite in the world who has the strongest control to the media, is the USA. Still fresh in our mind how the media was bluffing about WMD in Iraq to the crowds, to justify the elite's military adventure. After many women and children killed, turns out there is no single WMD. Now look at how the medias are being silent to drive away the topic, so the crowds would forget about it. And if you listen to what Snowden said, the elite has been spying on the crowds for every single day, every single call, every single email, etc. Not only the crowds, but they have been spying on the whole world too included their allies. Then look at how the media covered this for them, and drove away the topic by talking about other countries are spying on them. The suspect becomes the victim.
And about China, yes corruption is happening there, just like anywhere in the world. But to say that every Chinese who is rich, must be the part of the ruling party and got the money from corruption; is a bit of wild accusation. I have many friends from China in the Vancouver super cars club, most of them are businessman and have nothing to do with the government. They even tell me that rich government officials from China will stay low profile and tend to pretend as ordinary guy to hide their wealth, so those you see around showing off are mostly not linked to corruption.

 

[BLT]

Actually it is the educated people (who are not rich) who immigrate (for better opportunity). The rich will prefer to stay in their own countries since they are already successful where they are and comfortable culturally. The wealthy who do really immigrate are ones who feel their home country is not fully stable (whether economically, politically, war, etc) and seek security in what they consider "stable" countries. Reminds me of the late 80s and early 90's when many wealthy Hong Kongers were moving in mass and buying property in NYC before the handover to China because of fears of economic instability. It turned out the handover went pretty smoothly and some of them moved back to Hong Kong. My dad loved the Hong Kongers because he own a small building in NYC and the HK newcomers bought everything around him driving up his property value.

When you are rich, you always take precaution steps. Why rich people immigrate? Because they want to have second option (second house, second status, etc. Maybe second wife ). But keep in mind, they never immigrate their businesses.
Just like the Hongkongers. They move back, but they don't let go their status. Now they become passport of convenience.

 

[gzmask]

This elites-and-crowds stuff happened everywhere in the world. And the strongest elite in the world who has the strongest control to the media, is the USA. Still fresh in our mind how the media was bluffing about WMD in Iraq to the crowds, to justify the elite's military adventure. After many women and children killed, turns out there is no single WMD. Now look at how the medias are being silent to drive away the topic, so the crowds would forget about it. And if you listen to what Snowden said, the elite has been spying on the crowds for every single day, every single call, every single email, etc. Not only the crowds, but they have been spying on the whole world too included their allies. Then look at how the media covered this for them, and drove away the topic by talking about other countries are spying on them. The suspect becomes the victim.
And about China, yes corruption is happening there, just like anywhere in the world. But to say that every Chinese who is rich, must be the part of the ruling party and got the money from corruption; is a bit of wild accusation. I have many friends from China in the Vancouver super cars club, most of them are businessman and have nothing to do with the government. They even tell me that rich government officials from China will stay low profile and tend to pretend as ordinary guy to hide their wealth, so those you see around showing off are mostly not linked to corruption.

I didn't mean the rich immigrants are ones who corrupted. They can be the honest and upright ones who isn't corrupted but losing their political wars to the corrupted ones. There is probably nothing left as the right politics and there is nothing right in the politics left.

Anyhow, sorry for off topic. First thing I want to do after my citizenship is relearn the sound of my English to make it Canadian. And then travel around to places like Euro with those Canadian flag backpacks.

 

[keesio]

When you are rich, you always take precaution steps. Why rich people immigrate? Because they want to have second option (second house, second status, etc. Maybe second wife ). But keep in mind, they never immigrate their businesses.
Just like the Hongkongers. They move back, but they don't let go their status. Now they become passport of convenience.

You definitely want a second option if you don't trust your first.

Any we are going off track here. You originally asked why people want to go to the US. The US (and Canada) are still good opportunities for majority of immigrants despite the growing income gap. Most immigrants are not rich people looking for a backup plan. They are lower or middle class people looking for better opportunities for work and eventually move their families to. I'm quite familiar with Asia, with that being my background and doing a lot of business there (including where many HK people keep their "second wives" (Shenzhen) ). It is not the best for the lower/middle class people from other countries looking to move up.

 

[BLT]

You definitely want a second option if you don't trust your first.

Any we are going off track here. You originally asked why people want to go to the US. The US (and Canada) are still good opportunities for majority of immigrants despite the growing income gap. Most immigrants are not rich people looking for a backup plan. They are lower or middle class people looking for better opportunities for work and eventually move their families to. I'm quite familiar with Asia, with that being my background and doing a lot of business there (including where many HK people keep their "second wives" (Shenzhen) ). It is not the best for the lower/middle class people from other countries looking to move up.

It's not about trust or don't trust. Many rich Americans also have second option. Does this mean they don't trust US government? No. Because they have the capability to buy options. Same like rich people always have few cars at home, not because their SUV is not tough, just want some different driving experience.
I think those who immigrate are either people that are not doing well, or doing very well. Middle class people are too busy to immigrate. Those not doing well are looking for better life. Those doing very well, are looking for second house, second status, or second (wife/second life).

 

[Kelly77]

I became a citizen this week and the first thing I'm doing is taking a little break/rest from all paperwork. Then I'll apply for a passport. Each year around Nov/Dec, a bus company in my city has 3-day trips to Maine for a reasonable price. People often go there for christmas shopping. I've always wanted to go, and now I can without a visa. Clothing is so expensive in Canada, that I shop online from the US and even with shipping, I get more of my money's worth.

I also look forward to voting. It will be my first time voting ever.

@ CanuckForEver, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you lived in Canada? The reason I ask is, anyone who came to Canada after say, 2007 or 2008 has only experienced one party(Conservatives) in power and consequently, may not have a previous experience to compare to.

As someone who has experienced live under the Liberals and now Conservatives, I can tell you the Conservatives have done a lot particularly for foreign students/foreign workers. Here's a few:
1) they created the off-campus work permit. Previously, there was only the LMO-type work permit.
2) created Canadian Experience Class. Previously, you could only use the skilled worker or provincial nominee program.
3) previously, you had 90 days(later increased to 120 days) to find work related to your field of studies in order to get a LMO. But the Conservatives created #1 and #2 above, which helped a lot.

Yes, the conservatives legislated the backlog away; however, the premise behind that decision is sound despite it being tough on many applicants. The truth is the Canadian labor market has changed over the years. We really don't need many more Doctors, Architects, Lawyers, etc driving taxis.

As for the new citizenship law, we have to also hold our fellow applicants accountable. Those who fraudulently claim residency days, citizens of convenience, etc. If they actually valued it more, perhaps the gov't won't have found a need for to change the law. There are some troubling aspects of it, but overall, if you remain on the right side of the law and truly intend to reside in Canada, this law shouldn't be a problem.

That said, this is not a campaign for you to vote for the PC party. lol Just a little perspective from someone who has experienced life under two parties. Don't even get me started on the NDP who came to power in my province, took our HST from 13%(lower by the Conservatives from 14% to 13%) to 15% and we are now in the red. They were voted out.

I would not count the PC party out just yet. People would actually have to vote and with participation at less than 50%, it's too early to predict.

Which city is this service from...can u post a link plz.