It's all within me
Besides, that article reflects a situation which is global... occurring in most metros around the world, not specific to Toronto, or Canada as a whole.
As someone opined earlier, Rents here r pretty similar to the ones found in many cities. New Delhi, Bombay, Tokyo, London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oslo etc. fare much worse. So, if one can't make-out here... sure s/he can't make-it-out in similar other parts of the world too. Not in Toronto for sure.
And then, I've observed, over the time, that this picture that was painted reg. New Immigrants is typical of "No-Go" cases... there'd always be such ppl who would not make it, whatever the Govt. does (why should the Govt. do anything for them is another discussion altogether), they'd remain future-starved no matter where they r... they were so in their homeland as well. Coming here didn't change anything. They were bound to fail - no matter where they lived.
I also see new immigrants making it out damn well in 2-3 yrs. And going gaga in 5-6 yrs... well placed, living well, enjoying their life out loud!
So, where did the difference emerge? It's our +ve attitude, determination, perseverance, disposition & smart planning/outlook that matters. These guys landed well prepared, knew what they were unto, took the right steps, were financially stable (I don't say, 'strong') from the day they took off from wherever they were, and proceeded to do well here as well.
A pointer about being financially stable: immigration is no bed of roses, for anyone. Moving to a foreign land will always have it's challenges, especially in the financial front. What with the thought that "oh, I've received my PR now, let Stephen Harper do it for me hereon, once I enter canada"? How dumb that thought could be. And it's potent to also note that most despicable situations r with those guys who land from the third world; and w/out the preparations. It's common knowledge that their homeland was much less expensive to live by, while North America is a "dog eats dog" territory. So, if u thought that with sparse means u could live well here - ur head needs to be examined.
CIC gave a certain table for settlement funds... r we aware that many, I repeat "many", land here with half of that, if at all they had any? And then there r guys who come here with borrowed sums! Which they either send back imdt upon landing, or need to pay a high monthly interest to the 'loan shark' back home. How did they ever think that they could do w/out the legitimate funds in this part of the world. Std of Living aside, things ought be over-the-top expensive (especially) for them, don't u think?
So, where do they go? Scar(e)borough, or Thorncliffe, if its Toronto that we r talking about. A life to start with from these places itself is deplorable from the word go. They didn't have the means, their friends-circle, here, were of similar backgrounds, who r still slogging here, they landed & 'shared' with them, it's by design that they'd 'share their misfortunes' as well. For a long long time.
Not to mention that this CIC table of funds is meant to be just a guideline; and at best meant to be for surviving for a couple of months w/out job. While, most of us could take more than 3-5 months to actually get something of a starter occupation, notwithstanding worthwhile. It's the same in any country. Once u move to another city, within ur country, do u think jobs were waiting for the grabs? So, why Canada would be any different? Uhh, newcomers r discriminated! Don't u discriminate the 'southerners' when they come to the 'north', in ur country? And vice-versa? So, where's the difference?
Moreover, this isn't an 'inter-city' migration... we r here talking about migrating to another part of the world altogether. The culture is different, the weather is different, the color (most of the time) is different, the upbringing is different, the religion (most of the time) is different, the individual thought process is different, the money-matters r different (oh, the currency equivalence is different too), the hiring process is different, the resume format is different, the work-culture is different, oh yeah - the smell of the land is different! And the works! So, why don't we prepare well in advance? We ought to 'change' ourselves if we have to survive here. The problem is: most would like others to 'change'.
I regret sounding tad rude here, but that's the irony - I would rather like Canada to roll out the red carpet for new immigrants, straight from Pearson International - but change or upgrade myself - I'd definitely not.
I see here all the time ppl/forumers asking where in Toronto do most Indians live, or the Chinese reside, or where the Muslims/Hindus/Sikh/Buddinst stay, some have gone further down to asking about typical third-world ethnic bifurcations within the city. Why don't we ever ask where the good-going Canadians live?
If I do not integrate, I'm afraid, I'd always remain an Indian-in-Canada, or a Chinese-in-Canada, or a Filipino-in-Canada, or a Muslim/Hindu/Buddhist/Sikh-in-Canada (no sectarianism involved in my quotes for the record), but I might never be a Canadian-from-Canada! It's an irony/shame that we tend to pass-on the same to our children as well... for whom we actually treaded this path (of immigrating to the west)... and they'd continue to be similarly called/imbibed/indoctrinated for generations, w/out becoming a Canadian. Did we actually plan it that way? Think about it.
Qorax
