The US doesn’t provide the same social benefits or healthcare that Canada does which is why it is easier for parents to move to the US. In countries where there is Medicare it is in general very difficult, if not impossible to sponsor parents, especially with access to public healthcare. You are clearly very intelligent but it is fairly clear why children are considered dependent but parents are not. Children haven’t developed the capacity to care for themselves. They also have not been able to work and save money to live in retirement. The cost the government incurs to care for children is much less than caring for most seniors especially in the last 5 years of life. Seniors who have PR through PGP likely qualify for OAS/GIS after 10 years which is more than the child benefit families receive for each child each month. Canada, like most western countries, currently accepts a large volume of immigrants to counteract an ageing population. If all parents could move to Canada that would defeat one of the main reasons for immigration. Agree with the longterm liability issue but allowing all patents to get PR would be an equally large liability when they have not paid into the system and as our existing population ages. Your argument is one of the primary reasons we likely need to return to intent to reside in Canada as a part of citizenship application and raise citizenship length to be more in line with other countries versus 3 years.
Immigration is tantamount to parents producing numerous kids in a bid to get care in later age. Is there an end to this cycle? Solution of Problem A is never creation of Problem B - this is why we need more intellectuals in the Parliament than in investment banks. Canada is letting people immigrate to take care of oldies. In 2070, the current set of immigrants would be oldies and Justin Trudeau may not even be around to substantiate his decisions. Will Canada let more people immigrate to take care of 2070 oldies? This will further lead to creation of 2120 oldies. To do well in the next elections, political leaders should never solve short-term problems by creating long-term problems. US has a much better sustainable model where although their economic immigration is just 10%, their system is not bound to explode 50 years from now, unlike Canada.
Fairness sounds great in textbooks, not in practice. If today I can afford to have my parents here, there should be a system through which I can buy their PR or pay the aggregate expenses the Canadian economy will eventually spend on them - this is capitalism which is sustainable. Socialism has negative spiral effects as explained above. Canada should stop trying to make capitalism and socialism work in tandem. They are short-term capitalists and long-term socialists. Canada is a cold country and God has constructed it with an intent to have sparse population. When people start squeezing oil and start inhabiting people in large quantities, nature won't eventually like this phenomenon.
Ok so here are my thoughts on what will work and what is sustainable:
1. Eliminate free healthcare - make people pay 20% of all healthcare expenses. People should be reimbursed the remaining 20% only if they need it economically. Providing free healthcare to a person owning several million dollar homes is not just bizarre, but truly foolish.
2. Stop immigration of this much magnitude - It's a cold country and not meant to house so many people.
3. Above two steps will automatically solve most of the problems
4. Allow parents to live with their children in a PR way, not supervisa. Every human being has the right to be with their loved ones, regardless of his or her age, gender or country of birth - this is fairness in true sense ... providing free healthcare to millionaires is stupidity, not fairness or socialism.
