Some key points:
1) According to the Ontario Council for Agencies Serving Immigrants, there is no evidence showing that parents with permanent residency in Canada are a burden on the health-care system. Dont forget parents sponsorship is not a new thing but has been going on for more than 10 years (at least) and they issue at least 20k visas every year, so there are more 200k parents/grandparents came in Canada in past 10 years but Canada's healthcare system is still solid and one of the best in the world.
2) As for pension holders, sponsored parents withdraw the lowest amounts given their short residency and employment record.
3) While some parents and grandparents may turn to social assistance after the sponsorship period has elapsed, the vast majority are cared for by their loved ones long into the future.
4) Family reunification means that income earned by Canadian immigrants stays here in Canada instead of being sent abroad as remittances. Parents often bring savings with them when they immigrate, at times financially assisting their children as they find their foothold. Others continue working; a 2009 Dalhousie study found that more than 40 per cent of parents and grandparents found employment with 30 per cent working at home as child-care providers.
5) For Chinese immigrants in particular, the one-child policy has meant there is often no one else to care for one’s parents so its a moral concern for them.
6) CIC has increased the income requirement to LICO + 30% (for 3 years) and processing time is 4 years so by the time parents arrive you would have paid 7 years worth of taxes ( I am sure that additional 30% income makes you pay enough taxes so that government can cover your parents' health care, they are not stupid
).
Super Visa
Its a great alternative but it has limitations like
1) parents can't work on super visa. e.g. My dad is not that old and speaks good English but when he visited me he got bored out of his mind because he had nothing to do all day when I was at work.
2) Health insurance is not tax deductible (as far as I know). Technically parents are your dependents for 2 years so there should be some tax incentives.
Overall I think the capped approach to PGP sponsorship is the most practical and win-win option. Shutting it down is not an option.
