Am I Missing Something, or Are They?
There was an article in this morning's paper about illegal immigrants in Toronto, and particularly about one named "Nell" who has received "life-saving abdominal surgery (and) racked up $10,000 in debt -- largely from hospital and ongoing prescription costs." The article goes on to say how Nell should be granted legal status under compassionate grounds, so that she can get a better job and pay her bills. It goes on like this:
"I don't want to depend on any government," Nell said yesterday, not revealing her full name. "I came as a visitor and for a better life."
Lacking proper documents to stay, she fears arrest and deportation, but said "this is a better country."
Lawyer Andrew Dekaney said he is fighting a lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of Nell and others, seeking legal status under compassionate grounds.
"The cards are stacked against these people," said Dekany, part of a small rally held outside City Hall that was sponsored by the local branch of the national lobby group, No One is Illegal.
After he and other speakers called for government help, claiming 85,000 illegal foreigners live in the GTA, they delivered a failing grade "report card" to Mayor David Miller's office.
It claimed he has "pretty much failed" to help illegals get social housing, welfare, justice, access to schools, and better than the "sweatshop" low-wage jobs, organizer Sumayya Kassamali said.
Marguerita Navarro, who came from El Salvador in 1989, lacked public housing here for 15 years. Now a Canadian citizen making $500 a week as a babysitter, she said civil servants treated her "without respect."
Okay, so am I missing something here? People sneak into the country, stay illegally, and... expect that they should get "social housing, welfare, justice, access to schools, and better than low-wage jobs"? (They alreday have access to schools students are not required to prove that they are legal in order to attend.) And if so, why should anyone go through the legal immigration process? The only difference between being legal and being illegal would be the right to vote.
So a lawyer is suing the government for failing its illegal immigrants, and a group is giving City Hall a "failing grade report card" for failing to assist the illegal immigrants living in our city. And illegal immigrants are complaining that when they apply for public housing (the housing subsidized by the legal, tax-paying residents of the province, with massive waiting lists for the people going legally through the system), they get treated "without respect".
Okay, now, seriously: Am I on Howie Do It, or something? Seriously. Are there hidden cameras on me right now?
Or am I just a compassionless asshole for thinking that if people want the social services of my country they should join the country legally, and if the system prevents them from joining, well that system is in place to prevent undesireables and burdens to the taxpayer from joining?
"I don't want to depend on any government," Nell said yesterday, not revealing her full name. "I came as a visitor and for a better life."
Lacking proper documents to stay, she fears arrest and deportation, but said "this is a better country."
Lawyer Andrew Dekaney said he is fighting a lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of Nell and others, seeking legal status under compassionate grounds.
"The cards are stacked against these people," said Dekany, part of a small rally held outside City Hall that was sponsored by the local branch of the national lobby group, No One is Illegal.
After he and other speakers called for government help, claiming 85,000 illegal foreigners live in the GTA, they delivered a failing grade "report card" to Mayor David Miller's office.
It claimed he has "pretty much failed" to help illegals get social housing, welfare, justice, access to schools, and better than the "sweatshop" low-wage jobs, organizer Sumayya Kassamali said.
Marguerita Navarro, who came from El Salvador in 1989, lacked public housing here for 15 years. Now a Canadian citizen making $500 a week as a babysitter, she said civil servants treated her "without respect."
Okay, so am I missing something here? People sneak into the country, stay illegally, and... expect that they should get "social housing, welfare, justice, access to schools, and better than low-wage jobs"? (They alreday have access to schools students are not required to prove that they are legal in order to attend.) And if so, why should anyone go through the legal immigration process? The only difference between being legal and being illegal would be the right to vote.
So a lawyer is suing the government for failing its illegal immigrants, and a group is giving City Hall a "failing grade report card" for failing to assist the illegal immigrants living in our city. And illegal immigrants are complaining that when they apply for public housing (the housing subsidized by the legal, tax-paying residents of the province, with massive waiting lists for the people going legally through the system), they get treated "without respect".
Okay, now, seriously: Am I on Howie Do It, or something? Seriously. Are there hidden cameras on me right now?
Or am I just a compassionless asshole for thinking that if people want the social services of my country they should join the country legally, and if the system prevents them from joining, well that system is in place to prevent undesireables and burdens to the taxpayer from joining?