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Wednesday November 20 the HERALD Opinion Our immigration policy needs a drastic overhaul No column will offend some centres on per sons who for whatever reasonswant to make Canada their home You wont get any beefs from this writer about the positive at tractions of Canada Canada is a country that represents safe haven from political persecution or country that allows free flow of thoughts on any number of varied and controversial sub jects country that allows and recognizes religious tolerancea country where laws are in place prohibiting discrimination in all its ugly forms So whats the problemyou might askIs he off againtilting at wind mills only he runs into Youre damn right Im off again and totally ticked off about Canadas policy concerning migrants and supposed refugees It is a given that Canada needs people because of our vast expanse of empty spaces It is also a given that because of federal government mismanagement covering decades we have population clusters in certain provinces to the detriment of the rest of the country the First World War the government of Canada actively ad vertised in Europe for migrantsThe same thing happened after the Second World War Take a drive through the Prairie provincesI have Salt of the earth people who will open their homes and hearts to lost- theirway or simply weary travellers Their names arent Smith and Jones most likely Kowalski and but they definitely are Canadiansami proud to be Canadians As things stand nowwith an im migration policy more complicated and convoluted than the solution to Rubicks Cubeno wonder people and families who have gone through the hardship of immigration and re settlement are tickedoff I know of what I write because I am an immigrant I was born in Scotland and em- migrated to Canada when I was fiveyearsold I didnt have much choice you see because I was short chubby and liked to follow my mom and dad around We were what was termed in British subjects My father had served as a professional soldier in the British army for years survived three years in a Japanese prisoner-of- warcamp and chronicled his ex periences in two books which were published in 17 languages He became involved in social work in Scotland but felt Canada would provide the best opportunity in terms of future potential for his children He applied for a position with the Childrens Aid Society in Lake and when he was accepted- after months of uncertainty in Scotland- left the family to prepare a new home for us in Canada It was six months before I saw my Dad again but it was a memorable reunion Although I was young the was heart-wrenching- the reunion almost indescribable My father followed the rules as set up then and despite the har dship our family survived The rules have changed now and to this writer to the detriment of Canada It seems to me that no longer do we have people wanting to enter Canada as a way to better their lives and be part and parcel of a productive society It is costing Canadian taxpayers millions of dollars because of the As See it wishywashy policies of the federal government concerning those who wish to enter Canada enter illegally and are then fed and housed before their cases even get to be heard You see no one in power will issue a definitive statement and the bureaucrats involved in the issue are more concerned with their perks and pensions than demanding clearcut guidelines on how to deal with the problem One politician Scarborough West MP Tom Wappel the Liberal par tys immigration critic has repor tedly brought forth some sensible suggestions on this issuHe will no doubt be bashed from pillor to post and eventually recant his disclosuresbut he does offer some solutions to the problem The Toronto Star obtained a leaked copyof a discussion paper had presented to the Liberal party dealing with refugee claimants and immigrants and his suggested solutions to the problem Basically put Wappel suggests detaining refugee claimants in closed military camps termed Canada Welcome Centres until their cases are heard by the proper authorities The suggestion and other proposals made by Mr make so much senseit is unlikely the Ottawa in their obviously sound proof dachas on the even allow public comment on the volatile issues raised by the Scar borough West MP Common sense usually lakes a back seat to political expediency in Ottawa And it is not good partisan party politics to dwell on controversial subjects that might threaten ap proval from ethnic voters Similarly who do the politicos think they are fooling in terms leaked reports and documents It is a political ploy as old as politics itself discussion paper must have some merit since already Liberal leader Jean Chretien and deputy leader Sheila are making frantic moves to disassociate themselves from its contents Another political ploy It is estimated 30000 refugee claimants arrive in Canada an- are fed housed free to move around dont pay work illegally are given all the benefits of our welfare system and give nothing to the country in return It is a welldocumented fact that Canadas immigration system is a joke worldwide just begging to be abusedand it regularly is abused Aside from the housing of refugee claimants in closed military cam- psWappel has some other ideas to deal with the problem that warrant attention He suggests they should be detained so they cant work or collect welfare- also ensuring their cases are decided faster than the present average yearly time period most cases take Claimants would be provided with food lodging and clothing but would not be able to work outside the would also be required to maintain the centres They would get counselling about their rights attend language classes and learn about Canadian societylaws values expectations and everyday life according to the leaked report Those who refused to accept these conditions until a tribunal ruled on their cases would be automatically deported According to the Star story Wap pel also proposed to eliminate refugee screenings in favor of im mediate full hearings reject any immigrants who test positive for HIV the virus that causes AIDSfingerprint anyone who ap plies to immigrate to Canada and refuse to process anyone who ob- jectsallow sponsors of visitors to post bonds as security to ensure visitors leave the country as promised Draconian measuresI think not Clearcut suggestions to improve our laughable immigration definately But dont hold your breath waiting for these suggestions to be implemented They will be swept under the rug because critics will suggest the camps will bring back old skeletons from the closet The internment of Japanese- Canadians during World War IIGerman concentration psIsraeli internment camps for Palestinians These excuses wont wash The message being delivered is a simple oneIf you wish to be a country follow the rulesIf you cant follow the rules we dont want you For this reason and this reason alone Mr suggestions should be given serious con sideration Or put another way in terms of immigrants and refugees who wish to make Canada their home Aslsee it anyway Lets get real with basement apartment issue Now that the new Hills Town Council has been elected one of its priorities should be the in clusion of a provision in the Towns zoning bylaws permitting basement apartments Basement apartments can provide a safe and affordable type of housing and affordable housing is one goal all newlyelected coun cillors supported during the cam paign Town Zoning Officer Brian Mur doch would only offer the opinion that there are many illegal basement apartments currently located in Hills Others suggest there could be as many as 500 to illegal basement apartments in Halton Hills These numbers suggest two things basement apartments are here to stay and no one knows for certain how many of the existing basement apartments meet building plumbing and fire codes Given the relatively high demand for basement apartments and homeowners willingness to meet the demand despite the illegal ramifications the Towns politicians should legalize basement apartments in order to ensure the safety of the occupants One reason basement apartments are frowned upon is because being located below ground they dont provide the quality of life attained living at or above ground level This is true only because basement apartments are illegal Mr Murdoch points out a lot of people wanting to establish a basement apartment in their house are reluctant to approach the Town Bens Banter by Ben for the zoning amendment or variance because the request could be rejected in the end Despite this potential outcome however the homeowner is still required to spend a minimum of 1500 but prpbably a lot more just to have the Town consider the ap plication Its no surprise most homeowners reject the legitimate route and in stead just build the basement apar tment If basement apartments were permitted in Town then more people would be willing to establish them legally meaning more of the apartments would meet building plumbing and fire codes The Town doesnt have sufficient manpower to have people con tinually scouring the area looking for illegal basement apartments said Mr Murdoch As a result Town staff only in vestigate public complaints con cerning illegal basement apartments Even if Town staff wants to in vestigate a possible illegal apart ment its not always possible because staff doesnt have the legal right to enter an apartment without the tenant or landlords permission It doesnt make sense for the lan dlord to permit town staff into the apartment knowing its illegal nor is the tenant likely to permit Town staff into the apartment since the person is likely to lose his or her home by doing so Mr Murdoch said when the town does charge someone for operating an illegal apartment the person is apt to convert the space back into a basement And then three months later create a new illegal basement apartment It s obviously a nowin situation for the town and the situation will only improve if landlords are not deterred from taking the legal route in establishing basement apartments Put the past behind and look to the future But regardless of whether this money is paper metal or book it har value only because of one fact the fact of the possibhty that there are goods and services to meet this moneys value Which is another way of saying that it is a countrys production or potential production which serves as the basis for the value of money in a country Louis Even Vers 15 April 1961 It is true that manufacturing is important for employment for trade for the creation of wealth But it is not uniquely im portant nor is all manufacturing important nor even is manufac turing necessarily the most im portant activity in a rich modern economy The Economist 15 November 1991 Mr Even was a Canadian socialist The Economist is an in terna conservative magazine Both statements show how misguided we are in our moaning about our economy in Canada If just for one moment we stop looking at the past when our wealth was created through ex ploitation of natural resources agriculture and later manufac turing and look instead with an unbiased eye at the present we see that our situation is not at all that bad Surely our natural resource base is shrinking farming is becoming a burden instead of an asset manufacturing is moving South So Our wealth is our in frastructure and the potential production of our people And above our people we have total control we are totally Indepen dent from the vagaries of the in ternational markets It is in our power to make sure that the potential of our people is fully exploited through the best passible education and the widest Another View possible freedom to act It is in the nature of economic international development that richer countries shed manufac turing activities and even moreso reliance on natural resources or agriculture The most silly part of our pre sent state of catonic despair Is the complaint that we have no money As if money would be a relevant factor absence of money is more often than not an excuse for inactivity for sterile soul searching We have the money to provide the best possible education to our population for retraining and for research We have money because our infamous national debt is mostly owed to ourselves so perfectly usable We lack the resolve to move ahead from a comfortable if rather dull state of affair a parody of the remit tance economy to a new more creative and selfassured one And fortunately we also have ex amples that we can move that we are capable of creating wealth out of nothing even If calling our brainpower nothing is a bit of a misnomer The hundreds of Canadian funis and individuals who sell consultancies across the world who design communication systems or advise farmers in third world countries show we got the right stuff What we lack right now is a common sense of purpose and direction a clear line of action defined by consensus between capital labor and government We keep searching for remedies for old obsolete ac tivities and we neglect to see the success and potential for more success in new ones Many of us are already doing the right things jumping with both feet into new markets and new activities A time of reces sion or slow economic growth is the best time to start new ac tivities Sure there are risks But the biggest risk in life is being born We have gone over that hurdle let us put the past behind us and grab the futurepresent which Is there for us to exploit Let us do justice to ourselves we are pret ty good you know