Canada Pension

[mumeee99]

My Mom sent me this, I don't know how true it is but now that she's drawing her pension it sure got her feathers up LOL I did check out snopes and couldn't find anything.

CANADA PENSION

Only in Canada.

Do not apply for your old age pension. Apply to be a refugee.
It is interesting that the federal government provides a single
refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890.00 and each can
get an additional $580.00 in social assistance for a total of $2,470.00.

This compares very well to a single pensioner who, after
contributing to the growth and development of Canada for
40 or 50 years, can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012.00
in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement.

Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees!

Let's send this thought to as many Canadians as we can and
maybe we can get the refugees cut back to $1,012.00 and the
pensioners up to $2,470.00 , so they can enjoy the money they
were forced to submit to the Canadian government for those 40
to 50 years.

Please forward this to every Canadian you know.

[Harmony]

That sounds amazing.

Even better than refugee status though is to save for your own retirement and then it doesn't matter what the government amount is.

Don't depend on the government to help you in your old age.

[maggiemae]

I really question the numbers represented here.

Without a credible source I don't think anyone should put too much stock into it.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/applicatio ... /EG63.html

First of all I don't see where it is saying that refugees can get $1,890. As I understand this their sponsorship is not based on a flat fee, but rather a determination of their needs. I would think that if any refugee is receiving that high of an amount, it would be to care for a family of children and perhaps a spouse who also are refugees, as I doubt they are shelling out that kind of money to individual persons to support themselves. They are assisted with language training, housing if they need it, it. If this number is indeed accurate, which I question, I draw your attention to the following

"Government-assisted refugees: The Canadian or Quebec government, through funding to non-governmental organizations, provides accepted refugees with financial support and essential services in the form of accommodation, clothing, food and resettlement assistance for up to one year from the date of arrival in Canada, or until you are able to support yourself, whichever happens first. The Canadian government can also assist you in finding employment and becoming self-supporting."

Pay attention to the "For up to one year or until you are able to support yourself." because a Canada pension does not entitle you to only one year of benefits. So even if a refugee receives more money, it's like comparing apples and oranges because the benefit is very short term fort he refugee, but potentially life long for the pensioner.

Lastly, think of who applies for refugee status... REFUGEES. People trying to escape civil war, persecution, constant and ongoing violations of their human rights. Do they not deserve a helping hand to get set up in this country and build a better life for themselves? Immigrant peoples have contributed so much to our society, I find it odious to question what meager assistance our government gives them and compare it to the benefit we get after retirement. Truly it is a testament to how spoiled we can be as Canadians. With this lifestyle and the opportunities this country affords us, it's still considered acceptable to question why people who have been tortured, raped and systematically persecuted in their countries of origin, should get "more money" (and again I question these numbers as to their accuracy) than our good old pensioners who have contributed to the development of this country for however long.

I am not saying pensioners should get nothing, I am going to be one, one day, but I think that going after this imagined demon of oodles of government money going to refugees, is insane... and it smacks of racism to me. I don't see why a perceived injustive (ie: not getting enough pension to support oneself well) turns into attacking another class of people receiving benefits from the government. Why not leave the refugee immigrants alone and just go to the Government about it?

It's not easy to get refugee status. A friend of mine is trying to help her grandmother come over here from Africa, she is in a refugee camp, has been for 3 years. She has nothing. Everyone in her family is dead except for my her daughter, who lives in Canada. They didn't die of natural causes, and although I don't know specific details of his country or the conflicts that led to the madness (who wants to ask about that. I don't want to pry or traumatize the her), I know it was messy. She wants her mom to come here so he can support her. Her mom will live in her house and take care of the grandchildren, and supporting her mom entirely will be cheaper than daycare. She has lived enough to qualify under refugee status, but they are applying under family class sponsorship because she was told by an attorney she had a much better chance of success that way.

But the system has hit a snag, do you know why? Because the mother, unfortunately, cannot pass the medical exam, she has some kind of advanced osteoperosis and needs to get surgery (which she will NEVER get in her home country) to take care of a fracture that healed wrong and causes her to limp and be in a great deal of pain. CIC sees this as an undue burden on the medical system, and is in the process of denying the family class application the woman has in to immigrate here. They are protecting the financial interests of the Canadian medical system by denying a woman who would likely need a fair amount of care as she ages (partly due to living in the horrid conditions she has had to exist in) the right to immigrate to the country, despite the fact that her only living child lives here and is perfectly willing to care for her financially and otherwise, and has even offered to commit to take her to the US to get care privately and pay for it herself.

Is that not screwed up? I mean the crap this woman is enduring, the money they have shelled out for the application process, the medical exam, getting a birth certificate and a criminal record check in a country whose infrastructure is corrupted and in shambles, and all the while my friend is sending money to her mom, to help her try and survive.

It's horrifying.

The idea that this country is just laying down it's borders letting hoardes of moochy immigrants flood in while Canadians wither on the vine, being drained financially to pay for other people to exist, is so innacurate, wrong and disgusting.

Maybe you can pass this along to your mother. This is the definition of a refugee, there are two types (this is from the website):

Seriously and personally affected

These terms relate to applicants to the Country of Asylum and Source Country Classes.

Personally affected means that the applicant has been and continues to be affected on a personal level as a result of civil or armed conflict or violations of human rights.

Seriously affected means the applicant has been subject to sustained, effective denial of a basic human right. Basic human rights include: right to life; freedom from torture; freedom from enslavement or servitude; protection from imprisonment for debt; freedom of thought, conscience and religion; freedom from retroactive penal laws; right to recognition as a person before the law.

If she is still bitter that this government offers some financial support FOR ONE YEAR to people who have had those rights violated, who have been tortured, enslaved, imprisoned for thought or speech, and the countless other atrocities refugees to Canada have suffered, then she is entitled to her opinion... however dark, reactionary and heartless it may be. Fortunately for her, unlike many of the refugees who come to this country seeking asylum, she has that right.

[mumeee99]

Nah my Mom isn't bitter about anything like that, when I said it got her feather's up I meant that in a joking way. She sent it to me and just said "now that I'm over the hill this really stinks.... LOL" She isn't bitter at all, trust me LOL

That being said, thank you for all the information, I always find stuff like this interesting!