Canadians More Positive Than Americans About Impact of Immigration

"Canadians More Positive Than Americans About Impact of Immigration" (Canada NewsWire Group) "Most Canadians (60%) feel immigration has a positive impact on the quality of life in their communities, but only 43% of Americans feel the same way." Ok - this post is a bit late, but you know...life gets in the way of blogging sometimes!

My home, my fortress, my America. Does it surprise anyone that Canadians have this view of immigration and believe Americans don't? Sure doesn't surprise me. But it is disturbingly accurate in my experience.

Where I live, there are cultures upon cultures, visible minorities everywhere you turn. And I love it. And I know this isn't unique in America. Come on - it's a NATION OF IMMIGRANTS...But somehow, this country has lost track of that key premise on which this country was built. Now Americans seem to view immigrants as a drag on the economy, a drain on the social services sector; crack-smoking, drug-selling, 7-11 running yard workers, taxi drivers and hotel maids. We've come a long way down.

Still, according to this survey, Canadians also believe that the US provides a better opportunity for immigrants than Canada does. And that's a reality check for Canada. With the ongoing special interest controls over many areas of professional services, coming to Canada may mean escaping a bleak future somewhere else, but it is still far from the golden north of opportunity.

I believe in Canada. I believe in its promise. Maybe because I have yet to experience the reality of making a living there, of trying to sell my skills into the market. But that's not why I believe. I believe because acceptance is still the norm in Canada, while here in the US, intolerance rules the day.