[Acajack]

Originally Posted by someone123

When I said "lifelong taxpayer" I was implying an individual who followed these typical and obvious transitions through life. Maybe a more complete way of putting it would have been "lifelong citizen and taxpayer". I know that I did not receive a T4 when I was 5.

An immigrant may or may not be a fiscal gift.

If an immigrant merely displaces a Canadian-born citizen from a job, they're not a gift. If they are educated but fail to earn an above-average income, they're not a gift. If they bring in family members, they can easily become a net drain on the system. If they leave and earn money elsewhere but don't report it, they can easily be a drain. If they have significant capital and engage in speculation here, they can be a net loss for the country.

My point is that it's actually pretty hard to ensure that immigration works well (good luck getting bureaucrats to optimally target immigrants at specific industries, for example). And the goal of ensuring that it pays off economically is incompatible with the ideal of keeping the country as open as possible or helping people as much as possible.

We've been extremely lucky to be able to do both for quite a long time. Time is fast running out on this honeymoon however. It's going to be a rude awakening for many Canadians.