"SELFISHNESS" that is all.

The sad joke is elderly immigrants live in the family home because letting them live alone would be shameful. Plus implying that immigrants would let their parents live on welfare is an insult. I'm sure there are a few scammers but it would be very rare.

a Jackass....

That was my first impression when I read the headline. Now I wonder how many Americans are indeed emigrating to Canada in their later years. I am sure that Canadians, especially Conservatives, would be especially incensed if USAmericans were coming there for the heathcare because our own country is now threatening to cut Medicare and SSI.

I wanted to move there for the cheaper rents and a more laid back atmosphere. Just being there doesn't guarantee a thing, and if you want to live there, you have to prove you have an income or certain amount of money put away.

Unless they have changed it, they are quite particular on that issue. No fleeing to Canada for benefits for Americans, the only thing we get is no visa required. Last time I visited with a handicapped plate they wouldn't allow me to park in any handicapped spaces because they said I didn't pay taxes there.

The exchange rate and prices on goods were good. I found it very comfortable and easy going.

Poor show, Canada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disabled_parking_permit

and I have cousins up there. I was thinking of building a cabin big enough for my piano, guitars, paintings and library. Then just kicking back til I kick off.

The money you had to have before emigrating there was $300,000... has that changed?

apartment in Richmond, Sidney or Victoria. Something tiny, so I could enjoy the life in the city.

The land I was thinking of getting was wooded in the hills of B.C. and they said one could build a cabin and pretty have at it. But I have no relatives in Canada and am retired, so this is not the time for new venture for me.

I have a friend who was born and has family there, who talks about moving because she wants healthcare and to get away from RWers. But she isn't close to her family. She does complain about healthcare here for her disabled daughter and herself, but is not confident about moving to BC for her future.

I think the best way to emigrate is to have, IIRC, $500,000 or a job skill they want. Being retired, I have no skill they want, but even though I have my pension and health care which would be in place in another country, they didn't seem too welcoming.

So I'm sticking it out. I also have family who require my help. If I didn't, I'd be gone, since I found BC so relaxing. Perhaps that land you have will just end up being your 'bug out' place in the future or an investment.

That's all I know, and I gave it up a few years ago.

and I am not a conservative either. It just makes sense, why should other taxpayers cover a person who is not and has not been a citizen. Let's get real...

You need to open your eyes and look around. Tax has nothing to do with being citizens. Canada has hundreds of thousands of non-citizen workers who are paying taxes.

or their system goes broke.

Other than life-threatened refugee status (the lowest threshold in the world, as far as I know), spousal is the easiest and quickest to get. We filed in October last, my sponsorship of her being the first and shortest hurdle, and the official decision from CIC is quite literally in the mail as I write this.

The key thing in this case is that the applicant (her) needs to have a qualified sponsor (me) who assumes full financial responsibility for at least 5 years.

I have no personal experience or knowledge of other categories of immigration, but I know it takes YEARS to get PR cards for people other than spouses and or dependent children, so I fail to see what the fuss is about on the part of the so-called reformers.

Also, there is zero access to govt. pensions; one is based on contributions to the system throughout your working life, and the other is based on years of citizenship and residency, but not contributions. It takes 10 years of qualified residency to get a quarter of max, and 40 years to get max....and they aint that much.

The only way to get her health insurance, other than as a couple, based on my coverage, is for her to be here (BC) for 6 months. As an aside, it is cheap like borscht, (zero cost for a couple earning $29,000 or less, including a 70% discount on Rx)as the saying goes, and works REALLY well, despite what few cherry-picked personal disasters are pushed forward by critics (paid shills) of the system. Do NOT let go of the idea of eventual single-payer health insurance, hopefully coming soon to a theater near you.

To digress further, and in response to previous posters, I COMPLETELY relate to the wish to live here on the Wet (sic) Coast, in general, or in Victoria specifically - beautiful small city (350,000 in the Greater Victoria area), with a climate slightly milder than even Seattle, and, as was pointed out, as laid back as you could hope for.

There is also a cardiac unit that is rated the best in Canada and, the last time I checked, third-rated in North America, and a cancer clinic that other health jurisdictions study in order to emulate. I have first-hand knowledge of the cardiac care center because it saved my life when I had a Staph A infection in my heart. So, along with MANY senior-targeted programs and services, it is VERY retirement-friendly.

The downside is that, while it is far from the most expensive place you could find, it is not that cheap, either. In this somewhat down market phase, the bottom end of the single family home market is about $375,000, with affordable rental housing hard to find. The average selling price of a single-family house in April was $642, 000. Also, because of transportation costs, the prices of goods are slightly higher...known informally as The Island Tax.

Still, I find it fully and completely worth it...although I moved back here in 1979 and bought a place for what seems like peanuts now, so the vicissitudes of the market do not directly affect me. I cannot imagine how I could manage home ownership now.