More education, less opportunity

Another story in the Globe today about the education level of immigrants to Canada, after StatsCan released 2006 census figures on post-secondary in general. Turns out those foreigners can read and write some:

Close to one-third of immigrants are university graduates, compared with 23 per cent of the general working-age population, according to numbers from the 2006 census released yesterday. Those numbers also show a huge jump in qualifications of the newest arrivals, with more than half of those who came to Canada between 2001 and 2006 holding a university degree.

That's not surprising, considering the amount of investment and savings required to move here in the first place. Think about how much it costs to take a vacation, and then extend that vacation by about six months, supplemented by the occasional, say, babysitting or waitressing gig:

"It is tough, but that is part of the fun," said Mr. Fonseca, 30 [snip] his wife will likely take a job as a babysitter or in a restaurant at first, but hopes to eventually work in her field. "All of a sudden you come here and you are considered a nobody," he said.

I love how the Globe manages to find these plucky pioneering people, though. This guy has a great education, but he's beyond optimistic; he's borderline delusional in his attitude. We all are...

BUT WAIT! Maybe, as the spouse of a foreign student, this woman actually has an open work permit!? Where can we get one of those?