Canada, manly monarchist country?

The current Canadian administration is obviously compensating for something. Its new guide for immigrants who wish to become citizens of our apparently overly femmy, tree-hugging land, Discover Canada, puts a heavy emphasis on characteristics most people had assumed had gone out with disposable dresses and EZ Bake ovens, stuff like The Queen and the (glory days of the) Canadian military. That oughta make them feel right at home.

I say we make our own guide, where the Queen lives at Church and Wellesley and the military is largely found recovering from PTSD in hospitals across the country, with substandard social and health benefits. Hey, if people are going to go through the trouble of moving here and getting a passport, the least we can do is be honest with them.

No pay no way

The Ontario Court of Appeal has ruled that sponsors are not automatically responsible for debts incurred via their immigratory (?) sponsored relatives social support, the Globe and Mail reported today. Instead, sponsors should be given a moment to explain themselves, in the name of procedural fairness.

I'm all in favour of fairness, but it's not like sponsored aren't warned ahead of time. I was beaten over the head with reminders about the potential costs of sponsoring Mr. O.

A way to reduce this cost to the governments (the benefits of immigration notwithstanding) is to provide new immigrants with an open work permit, so they can, you know, get a job while waiting 24 months for their papers to come through. Just sayin'.