When the Canadian immigrations law changed to allow easier access to landed immigrant status for persons investing in Canadian business and moving here, the politicians approving the new regulation crowed with enthusiasm.
The new investors would bring much-needed capital to Canada and relieve many aging business owners from the hunt for buyers.
Those critics who suggested there is something wrong in allowing new immigrants to buy their way to landed immigrant status were dismissed as kooks.
The path to immigration has been littered with examples of poor decisions from some small town businesses being acquired and shuttered once immigration regulations were met to unnecessary business failure.
Some of the businesses acquired by immigrants have failed or not been as successful as they could have been simply because no one offered mentorship in Canadian business and cultural practices to the new immigrants. That should have been a responsibility of the government running the program.
One of the most spectacular announcements involved the wholesale mall planned for Dundurn. The mall was supposed to feature dozens of Chinese businesses with wholesale priced merchandise in this village near Saskatoon.
The venture never materialized in Dundurn, but the company eventually acquired land in the scandal-plagued Global Transportation Hub where a development sells condo outlets under the Global Trade and Exhibition Centre (GTEC).
The very idea of a wholesale outlet mall in a sparsely populated province like Saskatchewan defies logic. Consider the rapid takeover of retail and wholesale operations by online ventures and such an outlet makes even less commercial sense.
Recently, the Saskatchewan government disallowed the GTEC as a way to become eligible for immigrant status. This action was only taken after a CBC expose pointing out the GTEC wholesale condo units were sold with the promise they made buyers eligible for landed immigrant status.
Along with banning GTEC units for the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program, the province also removed eligibility for co-operatives, home-based businesses and real estate rental properties.
All government programs are subject to abuse by those using them. The buy-your-immigration status is no exception.
The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program has been a successful part of policy to attract skilled workers and business owners.
These recently exposed abuses show the need for a thorough review of the program and, if necessary, an overhaul to avoid abuses. Canada already has a reputation as an easy place to launder money. Why allow abuse of immigration law?
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
