Canada’s Immigration Problem

by The Blog on March 15, 2012

… is the same as ours; namely, that all who cross their borders are adopted into a welfare state.
Herbert Grubel, co-author of a report on the costs of illegal immigration featured in the Toronto Sun, says that “[t]he cost to taxpayers is between $16 and $23 billion a year.”

Grubel notes that Canada’s welfare state, owing much of its existence to the progressive income tax, is a “huge fiscal burden.”

What’s more, it seems that Canadians — and those illegally in Canada– are getting more from welfarist programs than they were in the eighties.
“Immigrants who arrived in Canada between 1987 and 2004 received about $6,000 more in government services per person in 2005 than they paid in taxes, according to a new report from the Fraser Institute.

Immigrants who arrived before 1987 made more money and, therefore, paid more in taxes than those who have arrived since, said Grubel and report co-author Patrick Grady, citing data from Statistics Canada.” (Toronto Sun)
While the research suggested that illegal immigrants do not aid the Canadian workforce, it notes that the “market [should] decide which types of workers and professionals are needed.”

Marginalia:

I would argue that the illegal migrants do add to the workforce by filling the gaps that are created by Canadian minimum wage laws — which range from $9.oo to $11.00 CAD/hr, depending on the region.

Like the United States, the Canadian government determines the “fair price” of labor — granted, the wages are determined by the provinces. This labor-rate management interferes with the actual market in that it requires employers to pay workers a high wage for an actual low-wage job. And employers, who unlike the government are subject to the costs of being in business, hire illegals to stay competitive (or stay in business altogether).

In reality, the whole idea of minimum wages — and the progressive income tax, mentioned above — in Canada and the United States, is based upon collectivist ideas and violates the basic principles of property rights.

When you pay your income tax, you are reminded that you are not truly entitled to the fruits of your labor — your dollars, which are fundamental pieces of property. When you run a private business — also property — you are not fully entitled to determine for yourself the wages you will pay for a given position.

Immigration is a problem and must be solved. Perhaps a step in the right direction — which wouldn’t require something like a national ID card — would be to eliminate minimum wage laws. Removing such would not only restore rights of property to the business owner, but allow for jobs to be filled by Americans (or Canadians) by clearing red tape called the “fair wage.” If a nations’ people are able to fill all the gaps it would have no use to import labor, illegal or legal. (Also, we should pay attention to our borders and patrol them properly.)

But a question remains: If the red-tape was torn and citizens could complete the workforce, would we be willing to work?

Property rights are among the natural rights codified in our Constitution and are an essential part of a free society — the “Defense of Environment and Property Act of 2012″ must be supported! Select here to sign the petition and send free messages to your lawmakers!
This article was written by Kyle Ebersole for Conservative Action Alerts.

Canada’s Immigration Problem