How the Canada family reunification lottery makes a mockery of immigrants.

Every year, hopefuls start the countdown as the lottery announcement date approaches. Some have all the documents ready while others are in nail biting suspense as they await that one final document from ‘back home’ hoping cousin, Uncle, or Aunt will get the document couriered and it will arrive on time. Thousands of hours on WhatsApp and other services to ensure everything goes according to plan. 

And then the announcement, like a Lotto 649 draw that you missed or rather your parents failed! Sorry, not this time, please try again. 

Having close family live with you is the ultimate prize for most immigrants. To help continue the social bonds between parents and the next generation – the grandchildren. To be able to share folklore, histories and life’s lessons with a generation that could lose these strings rapidly. 

A prize that demeans the efforts of those who do not get the prize and rewards those who do based on something as frivolous as a lottery draw to decide who gets in. It does not make a difference if you have been a successful immigrant who found the cure to a disease or invented something that would slow down climate change. It all depends on the lottery. 

The Liberals believe this is the best way to select the family that immigrants left behind and want to bring to Canada. Just to be clear, there is a minimum income level and those sponsored cannot access any social services for the parents for 10 years!

So, here is my proposal. Let us elect the next political party via lottery. No difficult polls to go through, just click on a roulette wheel after entering your SIN number and turn the wheel. 

And then roll on for Ministers, Prime or otherwise! Shades of Vegas? 

Or maybe plan Canada’s next budget based on spinning the wheel.

Should I turn left or right at the traffic light? You got it, voice activated hands free roulette wheel.

You get my drift. When Canada receives generations of taxpayers, there should be a fair exchange. The exchange is that we will not force you to abandon your parents because the roulette wheel did nor reward them the prize. 

We immigrants already played roulette when we immigrated to Canada giving up the known for the unknown. Many of us also played professional roulette by working several rungs below where we were professionally back home. Some others, like Doctors and Engineers refuse to play the game because the odds are stacked against them ever practising their profession. 

Asking us to play again with our parents future is simply unfair. 

Increasing the numbers in the ‘prize’ is not a solution. 

Immigrants want a solution! Not a roulette wheel.