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economist suntribune federal news saturday nov 6 1999 immigration gets by fred simpson staff writer canadas immigration system is being attacked from all sides especially by the federal minister responsible for it thornhill mp elinor caplan took the gloves off recently when she pledged to cut through red tape and inefficiency to allow canada to meet its target of attracting between 200000 and 225000 new comers next year people want to come but were not able to process the applications quickly enough she said we are competing with the world for the best and the brightest she added we want them to come to canada jim chalk a thornhill immigration counsellor said its about time somebody tried to reform the system which he bluntly described as an absolute mess he puts a major part of the blame for the back log of applications on designated immigration offi cers holding down visa post jobs overseas we have had enough of the procrastination and dragging of heels these offices are locally staffed by people who know nothing about canada and often have aneg- ative attitude toward their own kind he said they have got to be replaced by canadian citi zens making decisions oh behalf of canada we have had enough of the procrastination and drag ging of heels by these designated officers who dont know what they are doing he cited the example of a european business man who received the blessing of a senior immi gration officer in his initial application to move to canada but things got boggeddown when the applica- a elinor caplan aims to bring in at least 200000 immigrants and 25000 refugees next year tion was passed to minor clerks for processing these peo ple simply didnt know what they were doing he said they kept coming back and asking for stupid things that had no rele vance to the application whatsoever the applica tion is still wait ing to be approved after seven months and in the meantime this persons life is on hold and we are losing someone who is willing to spend millions of dollars in this country in some cases the wait can be up to three years he said there are many examples of people with no intention of staying in canada who cant get in to visit relatives to go to a wedding or a funeral he said if we dont move fast on this we are going to miss out caplan said canada will rely on its immigrants more in the future it is a country that continues to thrive and prosper because of their hard work with our birth rate an aging workforce and an increasingly global marketplace immigration is essential to maintain ing canadas place as a leader in the economy of the 21st century in the coming year caplan pledged to take all possible measures to meet the overall planning range of 200000 immigrants and 25000 refugees would you like to retire comfortably then you must attend one of these seminars on fcetlfcement planning fed join your neighbours andhp f riends for an evening whigh may enhance your life and give you peace of mind increase your knowledge about wealth accumulation preservation hgg strategic investment approaches tax planning minimize tax estate planning wills power of attorney minimizing probate fees i i 1 59 h a on monday nov 8 1999 at 700 pm to 830 pm markham public library 6031 highway 7 markham on tuesday nov 9 1999 at 700 pm to 830 pm unionville public library 15 library lane unionville feature speaker ray lee fiiccfp investors group financial services inc with over 25 years experience in the financial industry jbtvbstois group -vr-z- call for reservation now 41692751 ext 555 please leave your name telephone number and date of seminar 1 1 with pride loyalty unionville heating is proud of our clean installations friendly staff and referral list of happy customers who are happy to have us in their home our work has always been up to a standard not down to a price ask anyone about unionville heating