[0:00]Hey everyone, welcome to my channel. Marina here and as always, it's so nice to come to you in another video. If you're new here, welcome. My name is Marina. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and on this channel, I share information to make settling into life in Canada, seamless for newcomers and foreign trained professionals. We have fun on this channel. We learn a lot on this channel. So please do well to hit the subscribe button and join the family. To everyone who's returning, thank you for coming back as always. In today's video, guys, I'm going to be dabbling into something that I would typically not talk about, just because of a couple of disturbing trends that I've seen lately and I thought it was worth talking about. But before I dive into that, I just wanted to remind you guys quickly that it is tax filing season. So whether you're a newcomer, recently landed, you did not earn any income in Canada in the year 2023, you are all you are still required to file your taxes. So even if you're going to be filing zero income, filing zero earnings or whatever, or you're going to be using the earnings from your home country, please make sure you're filing your taxes this year. Because your notice of assessment is very important in a lot of areas. The taxes you file is what's going to determine the kind of benefits that you will be entitled to for this year. So please file your taxes. There are a lot of free resources online that you can use to do by yourself. If you're still not sure how to manage the process, you can um engage the services of a tax professional to help you with that and just to explain the things that you may not understand. Um, if that is an option that you're looking at, I will put the details of my tax accountant in the description box and on the screen for you guys to check out. OOandCo Accounting Services has been filing my taxes for years and I no longer have to worry. I go to bed with my eyes closed knowing that nothing is going to be missed. So if that's the kind of um service you're looking for, all of the details will be on the screen and in the description box. Please don't forget to file your taxes. I don't know why I remembered that this morning, but I just thought to chip that in before we have the conversation that we are actually here to have. So, talking about the conversation that we are about to have, you would have seen from the title, I'm going to be talking about seeking asylum in Canada. Like, is it really worth it? Like looking at all of the information that's online and how much people have started to glamorize the topic of seeking asylum in Canada. Today, I just wanted to get you guys to think, like, at the end of the day, is it really going to be worth it? Are you really considering all the options? Are you looking at the full picture before you make that decision? Disclaimer, I recognize that there are people who are seeking asylum in Canada because they are fleeing life threatening situations. It could be natural disasters, it could be war, it could be persecution on the basis of anything. Canada has grounds that they consider valid for seeking asylum and I recognize that there are people who are going through that process because they fall into one of these valid categories to seek asylum in Canada. This video is not for you. This video is particularly targeted at the people who are looking to seek asylum in Canada because no other immigration pathway has worked out for them. For these people, their agents that are selling you packages to give you all of the beautiful parts, all the advantages, if you just come to Canada, you'll be able to seek asylum, the government will give you a house and they start paying you. Like the the information out there is very misleading and that's why I'm lending my voice to this conversation. This video that I'm doing at this time is particularly triggered by two reasons. The first one was an email that I received not too long ago from somebody who an agent had sold one of these packages, uh just telling them what they can do to come to Canada as an asylum seeker. And the person was very disturbed by some of the information that the agent had provided to them. She reached out to me to tell me about this and just to ask me to verify if some of the things that she had heard was true. And guys, I cannot even repeat some of the things that I saw in that email here just so that nobody is running with that information because it was grossly misleading. I shared my opinion with her, gave them links to the IRCC website on what it actually means to be an asylum seeker who is eligible, what the process is like. Send them links to say, read, do you fall into this category? If you do not, then I don't see any reason why you will be proceeding what with what this agent has told you to do.
[4:44]Like that was not enough in the news lately, we saw the story of a family that are now facing deportation. They landed in Canada about I think seven or eight years ago, um, with asylum claims, they were admitted into the country while their claims were being reviewed. And just this past week, the IR, the IRB, which is the immigration and refugees board. That's the board that reviews the asylum claims that people make in Canada. The IRB had um rejected their asylum claims and they are now facing deportation seven years later. And that is one of many other stories that we've heard. The reason why this one was in the news was that the community that they were in came together and rallied around and we're saying, no, that these are upstanding members of the community. Canada has been their home, it's been seven years. Um, what options do we have for them to stay? I know that the resolution was not that the deportation order was overturned. They just extended the time they gave them to leave the country. So I don't know if that's giving them more time to maybe put in an appeal or to consider alternatives. But bottom line, that deportation order is still hanging over the heads of those families seven years later. I follow a number of settlement pages on Instagram, on Twitter that just share information about what people are dealing with when they come to Canada. So there are some of these pages where people are able to share their stories anonymously and we have seen a mix of different things from people who are seeking asylum. From the people who had claims that were verifiable, their applications were accepted and the kind of support that they got from the people who had claims that were unverifiable and how miserable they were. Like how difficult their lives were in trying to regularize. Some of them were able to regularize. Some other people were deported. There are too many people who are glamorizing this process. While there are advantages when your claims are verifiable and they are accepted, there's support, settlement support that the government provides. You also have to consider what happens when these claims are rejected because they cannot be verified or the government looks at the application and they deem the person who has applied ineligible. What is going to happen in that case? In the case of this family that I just referred to, they have been in Canada, I think seven or eight years. If you came to Canada and you had a baby, a seven-year-old child is probably in grade two. If you came to Canada with a 10-year-old child, we're looking at a 17 or an 18-year-old who is ready to graduate high school. Can you imagine what the lives of those people would be if they really go ahead with the deportation order and they deport them back to their home country? That is eight years of your life that you have. Like you're going back to what you said you were running from. It is not as glamorous. That's what I came to remind people of today. This whole thing is not as glamorous as people make it out to be. There are processes that the IRCC has in place. There are processes. They are they are review processes that all of these claims go through to make sure that they are verifiable, to make sure that they are true. To the best of what they have put in place to make sure that those things are true. It's not just you coming up with a story, telling it to the government and then immediately they give you a house, they give you a job and they start paying you. Like, guys, stop. That's not what's happening. You might want to get yourself um up to date on the immigration situation in Canada. Things are changing very rapidly. The government is beginning to put caps on everything from study permits that are issued to temporary um visas that are being issued. They are putting caps. Because it does look like Canada is admitting more people than it has resources to sustain. And those resources that are suffering right now is housing, is health care, is the job market. In case you're not aware, it is getting harder for people to find jobs in Canada now. So that claim that the government is just going to give you a house, they'll give you a job and they'll start paying you, you might want to do some research and check if that's actually true. Last summer, there were asylum seekers who were sleeping in tents on the streets in part of Ontario. I was in Vancouver last summer and there were people sleeping in tents on the street in central Vancouver, not suburbs, central, some part of downtown Vancouver had people sleeping in tents. And some of those people from what I understand are asylum seekers. It is not as glamorous as people are making it out to be. So please read. If this is an option that you're looking at because you truly need it, please read. Go on the IRCC website and read up about the program, read about who's eligible, read about the process, read about all the do's and the don'ts. Read about all of these and make an informed decision. Don't let one agent somewhere just package lies and sell it to you and for you because that's all you want. All you see is I want to move to Canada, I want to move to Canada and you lose your sense of reasoning. You use lose your sense to be able to ask questions. You lose the ability to use sound judgment to make decisions because you're desperate. Don't do that to yourself. Do not do that to yourself. Like this thing is disturbing. On a normal day, I will not talk about this, but for me to be talking about it, it means I have seen too many trends, too many disturbing trends, too many people who are having their lives turned upside down because of bad decisions, because they did not put the full picture into consideration. Please go on the IRCC website and read and determine if you are really eligible for this thing that you're applying for. One thing that I know is that more than half the time in Canada, you cannot build anything on a lie. So no matter how much you have built, you have stayed like imagine this family now, seven years. In this case, the family, some I think one of them had built a business in the small community that they lived in. It's the community that now came out to say, this is what this person has contributed to our community, we don't want them to go. We don't know what the decision there is going to be, but the case is not the same for everybody. There have been previous cases where people came out to rally around the families and they still got deported. In the first half of 2023, more than 7,000 people were deported um from Canada because of false asylum claims or rejected asylum claims. People are getting deported every day, but nobody's telling you that. They're just telling that if you come here as an asylum seeker, the government will turn you back. That's not exactly correct information. That's why you need to read. You cannot build anything on a lie. I heard a story of somebody who came to Canada um um as an asylum seeker. Her claims were accepted and then she became a permanent resident and began to travel back to her home country. There were records to show that in a year she went maybe like two or three times because she was in Canada as an asylum seeker. Her husband was in her home country. This person began to travel back. She went back home two to three, three times a year to go and visit the husband, forgetting that in your asylum claim, you said your life was in danger. You said you were running away from a difficult situation. So how are you now buying a ticket by yourself two to three times a year to go back to that seemingly dangerous situation? So the fact that she had become permanent resident did not, she was not off the hook. When it was time to apply for citizenship, they just said, okay, no, we have cause to believe that your asylum claims were false. And by the time they removed their approved asylum, there goes permanent resident, there goes all the businesses she has built. There goes everything. They remove the lie and everything you have built on top of that comes crashing down. So please be very careful. I heard that in some cases, where you're seeking asylum, you cannot go back to your home country for like a period of 10 years. Do you know what that means? Detached from your family for 10 years. You have parents who are aging, you can't go and visit them. If they pass away, God forbid in that 10 year period, you cannot be present. You will have siblings who are getting married, they will have children. You are detached from all of that. Like, is it worth it? Especially if you do not have a valid claim or valid reason for this thing that you're trying to do. It is not as glamorous as people are making it out to be. So please read. Please do some research. If you're looking for licensed consultants to talk to. And I keep emphasizing the word license because the agents just keep wrecking havoc and there's nothing to hold them accountable. For those of you who keep patronizing agents, nobody's regulating them. There's nothing that holds them accountable. They just collect your money and that's it. If you must talk to somebody, if you must seek the services of a professional. Please make sure you're talking to a licensed immigration consultant, a licensed immigration lawyer. Those people have something at stake. There are regulatory bodies, there are code of ethics that govern them. So there is accountability on those people's path, that is why I recommend them. So please stop running with what agents are telling you and making decisions that would only bring trouble down the line. If you must go this route, please make sure that you're doing your research and you have valid grounds. You have valid, verifiable claims to what you're putting down as your asylum claim. Other than that, you might just be setting yourself up for trouble. The process is draining emotionally. I'm repeating what I've heard from people who have dared to share their personal stories. It is draining financially, it is draining emotionally and the uncertainties are a lot. The uncertainties are a lot. If settling in Canada is something that you want to do, there are alternatives that you can look at. If you are in a position, like I said, where this is your last resort, like you have looked at it and you have valid grounds, then by all means, go ahead and look at what your options are there. But if it is not an option for you, where you now have to make up claims, please consider alternatives. Consider alternatives, because the uncertainties are a lot and I don't know how people sleep at night like that. Me, when things bother me, I can't sleep to now be in a country where you're not sure if you will be told to move and pack the next day. And when they tell people to depo, when people are going to face deportation, it's not like they give you three months notice for you to not prepare yourself and sell your things and gather your money. I'm talking about deportation, they give some people matter of days. You are required to leave the country. Like, can you imagine packing up your life for seven or eight years in a matter of days and leave the country? Please consider alternatives. If you have alternatives, consider them, okay? So yeah, that's just what I stopped to come and talk to you guys about today. Um, the trend is disturbing. The stories are getting more heartbreaking and you want to think again before you open your eyes and walk right into trouble. If you have alternatives, consider them. Thank you very much for watching this video. If you learned from it, please share so that other people can learn as well. Um, if you have a story that you're comfortable sharing, please share that in the comment section below. Have you done this? Was it worth it? What was the process like? If you want to share that, if you're comfortable sharing that, please do that in the comment section below. And until I come your way in the next video, please don't forget to subscribe on your way out. It's your girl Marina, as always, saying thank you and have an awesome day. Bye guys.
