This is a bad news for Toronto real estate market. Majority of these Chinese millionaires end up buying a condo or house in the city if they get the visa.
Wealthy Chinese threaten to sue Canada if investor visa decision not overturned
- Thread starter eznutz
- Start date
They may well have already bought it. I read articles about good portions of building never making it to the public markets. Overseas investors were given first choice.
The issue now is if they choose to sell......
It doesn't matter. Gov't can change rules as they see fit. It has nothing to do with their livelihood back in China. All they need to do is reassess the requirements. Suing Gov't of Canada will not end in their favor.
I'm interested to know what rules were changed that made them inadmissible to Canada. I mean, if they have the financial means, investment prospectives...I don't see any reason to turn them down. Something's not clear.
Basically it worked like this:
Many criticized the program as a way for rich foreigners essentially to buy citizenship and live abroad without creating jobs or economic growth in Canada. The plan, which was ended in Tuesday’s budget, allowed foreigners with a net worth of more than $1.6-million to gain residency and potentially citizenship by lending the government $800,000 that would be paid back in about five years without interest.
But on Tuesday, the government said many of these investors have only tenuous ties to the country and pay “significantly lower taxes over a lifetime” than other immigrants. This echoes long-standing complaints about the program, which coincided with China’s economic rise.
Within the Chinese business community in Vancouver, the program sometimes appeared to help wealthy mainland people gain Canadian citizenship, buy property and then move their family here, while living and doing most of their business in Asia.
For a REAL immigrant to gain citizenship there are all kinds of restrictions (eg must live in Canada a minimum 24 months during a 5 year period)
They certainly can still get into country, but we are no longer selling them passports esp when they are Chinese, not Chinese-Canadian (if I am a millionaire, spend no money in Canada, but use this to move my entire family including cousins etc here there are serious problems with program). That is why they are complaining (in linked article someone even said they got kids to change schools so they could be brought over also with no qualities we want for immigration)
This program has also been replaced with 2 new programs for those interested in really becoming Canadian, just actually need to live here & invest here now
"Li’s charitable foundation has donated nearly $59 million to Canadian universities and medical organizations since 1993. He donated an additional $16 million through Husky Energy."
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/10/18/hong_kong_billionaires_25_million_benefits_st_mikes.html
I guess Canada doesn't want people like Li Ka Shang and his two sons. (Instead, we prefer poor refugee families?)
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/10/18/hong_kong_billionaires_25_million_benefits_st_mikes.html
I guess Canada doesn't want people like Li Ka Shang and his two sons. (Instead, we prefer poor refugee families?)
I prefer we get the poor refugee family. They will contribute more.
Li is going to run his business empire the same way with or without Canadian citizenship. He will invest here if he can make a buck doing it, not because we gave him a passport.
The refugee family will work and pay taxes.
They held their press conference in one of the most expensive hotels in Beijing.
Tone-deaf plutocrats. Fuck em.
Tone-deaf plutocrats. Fuck em.
Yeah we Canadians are too rich. We don't need more foreign money, just cheap slave labours will do.
The diff here is that Li actually contributed to this country, while many other rich immigrants made the investment, get the passport and pull back the money, meanwhile leave the family here to enjoy free education and free medical and are not even paying tax.
That's the problem.
Why not just change the law to "pay $1,000,000" to get citizenship. Stupid government. So much free Chinese and India money to grab they just let Americans have it all.
My point being it takes so friggin' long to get your application processed that they might go through several rule changes, so you don't a have a realistic understanding of what you're getting into and what's required when you submit.
So, only rich Chinese immigrants game the system, eh? There are a lot of Mercedes dealers that are more than happy to see a rich Chinese enter his CANADIAN Mercedes dealership. Let's also kiss goodbye to a whole bunch of construction jobs (whet the heck, we need a few less cranes in Toronto and Vancouver anyway).
Dumb Tories just lost the Chinese vote.
They have zero chance of successfully suing. This was a bad program from the outset, created by the Liberals if I remember correctly... Harper should have ended it years ago. They were buying their way into Canada without it even costing them anything... Their money was actually returned after a period of a few years. Wacky program that was yielding Canada nothing and totally disrupting the Vanvouver real estate market.
That actually caused another problem... if you're living in the area and see how they drive the Mercedes ....
:-(
In contrast to Li Ka Shang, here comes Chuck Feeney who is also in his 80's:
"I cannot think of a more personally rewarding and appropriate use of wealth than to give while one is living—to personally devote oneself to meaningful efforts to improve the human condition. More importantly, today's needs are so great and varied that intelligent philanthropic support and positive interventions can have greater value and impact today than if they are delayed when the needs are greater."
Respect. Respect. R-e-s-p-e-c-t.
You draw your own conclusions.
"I cannot think of a more personally rewarding and appropriate use of wealth than to give while one is living—to personally devote oneself to meaningful efforts to improve the human condition. More importantly, today's needs are so great and varied that intelligent philanthropic support and positive interventions can have greater value and impact today than if they are delayed when the needs are greater."
Respect. Respect. R-e-s-p-e-c-t.
You draw your own conclusions.
My conclusion is some billionaire philanthropists like Soros, Buffett,
Run Run Shaw and Li Ka-Shing had to keep a large portion of their wealth
to themselves so they can continue to grow their business during their
lifetime. Some people in contrast couldn't wait before they give all their
money away. Different outlooks on life.
