North America offers better opportunities for education, employment, health care, political and religious freedom, sexual liberation, class system mobility, etc than most countries in the world. Therefore people are willing to become immigrants to start a new life leaving our birth countries and what they offer. The legal process to apply and be approved for entry in both Canada and the United States can take years of preparation and waiting for the millions trying to get in! This can lead to feelings of frustration and desperation for the applicants. Some may even consider attempting fraud, bribery and smuggling into boundaries to accomplish their goals!
The Government of Canada has changed its policies regarding illegal aliens, those who entered by illegal methods. Supposedly to protect the Immigration Act, not immigrants and refugees who often come from repressive foreign Governments which persecute those against them, there is now detention ("free room and board") for illegal immigrants and imprisonment for smugglers and / or deportation ("free ticket back home") after. Unfortunately since our own foreign Governments may persecute or punish us too, it becomes a tragedy for the desperate refugees whether here in Canada or there back in the home country. A catch 22 situation damned if you remain and damned if you return!
Lucky for me, I entered legally thanks to my parents who are both educated and middle class in the Philippines and achieved the same lifestyle eventually despite changes in employment and income. We left the Philippines because my father did not like the restrictions of martial law and dictatorship during Marcos term, even though he initially campaigned for President Marcos and was rewarded with Government positions and status. We all now have dual Philippine Canadian citizenship and some even have American too. But for the unlucky few who are escaping their birth countries, the recent change in immigration policy can be a prison trap defeating their goals of a better life and Society. "Free room and board" in a detention center followed by a "free ticket back home" due to a deportation order does not help but harms them.
Refer to:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/reform.asp
http://www.solidarityacrossborders.org/en/solidarity-city/solidarity-city-journal/outsourcing-racism-bill-c-31-prison-expansion-and-the-detention-of-immigrants
http://rabble.ca/news/2012/06/passage-bill-c-31-threat-refugees-and-black-eye-canada
