canada is a clean, healthy place to live - if you have wealth.

otherwise, it's as dirty and impoverished as anywhere else in the world, with the caveat that the rent is a lot higher.

see, and this is the trick that you need somebody like me to tell you: they are promising refugees the life of new immigrants. and, that is not realistic. it's a trick as old as colonialism is itself, but it's no more realistic now than it ever was.

i like to cite the study on bone morphology that they did on italian immigrants to new york in the early twentieth century, where they found that the malnutrition these migrants suffered from in america was creating bone deformities that were not present in the ancestral population. they were something like a foot shorter, on average. but, the advertisements said america was prosperous...that emigrating would bring your family great fortunes...

in truth, immigrants have always been intended to be cheap labour. this is true at every point of both american and canadian history. the dream was always a lie - and never a naive lie. it was a malicious lie. a lie with intent.

so, they get this chunk of cash and think it's the start of a new life. they think they're going to use that couple of thousand dollars and live the same type of life that the engineers and doctors we're admitting are - because that is the international perception of canada. and because that's more money than they've ever seen before.

that startup money is just the first instalment. the start. or, so, they think.

from what i can see, based on my eyes, something that is happening is that these refugees are using their startup money to buy sports cars. immigrants wouldn't do that - because they'd be educated people that know how to invest. but, when you give these refugees a stash of free cash, it's just like giving any other uneducated person a stash of free cash.

would you give the guy at the homeless shelter a $20,000 check? no - you'd argue he'd fuck it up. but, we give these refugees - who often have lower education levels - these huge checks, and don't think they're going to waste it, for some reason.

so, they buy a new car with it. or they gamble it. and, i've been propositioned for cash on the street. while that is a constant around here, and has happened from people of multiple backgrounds, it's reflective of the reality of where the money is going.

that money will dry up in 12 months, which, for the first batch, should be relatively soon. and, then, we're going to have a problem on our hands....when the dream crashes and the reality sets in...

i have five weeks, not 12 months.

but, i might not want to be here then, either.