IN FRATERNAM MEAM: STILL-BLUE VOTERS LOOK NORTH

IN FRATERNAM MEAM

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

STILL-BLUE VOTERS LOOK NORTH

O Canada! The welcome mat's out as what
seemed like mere grumbling gets serious
for some who did'nt wants Bush re-elected.

Just before the Nov 2 election it was common
in some liberal circles to hear people joke,
or threaten, to move to Canada if Presidene
Bush won.

Then he won. And as anger among many who voted
against him turned to resignation, thoughts of
Canada faded like snow in a spring thaw.

Indeed, while the media churned out stories in
early November about a great northern exodus and
a Canadian Web sites reported huge increases in
traffic, once the emotional dust settled. Americans
seemingly went about their lives. Or at least most did.

But it appears that a small, and as-yet unquantifiable,
group really is pulling up stakes.

Consider Ralph Appoldt, an Oregon based sales manager
for a company that makes power wheelchairs. His fury has
yet to subside and slowly and deliberately, he is planning
his move to Canada.

"This is a hard time to do." said Appoldt, 51. "It's not
like we have miserable lives. In a nutshell, I think our
adminstration is just very ugly...If this is what American
wants, then I don't want to be an American anymore."

In Ottawa, Canadian immigrations officials dubbed a hug
increase in visits to their official Web site
"the November spike." Traffic grew from an average of about
50,000 hits a day to 180,000 on Nov. 3,. A majority of the
hits-- 64 percent--came from south of the border.

Traffic on the site did not return to normal for 10 days,
then shot up again and is still above average.

Whether this will translate into a real immigration
boomlet will not be known for several months, Canadian
immigration spokewoman Maria Iadinardi said.

One thing is certain: Canada, which had a population
roughly the size of California's in a land mass slightly
larger than the entire United States, needs immigrants.
"We're such a small country," Iadinardi said. "we're very
underpopulated. We are one of the largest countries in the
world, and we only have 32 million people."

For certain people, Canada opens its arms. People who want
to apply for permanent resident status in the easiest resident
"skilled worker," need score only 67 out of 100 on a test that
awards points for education, language proficiency.
(French and English), work experience and age. There are no
sure bets, say immigration attorneys, but just about anyone
in good health with a college degree, a decent work record
and a blank rap sheet can make the grade.

Even illness is not grounds for inadmissibility, although
Canada reserves the right to refuse entry to people who
might strain social resources.

About 1 million U.S. citizens live in Canada, fewer that
6,000 move there each year; Canada has a goal of about 250,000
new immigrants a year.

For disappointed blue state types, the reasons to consider
Canada are featured succinctly on CanadianAlternative.com:
The country has universal health care, no troops in Iraq,
and signed the Kyoto Protocl,and its seante has recommended
legalizing marijuana.

"We are certainly promoting a certain visin of Canada,"
said the Web site's creator, Jason Mogus, 31, CEO of a
communications form that works for non profit group.

David Frum, a Yale educated Canadian and former Bush
speechwriter who live in Wasdhington., however, pointed out
in an e-mail: "if we opemed the U.S. Canadian border to
migrants dissastified with the current government of their
country, you'd find 20 Canadians moving southward to
Geroge Bush's American for every American who moved away."

(abstrated from TRIBUNENEWS/LOSANGELESTIMES/by Robin Abcarian)

posted by infraternam meam @ 10:46 PM

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