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Is Richmond's mayor elect Malcolm Brodie alienating himself from his constituents, or could he be the first public official to actually stand up to this practice?
Quote:
Richmond’s mayor thinks being born in Canada shouldn’t automatically grant you citizenship
RICHMOND (NEWS 1130) – As U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to end birthright citizenship in the United States, a local mayor is making comments on the subject.
Richmond’s re-elected mayor doesn’t believe people should be granted citizenship simply because they were born here. He thinks a specific problem in his city is birth tourism and those who profit from it.
“The concept of birth tourism is people flying in from elsewhere in the world to have a child here. That’s what it is, by definition,” said Malcolm Brodie, who is still seeking support from other levels of government to stop the practice.
Spoiler!
He says it’s difficult to catch someone abusing the system at a municipal level because it is not illegal for a foreigner to give birth in Canada. “Our options are very limited,” he added.
“By flying in here, having a baby here, the child gets Canadian citizenship… Take away the incentive, it’s gone.”
Earlier this month (Oct. 5) in Ottawa, Liberal MP Joe Peschisolido, whose riding is Steveston-Richmond East, introduced a petition signed by nearly 11,000 people condemning birth tourism as an illegitimate industry.
“It’s folks and institutions that are profiting from having women come over to give birth … Nineteen years later, eighteen years later, their child gets citizenship,” Peschisolido said.
He feels birth tourism “has to be dealt with in a holistic way.”
“The federal government, their biggest role comes on the immigration side and also the messaging that this is not correct. The provincial government and the health authorities manage the hospitals. The municipalities deal with the licensing for the birthing houses. You have to deal with all of these elements.”
Richmond currently has more than 20 makeshift hotels, where expectant moms can rent a room until they’re ready to deliver their babies.
“What’s occurring is you have unscrupulous individuals, agents, folks that have started birthing houses, doctors that are involved in this system and they’re making money off of it,” Peschisolido added. “They’re putting the women who are coming over at risk. But they’re also, I think, undermining the integrity of the health care system [and] the immigration system.”
Peschisolido says this is a wide problem. “The official statistics from the province states that 23 per cent of births at the hospital in Richmond fall under this category of birth tourism, where we have someone overseas coming over to give birth and then leaving immediately.”
He believes that figure is understated. “A lot of folks who are part of the industry are giving the address of the birthing houses in Richmond as their address, while in fact, it’s an overseas address — whether it’s from Asia, Europe, or Africa. In Richmond, it’s mainly a problem from Asia.”
Peschisolido admits it’s tricky to ensure services are not denied to people.
“But the way our system works isn’t that you simply show up at the hospital and give birth. A doctor has to give notice — usually three, four, five months in advance — that their patients will be going to the hospital. It’s not a situation where you have Joseph and Mary showing up, saying, ‘My wife is pregnant. She has to give birth.'”
It's not just happening in Richmond either.
Quote:
I Stayed in a Los Angeles Chinese Maternity Hotel
Every year, hundreds of Chinese women come to Los Angeles as "birth tourists" to give birth in hopes of providing their children with a safer, brighter future. While more and more of them DIY the experience by renting their own apartment, many still choose to pay up to $50,000 to stay in an exclusive "maternity hotel" where all their needs are taken care of.
I was one of those women.
Spoiler!
While I wasn't here from another country—or pregnant—our little family found ourselves unexpectedly homeless for two weeks before moving to a new home and a room at the maternity hotel was the only one we could find for under $200 per night during the summer high season.
When I entered the million-dollar mansion I’d be calling home for the next two weeks, I immediately felt a sense of relief. I’d spent the last two nights wide awake, imagining a dark, damp house filled with screaming babies, the smell of medicinal broths and musky new moms who chose to follow tradition and not bathe in the month after birth.
Luckily, my fears were allayed when what I found instead was a large, spiraling staircase, a grand piano, and Susan, who sat quietly on the couch rubbing her big, round belly, never once looking up from her Kindle to see who her new roommates were.
As part of the Chinese community in Los Angeles by marriage, I was no stranger to birth tourism or maternity hotels. Several of our acquaintances would rent rooms to Chinese moms wanting to give birth in America, and it wasn’t unusual to see them quietly slipping into the kitchen for a drink of water while we barbecued. Every once in a while we’d be invited to dinner by my husband’s classmates who were in LA giving birth, renting apartments in Chinese neighborhoods where they had easy access to food and Chinese-speaking OB/GYNs.
But truth be told, the whole situation still made me nervous. While there is nothing illegal about coming to America to give birth, these “maternity hotels” operate in a legal gray-zone. A 2015 investigation resulted in widespread raids of these operations, and several proprietors were charged with fraud, tax evasion and building code violations, and numerous new moms and pregnant women were sent back to China.
My roommates were equally nervous about my presence: it was unusual to find a “foreigner” (a non-Chinese) in this neighborhood, let alone in their house, but once my half-Chinese toddler swooped in to steal a phone (it turns out Fiona, the school teacher, loves Peppa Pig as much as he does) and we established that I’d been in China for the larger part of my life, I was immediately invited to join them.
As I got to know these women, I found out that they’d paid anywhere between $25,000 to $40,000 for a three-month stay in this particular maternity hotel, which covered transportation, room and board, three meals a day, one excursion a week, help with the baby’s papers, and a nurse to help care for their baby once it arrived.
I was shocked, however, to find out that this did not include medical care, which is usually sold as a package by local hospitals that give steep discounts to patients who can pay their medical bills upfront. (Contrary to rumors, these women cannot purchase health insurance or qualify for medical benefits, as they don’t have a social security number) Fiona, who had a natural birth, paid around $6,000 for two months of prenatal care, a natural birth and postnatal care, while Rose, who had an elective C-section, paid closer to $8,000 for all her medical costs, bringing their total cost for three months in American to an average of $30,000.
As the days went on, we found our groove. Our toddler would patiently wait outside of aunty Fiona’s door for their early morning Peppa dates, and my husband, a restaurateur, quickly became a private chef, supplementing the bland but nutritious array of stir-friend veggies, meats and rice the proprietor would deliver to his maternity hotels throughout the day with rich, spicy hot pots and his favorite rice noodle dishes from Yunnan and Guizhou, known for their sour and spicy notes.
We’d go to the grocery store together, talk about baby gear and pregnancy discomforts, and gossip about our husbands. As the days went on, the experience seemed more and more normal. Despite the fact that I wasn’t pregnant, I had been initiated into a sorority of pregnant ladies, and I could already imagine myself returning for the camaraderie once we were ready to have our second child. Compared to my experience of working through the 38th week and giving birth three days after leaving my job, this was heaven!
One day, as we headed out for our customary post-dinner walk I worked up the nerve to ask them why they were willing to spend so much money to give birth in America. To me, this seemed like a private question, but Susan, who had finally warmed up to us and turned out to be a Canadian-educated business powerhouse, burst forth with the obvious reason: “Why wouldn’t we do this?”
Fiona quickly echoed the sentiment. “As a teacher I hate to say this, but our education system is terrible. It runs kids through the ringer for a minuscule chance of getting into a good college. When my son grows up, he can skip the college entrance exams and apply to a Chinese university as a foreigner, which is so much easier.”
__________________
Gold is the money of kings;
Silver is the money of gentlemen;
Barter is the money of peasants;
But debt is the money of slaves.
-Norm Franz
Is Richmond's mayor elect Malcolm Brodie alienating himself from his constituents, or could he be the first public official to actually stand up to this practice?
How so? His constituents are the Canadian Citizens and Residents of Richmond. The ones doing the anchor babying are neither.
Seems like Trump beat Brodie to it if you didn't know.
Jus Soli citizenship has been pretty much enshrined New World countries since colonization. Rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater (pun intended), has anyone explored giving the Provincial or Municipal gov't greater authority and oversight in shutting down these birth hotels?
well a few babies owe Richmond hospital a couple mil
Why is CBSA and global affairs canada letting them in. They should've been rejecting their visa/entry outright.
__________________ There's a phallic symbol infront of my car
Quote:
MG1: in fact, a new term needs to make its way into the American dictionary. Trump............ he's such a "Trump" = ultimate insult. Like, "yray, you're such a trump."
bcrdukes yray fucked bcrdukes up the nose
dapperfied yraisis
dapperfied yray so waisis
FastAnna you literally talk out your ass
FastAnna i really cant
FastAnna yray i cant stand you
Just because something was "enshrined since colonization" doesn't mean that the modern landscape and reality doesn't change.
Made sense when you were trying to boost citizen numbers of your developing country as quickly as possible back in those days, but can't say that's really necessary anymore.
What are the actual upsides these days to keeping this system in place, other than "because it feels good"?
Keep it in place but charge like $200,000+ per birth and put all the money back into the hospital and housing ventures.
They’re just setting up shop to import “no income” (even though they’re wealthy) claim all the child tax / welfare from stupid Government of Canada satellite families anyway, might as well cut into their profit margin upfront.
or just get rid of it. in this day and age the system is pretty much an invitation for abuse
__________________
Gold is the money of kings;
Silver is the money of gentlemen;
Barter is the money of peasants;
But debt is the money of slaves.
-Norm Franz
They’ll just find another way... need to think more like China “how can we also make money off this?” Lol
The funniest thing will be if the government decides on a date to kill this and watching Richmond’s population literally double in a matter of weeks as they all try to squeeze in before the deadline. Whole bunch of dudes in China gonna be fucking non stop 10 months before the deadline hahahaha
I didn't make any qualifications as to whether Jus Soli is still valid for contemporary times, just that it is firmly established as a founding principle of our nation. Thus making it a bit harder to just "get rid of" than say, Marijuana prohibition.
Not saying either that it's a fool proof system immune to abuse, but rather, what alternatives are we to adopt? And what limits are we to place on them? We can't really use Jus Sanguinus (citizenship by blood) because we would have to define what "Canadian blood" is - which really goes against most principles of Multiculturalism. If we use some modified form of Jus Soli which requires a residency period, what is to become of stateless persons or refugees who give birth on our soil? Would their children remain stateless? What about criminal parents who are deported? Are their adult children who are born here to be deported as well to a country they have no memory of? And to dismiss these an examples as outliers not worthy of consideration, well the same can be said of the birthing hotels themselves. While egregious and uproarious, it is hardly the rule.
TDLR: Among other things, it basically states that the concept of "Citizenship" has been frequently used to deny minorities of their rights. As an Asian person born to naturalized Canadian citizens, this is always top of mind. The fact that Chinese Canadians weren't given the right to vote until 1947 and that only a couple of years before that Japanese Canadians were stripped of any citizenship rights altogether. It's why I always carry my passport with me when I'm abroad, lest some foreign official stopping me in the streets refusing to believe I am a citizen of this country. The very definition of "White Privilege" that visible minority Canadians are not afforded.
My understanding is that someone born to Canadian citizens would be granted citizenship.
But it doesn't make sense to me why someone born in the country from a non-citizen would automatically be granted citizenship.
__________________
I searched for truth, and all I found was You
Seems like Trump beat Brodie to it if you didn't know.
In Trump's case, his executive order is little more than a disguise to drum up support for the GOP among his Trump voter base. 2 or 3 years ago when Obama tried a similar thing by imposing an executive order to allow Dreamers to stay, the executive order was quickly overturned by the court to say that the president does not have the power to unilaterally change the policies like that.
With birthright citizenship enshrined in the US constitution, nothing short of a constitutional amendment will stand in the eye of the legal system. Trump is no stranger to having his executive orders revoked, but he still chose to do this because the GOP is sweating bullets about losing the midterms.
pretty hard to enforce but really what reason do you have to travel to Canada from China while thoroughly pregnant and having (at best) loose relations here..
if people are getting interrogated like crazy for bringing packs of beef jerky into Canada, you should be essentially held at gun point when you arrive in Canada 8 months pregnant...
__________________
Dank memes cant melt steel beams
^
That's the thing that frustrates me.
I get a letter from the CRA saying that I owe them $800 from my taxes 5 years ago. But these assholes bring in hockey bags full of $20s into the casino, then Weissach, and no one bats an eye.
My understanding is that someone born to Canadian citizens would be granted citizenship.
But it doesn't make sense to me why someone born in the country from a non-citizen would automatically be granted citizenship.
When white people first came here Canada was not a country.
__________________ Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
They’ll just find another way... need to think more like China “how can we also make money off this?” Lol
I thought we already have a program where foreigners can buy citizenship. The IIP.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Traum
With birthright citizenship enshrined in the US constitution, nothing short of a constitutional amendment will stand in the eye of the legal system. Trump is no stranger to having his executive orders revoked, but he still chose to do this because the GOP is sweating bullets about losing the midterms.
He doesn't need to amend the constitution. Only issue an executive order concurrent to it.
Section1 clause1 reads:
'All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside'
__________________
Gold is the money of kings;
Silver is the money of gentlemen;
Barter is the money of peasants;
But debt is the money of slaves.
-Norm Franz
Keep it in place but charge like $200,000+ per birth and put all the money back into the hospital and housing ventures.
They’re just setting up shop to import “no income” (even though they’re wealthy) claim all the child tax / welfare from stupid Government of Canada satellite families anyway, might as well cut into their profit margin upfront.
Doesnt matter how much they charge, the problem is they dont pay the bills.. just up plop out the babies, get the papers and their gone...
I thought we already have a program where foreigners can buy citizenship. The IIP.
He doesn't need to amend the constitution. Only issue an executive order concurrent to it.
Section1 clause1 reads:
'All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside'
We got a constitutional lawyer over here. That's never going to fly and I'm willing to put money on it.
__________________ Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
pretty hard to enforce but really what reason do you have to travel to Canada from China while thoroughly pregnant and having (at best) loose relations here..
if people are getting interrogated like crazy for bringing packs of beef jerky into Canada, you should be essentially held at gun point when you arrive in Canada 8 months pregnant...
With a lot of these women, you can't even tell they're pregnant. They will come here in their first trimester and likely won't even be showing yet.
I thought we already have a program where foreigners can buy citizenship. The IIP.
Just walked out of a meeting where the client, specifically deals with immigration investments, said that it's actually far more difficult to do now. Don't quote me on it cause she was speaking in Canto and my understanding is crap at best.
From what I heard, you need to invest into raw land or projects in the DP stage. But they cannot be hotels/casinos/resorts. A really good option for immigration investment is actually senior home care centers. You also need to have at least 5 years of Canadian ___ or smt.
The sum of it was that it's actually much harder to do now than like 5 years ago.
We got a constitutional lawyer over here. That's never going to fly and I'm willing to put money on it.
It doesn't matter much whether you think it'll fly. If he does impose an executive order, ultimately it would likely end up being for the supreme court to dictate.
__________________
Gold is the money of kings;
Silver is the money of gentlemen;
Barter is the money of peasants;
But debt is the money of slaves.
-Norm Franz
Having restricted Jus Soli is common throughout the world, the 30 countries without restrictions are the odd ones out here. My wife and I had our first child prior to her becoming a Canadian citizen and was grateful for the law of Jus Soli. Having to pay for every doctor's visit was the norm, and some special visits required payment up front. Our son was a $12k baby.
Going through the process we learned that countries with Jus Soli do actually make a lot of money from tourist birthing, in particular from countries that still have mandatory military service like: Korea, Germany, Brazil, and others. Having their child born in another country, then returning home and getting their own citizenship afterwards voids the requirement of the military service.
Lol White Privilege. Say any colour except white followed with pride and then explain that term and the definition of hypocrisy one after the other.
I believe the money can be invested nationwide. They are required to "intend" to stay in Quebec. Of course about 90% head straight to either here or Toronto.
The Quebec Immigrant Investor Program is passive in nature, meaning individuals are not required to establish or actively manage a business in the province.
__________________
Gold is the money of kings;
Silver is the money of gentlemen;
Barter is the money of peasants;
But debt is the money of slaves.
-Norm Franz
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
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