Syrian Refugees to BOOST British Columbia’s Economy by Half a Billion Dollars???

12/02/2015, A Vancity report says the refugees expected to arrive in B.C. between now and the end of February are expected to generate $563 million in local economic activity over the next 20 years. The credit unit found that immigrants tend to strengthen the economy in their new communities because they often purchase goods and services within their local community networks. The report also points to immigrants being highly entrepreneurial as they are 30 per cent more likely to start a business than non-immigrants are. Refugees also report higher rates of self-employment than both other immigrants and people born in Canada, that is according to Vancity.[Like most other reports and findings; the Vancity report fails to answer: Where The Money  Comes From???

11/30/2015, the recent news that settling 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada will cost $1.2 billion over the next six years has some questioning whether the government’s humanitarian mission is worth the price. However, many experts say cost is just one side of the equation.

On the other side are the economic benefits to be had from the arrival of refugees from a country known for its relatively skilled work force. They say, benefits could be particularly helpful; to Canada’s have-not regions that are struggling with long-term economic stagnation.

Atlantic Canada has been facing low population growth and an ageing workforce for years, and some business leaders there are pushing to make sure the region gets its share of refugees. Halifax Chamber of Commerce, says the working-age population in his area is shrinking. Rob Batherson says The working-age population in his area is shrinking. “We need new, younger people to come into the economy to contribute, to set up businesses, employ other Nova Scotians and expand our tax base rather than manage with a shrinking tax base. Many of today's most successful business leaders were refugees from Lebanon, from the civil war in the '60s and '70s … [They] come into Nova Scotia, create wealth, create jobs, increase tax revenue. So what I'm excited about ... is who in that class of refugees will be the next Nova Scotia success story for the next 30 years?"

Shayna Plaut, a research fellow at Simon Fraser University, makes a similar argument for northern British Columbia. "Particularly with the refugees that are coming from Syria, you're talking about predominantly middle class folks, professional folks," she said. "And they're coming to a new community and bringing with them those resources."

One of the strongest economic arguments in favour of taking in refugees is that it worked the last time. Canada took in some 60,000 Vietnamese “boat people” starting in 1979, and research suggests they have been an economic success story.

According to Ryerson University professor Morton Beiser the Vietnamese boat people arrived with little English or French, no assets and inappropriate job skills for Canada’s economy; but within a decade of their arrival, the former boat people had an unemployment rate 2.3 percentage points lower than Canada as a whole, and relied less heavily on social assistance than the general population. One in five had started “Their Own Business”. Canada Will Need More Immigrants Or Face Decline: ECONOMISTS—THE EXPERTS.

Of course, the people on this side—these EXPERTS fail to answer one question: WHERE DID THE MONEY TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS COME FROM?

Beyond the question of refugees, a growing number of experts say Canada will have to increase the number of immigrants it takes in to offset an aging population and a low birth rate. The Conference Board of Canada estimated last year that the country will have to raise the number of immigrants arriving annually to 350,000 within the next 20 years, from around 250,000 a year today.

“Without immigrants, Canada faces labour shortages, a smaller tax base, and increased strain on our medical system and pension funds,” Conference Board research associate Kareem El-Assal wrote.  “Indeed, in the absence of high immigration levels, Canada’s population will shrink, our economy will suffer, and our standard of living will decline.” [Apparently he fails to realise: Pension funds are not owned by governments or by governments; they are INVESTMENTS/PREMIUMS paid by taxpayers, with expectation –as is true or any investment- receiving SUBSTANTIAL PROFIT]

The Liberal government announced on Tuesday it would extend its original end-of-year deadline to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees to February 2016. ~~Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan.