Russian bride leaves elderly BC man with $25K welfare bill

[Captain Awesome]

I could be way pff base here, but dont most government forms ask about Place of origin, and if not born here ,how long has one lived here?

Place of origin doesn't matter, immigrants are entitled to welfare funds just like anyone else - it's available to both citizens and landed immigrants.

[Sn0man]

Place of origin doesn't matter, immigrants are entitled to welfare funds just like anyone else - it's available to both citizens and landed immigrants.

Maybe that should be changed. Immigrants should not be allowed access to any social programs until they've contributed something to this country. If they can't contribute, then they should be shipped straight back where they came from. Unless we all want this to be welfare-land where immigrants of the world can come here and rest on their laurels while Canadians foot the bill.

[Bsuds]

Unless we all want this to be welfare-land where immigrants of the world can come here and rest on their laurels while Canadians foot the bill.

Isn't that what we all ready have?

[Sn0man]

Isn't that what we all ready have?

Yeah, true enough.

I was going to close my statement above by saying that if we're not careful we'll end up with a country that is full of immigrants who come here not to be in Canada but to make their own little countries within ours while getting us to pay for it - but then I realized they already have.

What a joke.

[LoneWolf_53]

^^ Yup that ship sailed a long time ago.

[Captain Awesome]

Immigrants should not be allowed access to any social programs until they've contributed something to this country.

Landed immigrants (immigrant status until they get citizenship in 3 years) have the access to welfare but are obligated to pay it back. If they were sponsored, it's the sponsor that has to pay it back (like it happened in this story). Having access doesn't mean it's free for them.

[Poindexter]

When I worked retail I had numerous older people tell me they sold out where they had lived before, moved to Kelowna to be with their kids at their kids' urging, then when they got settled in Kelowna, found out the hard way that their kids and grandkids had their own too-busy lives and they got ignored and the kids had no time to visit with them or help them with anything - even after one of them died and the mom or dad was now on their own - and lonely - and trying to look after a home themselves..

Well said G', made me call my parents and volunteered to get thier yard ready for winter this weekend, dad's a little slower these days and could use the help which brings me back on topic. As grammfreddy says, for some people the latter years can be lonely. Just when you have all the time in the world, your world is running out of time and you're at home alone watching the tube

Other than the money she owes him, who do you blame - the Russian bride who saw a way to improve her family's situation or ourselves who get busy and leave our parents to fight an uphill battle that gets steeper with each bone creaking, cardiac murmuring and bowel tightining year?

[Roadster]

I didnt read all of the posts but since it shows the daughter was attempting to sponsor her mother and then the whole thing switched over to him doing it by marriage and the mom left like the wind on her own doing,,, the daughter should pay the dues,,, his was a mistake, hers was a plan to screw the old man over.
And the mom should be dropped off from a helicopter at 40 feet right back on her home land, at her cost...
Yes we are weak and we let our own people get hurt.

[gardengirl]

Just because he was 82 is not a reason to forgive him for his extreme stupidity.

He got conned.

The woman should be deported. Her daughter too for apparently setting it up.

I agree. This woman is the criminal, she should be the one the Gov't goes after.
Cut off any social assistance and be made to pay back anything she received.
She should be charged with fraud.

[grammafreddy]

This woman is the criminal, she should be the one the Gov't goes after.
Cut off any social assistance and be made to pay back anything she received.
She should be charged with fraud.

[Smurf]

[Gilchy]

Landed immigrants (immigrant status until they get citizenship in 3 years) have the access to welfare but are obligated to pay it back. If they were sponsored, it's the sponsor that has to pay it back (like it happened in this story). Having access doesn't mean it's free for them.

How dare you let facts get in the way of some good old fashioned xenophobia.

It is pretty crummy indeed what this woman did, but unless it can be proven that she comitted fraud, she is here to stay.

[normaM]

how is she a criminal? Maybe she left him because he was abusive.. we only have his side of the story.

[FreeRights]

The one thing I learned from this is that not everybody should be allowed to use the internet.

[LoneWolf_53]

how is she a criminal? Maybe she left him because he was abusive.. we only have his side of the story.

Enough info to recognize a couple of schemers taking advantage of an old fella, in my opinion. If there was any abuse it was being dished out by womenfolk.