Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
An
entrepreneur
must establish or buy a business in Canada… The entrepre-
neur is expected to participate actively in managing the business. The business
must contribute to the Canadian economy and create one or more jobs in
Canada in addition to the jobs created for the entrepreneur and his family.
The entrepreneur is admitted on the condition that these requirements are
met within two years of landing, and is expected to meet regularly with an
immigration officer to monitor compliance with the terms and conditions.
Active business involvement and outputs that are measurable and moni-
tored are clearly specified in this description. The 'terms and conditions' of
entrepreneur status introduced unwelcome surveillance by, and accounta-
bility to, immigration authorities. Specifications for the
investor
stream have
become more demanding in response to perceived and actual abuses since
its introduction in 1986.
Investors must invest a minimum amount in approved projects in Canada.
CIC will act as an agent on behalf of the provinces and territories, which will
decide where to invest the money. All investors must provide a minimum
investment of $400,000 and have a minimum net worth of $800,000.
Provinces and territories secure the investment against loss.
This revision raised the previous financial eligibility level for participation
and also provided for greater security for investors and closer scrutiny of
investments to check against cases of fraud. The third and smallest category
of business entry is the
self-employed
stream that permits entry to a range of
skilled individuals, including artists, professional athletes, and also very
wealthy individuals. The specifications here are more general: 'Self-employed
applicants must be able to establish or buy a business in Canada which will
provide employment for themselves and will make an economic or cultural
contribution to Canada' (CIC 2001).
The Business Immigration Programme (BIP) was established in 1978
and expanded in 1986 with the clear aim of expediting the inflow of immi-
grant capital as well as entrepreneurial skill (Wong and Ng 1998; Ley 2003).
The timing coincided with economic recession in Canada and the sighting
and scouring of the Pacific Rim for trade and investment prospects. The
addition of the investor category in 1986 to the earlier entrepreneur and
self-employed streams was opportunistic. It was introduced in knowledge of
the uncertainty that was rising among the middle class in Hong Kong fol-
lowing the Sino-British joint declaration in 1984 that set out the path to the
end of colonial rule in 1997, entailing an unpredictable future with a
Communist government controlling a class-stratified market economy. The
BIP has been a pro-active policy to attract the economic energy of Asia
Pacific and draw it within the nation state. It complements the trade
