A Bold Vision of Hope
By John Meyer
By calling for an immigration intake increase to 450,000 per year in what has been, over 25 years, the world’s highest rate of immigration, Ottawa’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth is but scraping the surface on what Canada can achieve in growth and influence !! Their recommendation would free this country from its economic doldrums and project Canadian enlightenment and hope around the world !!!
Establishing an annual immigration rate of 1 ½% of the Canadian population creates a cycle of compound growth. Our population will double every 50 years elevating it to 36 billion (1000 times the current paltry level of 36 million) by the year 2500 vs waiting until the year 2700 with the current rate of 1% (320,000 immigrants in 2016) !!!
Think of the dynamics of the economy created by adding 1000 Torontos, Vancouvers, Calgarys, and Montreals to Canada’s empty and lonely landscape !! To maintain the Canadian connection with the great outdoors, every family would have a cottage. This means 14 billion personal retreats spread over the limitless Canadian beauty. We would truly be the nation of nature !!
The use of cold fusion sea water reactors would allow never-ending power to be produced. Meanwhile, the vast oil sands could be counted on to provide liquid fuels for the 175 billion vehicle fleet of our multi car and recreation vehicle families forever !!
The latest generation of perpetual motion machines would enable this infinite energy to be used for infinite uses. Canada would become the leading consumer nation, eclipsing China and India combined many times over.
Yet Immigration Minister John McCallum appears to have backpedaled on this brilliant proposal saying it might be too ambitious. What bold initiative ever lacked ambition? For the nation of hope, “too ambitious” is an oxymoron. Ambition and hope are the twin pillars of progress and enlightenment.
This bold and hopeful economy would guarantee unlimited market potential with housing prices soaring to the millions of dollars per sq foot and higher. Several million people can earn immense wealth in trading properties and millions more could have their mega yacht come in with just a few years of stock derivatives investing.
Those who were income challenged (one should no longer use the word “poor” or “lazy”) like doctors, engineers and those engaged in the tawdry trades of producing food and real goods and services, could be given courses in financial management to allow them to participate in this galaxy of money making opportunities. Keyboards truly are the wealth producers of mans’ dreams.
Of course, there are practical limitations. 36 billion people is 5 times the current population of Earth which means that not only must the planets population have to grow but everyone has to move to Canada.
Sacrifices?
There would have to be a few. But paving over farmland is a natural process for an informed growth economy since agricultural produce accounts for a very small amount of the economy compared to land development. Once all of our farmland has been upgraded into money producing investment plays, the concept of agriculture will be just a quaint memory !!
Problems? Yes. But these have been foreseen by the enlightened Advisory Council. They predict a skills shortage for 2500 due to indolent Canadian youth who live in their parents closets inside their grandparents bedrooms in their great grandparents basements. The shortage will be alleviated by that year’s intake of 540 million (1.5% of 36 billion) 24/7 working, low wage craving, compliant immigrants.
Other countries, misguided by pessimists and naysayers pushing their quality of life and social cohesiveness agenda, will be left in the dust of their own global warming paranoia by our economic growth.
In just several short centuries of compound 1 ½% immigration, Canada will stand astride the globe like a colossus with our vision on the stars above us. A mere 1000 years after the first Europeans landed in this deserted cornucopia of unending natural resources, Canada will have achieved endless progress. There are no limits once the politics of growth-forever are embraced and applied !!
Think of it! Hope never ending, the solution to all of mans’ problems.
Too ambitious?? Humbug!
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John Erik Meyer is President of Canadians for a Sustainable Society. He holds a degree in economics, works as an engineer and medium-tech small business owner, and has published articles on population, immigration, productivity, climate change, economic metrics and energy systems in the Globe and Mail, Financial Post, Toronto Star and other publications.
When is humour appropriate? When a powerful government Council promotes a much larger population growing forever to boost the GCP metric with no accompanying analysis of environmental, energy, social or individual economic health impacts.
