Jim:
I didn’t miss your point. Your point is to get a job and I was merely suggesting that with your qualifications, getting a teaching job as a flight instructor is the fastest and surest way to gain two important things – Canadian experience and income. Flight instructors make about $20/hr and at a busy place, you can earn about $ 24000 p.a. I know it’s not going to get you rich but it’s a start.
If you are self-employed and paying UI but not qualified to collect it, then you are doing something wrong. It has nothing to do with the immigration sponsorship but depends on how you set up your company and yourself as an employee.
As to CPP, I don’t know why you said you don’t qualify for it. Even so, our (or should it be my) government has other program to assist needy people after their retirement. There’s always Old Age Security pension if you don’t qualify for CPP. You said you have been in Canada for 6 years already. You are 52, so you have 13 more years of “useful” time before retirement. So, when you retire at 65, you should be able to collect Old Age Security pension. Right now, the full amount is about $440 for anyone who has lived in Canada for 40 years (maximum time). Therefore, your Old Age pension with 19 years of residency will be:
19/40 x $440 (at today’s dollar value) = Almost $ 209.
If you have no other income, our government will support you with Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). The amount varies but the total including your Old Age pension should give you close to $ 1000 per month. BTW, the GIS is not taxable but the Old Age Security is. However, with the personal exemption taken into account, you don’t have to pay any income tax at all.
Since you live in Ontario, you know you don’t pay anything when you go see a doctor, and when you turn 65, the drugs will be free of charge. I don’t mind paying a lot of taxes to government and the government, in turn, provides all these programs to the needy. The reason is simple, our government ensures every citizen is taken care of.
Canada is a great country and our government really looks after its citizens. If you are not happy with us, then please, leave! Good-bye.