when you can't afford to stay in your own country

Sometimes the stories we encounter in everyday life make us stop and think about what is happening around us.

I've been riding my bike around Vancouver, trying to find work, trying to find affordable housing and trying to figure out how I'm going to keep a roof over my head.

Last week, while out riding, I came across a woman's wallet.

I picked it up, made sure it got back to its owner, and in the process learned a little about her life.

It reminded me that there are so many people trying to make ends meet. People studying, working, juggling responsibilities and doing whatever they can to build a life here.

Then I read a North Shore News story about a Mexican woman living in Canada who allegedly promised another Mexican woman a job that didn't exist, using false employment documents to facilitate her arrival in Canada.

It wasn't the first time I'd come across stories like this.

I've already researched education fraud, Temporary Foreign Worker Program abuses, immigration scams and the exploitation of people who come to Canada believing they have been offered genuine employment.

There are people being taken advantage of on all sides.

Newcomers deserve honest job offers, decent housing and protection from exploitation.

Canadian workers deserve fair employment opportunities, too.

Young people shouldn't need multiple jobs just to survive. Older workers shouldn't become invisible. And people who have worked most of their lives shouldn't be facing homelessness.

But I want to bring this back to something personal.

I've been struggling with housing since 2019. I've been unable to find regular employment for three years. I'm 64, and although my pension is expected to begin early next year, it won't be enough to rent a home in Vancouver.

So what choices do I have?

I don't want to become another homeless person wandering the streets at night, carrying everything I own in grocery bags.

I think about the woman I've seen wandering the streets, carrying all her possessions in No Frills grocery bags. I've seen her out there, moving from place to place with everything she owns in those bags.

I don't want that to be me.

I don't want to spend my nights wandering the streets, carrying my belongings in grocery bags, trying to find somewhere safe and warm.

I don't want to become another person people walk past without seeing.

I don't want to be sleeping outside in the cold, wondering where I'll be safe, where I'll find food or whether I'll make it through another winter.

I'm frightened. That's the truth.

And that's why I'm going to Mexico.

I've been visiting Mexico since 1997. I love the people, the culture and the connections I've made there. I know it isn't a magical solution, and living somewhere else comes with its own challenges.

But I have a chance to find somewhere more affordable to live, somewhere I can stretch my limited income and hopefully get through the years ahead without losing my dignity.

I didn't imagine that at 64 I'd be leaving Canada because I couldn't afford to grow old here.

I don't want to leave my art, my writing, my community or the country where I've spent so much of my life.

But I also don't want to die on a cold street waiting for my pension.

And I don't think anyone should have to make that choice.

some questions we need to ask

1. Why are people who want to work unable to find employment?
2. Why are older workers being overlooked?
3. Why are young people juggling multiple jobs just to survive?
4. How many newcomers are being exploited through fraudulent job offers?
5. Who is properly monitoring the Temporary Foreign Worker Program?
6. Are employers and immigration consultants being held accountable when they exploit vulnerable people?
7. Why can't someone who has worked and contributed to society afford a modest home in retirement?
8. What happened to the promise that hard work would provide some security?
9. Why are we treating housing as an investment opportunity rather than a basic human necessity?
10. What kind of country do we want to become?

I don't blame the woman who came here looking for a better life. I don't blame the young woman whose wallet I returned. And I don't blame people who are trying to survive.

I blame a system that seems increasingly unable to provide ordinary people with the basics.

We can welcome newcomers and protect Canadian workers. We can care about immigration and still demand accountability. We can have compassion for everyone without pretending that things are working.

I love Canada. I love Mexico.

But right now, Canada has become too expensive for me to call home.

And that is a very sad thing to have to say.

HousingIsAHumanRight

#CanadaHousingCrisis

#Homelessness

#AffordableHousing

#ImmigrationReform

#WorkersRights

#TemporaryForeignWorkers

#RetirementSecurity

#CostOfLiving

#DignityForAll