An
urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
falsely
[Do government-assisted refugees get more income support and benefits than Canadian pensioners do?]
''Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada''. stating that government-sponsored refugees receive more monetary support from the government than a country's own pensioners originated in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 2004 and has since spread to other countries, including the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Canada
Origin
This urban myth has its origins in a 2004 ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' article. On 11 March 2004, the ''Toronto Star'' published an article about the
resettlement of a group of refugees from
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
to
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...
. The article focused on the Canadian government's new strategy to divert immigrant and refugee settlement away from the most popular destinations of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, and
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. The article also described the support that the Somalian refugees would receive from the
Government of Canada
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...
:
A single person receives $1,890 from the federal government as start-up allowance, along with $580 monthly social assistance, depending on how soon the person is able to find employment. They also each receive a night lamp, table, a chair and a single bed from the government.
On March 12, the day following the publication of the article, Nicholas Keung, the reporter who wrote the original article, received a "
polemic
Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...
" e-mail from a reader.
[Sellar, D. 2004 November 27. "Can we dispel this urban myth?" ''Toronto Star''. p. H.06.] The author of the e-mail mistakenly concluded that refugees receive a monthly allowance from the federal government greater than the monthly allowance received by pensioners. This e-mail was also copied to 100 other recipients. When the reporter tried to respond to the e-mail to correct the mistake, he found that the address no longer existed.
On the same day, in response to Keung's article, ''Toronto Star'' published a
letter to the editor
A letter to the editor (LTE) is a Letter (message), letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through ...
without fact checking or revisiting the original article for clarification.
The letter stated:
I think the effort to resettle refugees in smaller communities is an excellent effort. These refugees may find it easier to integrate into a smaller community especially if accompanied by some of their compatriots. I also find it interesting that the federal government provides a single refugee with a monthly allowance of $1,890 and each can also get an additional $580 in social assistance for a total of $2,470. This compares very well to a single pensioner who after contributing to the growth and development of Canada for 40 years can only receive a monthly maximum of $1,012 in old age pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement
The Old Age Security (OAS) (SV; french: Sécurité de la vieillesse) program is a universal retirement pension available to most residents and citizens of Canada who have reached 65 years old. This pension is supplemented by the Guaranteed Income ...
. Maybe our pensioners should apply as refugees?
Following the publication of the letter and the distribution of the forwarded e-mail, the ''Toronto Star'' was bombarded with e-mails from readers who felt that something should be done to ensure that pensioners received their fair due by the government. After investigating the matter and realizing that a mistake had been made, the
ombudsman
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
of the paper published an article on 27 November 2004 correcting the conclusion that refugees received more than pensioners. "In hindsight, the ombud now wishes he'd issued a speedy clarification to help set the record straight," he wrote. "But with information (and misinformation) moving at a warp speed on the Internet, I doubt there was a silver bullet for the problem."
This apology and correction of the mistake had little impact on the circulation of the newly born urban myth. The same letter to the editor appeared with minor alterations in over 50 newspapers, online newsletters, blogs, and discussion forums in the next 3 years. Six newspapers printed the same letter with slight alterations more than once on different dates and from different authors.
Government response
In November 2006,
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC; french: Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada)Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program since 2015; the legal title is Departm ...
(CIC) published an online fact sheet on the issue in order to try to counter the spread of the false information.
[True or False: Refugees receive more financial assistance from the federal government than Canadian pensioners]
" Citizenship and Immigration Canada. 2006 November 22. Archived 2008 April 30. CIC dismissed the rumor, stating:
Refugees don't receive more financial assistance from the federal government than Canadian pensioners. A letter to the editor of a Canadian newspaper contained this incorrect information. In it, a one-time, start-up payment provided to some refugees in Canada was mistaken for an ongoing, monthly payment. Unfortunately, although the newspaper published a clarification, the misleading information had already spread widely over e-mail and the internet.
Outside of Canada
The letter has continued to appear on the Internet and the original email has been altered in some cases, replacing the Canadian context with an American one.
[See http://www.snopes.com/politics/immigration/refugees.asp] Many American conservative politicians and commentators, however, have embraced this urban legend in a general sense.
In 2012, a UK version of the letter started circulating on ''Facebook'', in the form of an open letter to "Prime Minister the RT HON. David Cameron MP".
Australia
In 2008, the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
program ''
Media Watch'' documented several appearances of the urban legend in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
's mainstream media, beginning with ''
The Cairns Post
''The Cairns Post'' is a major News Corporation newspaper in Far North Queensland, Australia, that exclusively serves the Cairns area. It has daily coverage on local, state, national and world news, plus a wide range of sections and liftouts c ...
'' which published letters to the editor containing the claims, and using the same figures as the original Canadian email, in August 2007 and February 2008. Despite the ''Media Watch'' story, the same letters appeared two months later in ''
The Courier-Mail
''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, ...
'' in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
and ''
The West Australian
''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'' in
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
. On 21 April 2008,
2GB
2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE.
2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM.
In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total rad ...
talkback radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
host
Alan Jones read the email on air, and was critical of ''Media Watch'' when the program contacted him to advise him of the hoax.
The
Australian government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
's
Department of Immigration and Citizenship
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) was an Australian government department that existed between January 2007 and September 2013, that was preceded by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and was s ...
responded to a letter in the ''
Sunraysia Daily
The ''Sunraysia Daily'' is a local newspaper in the north-western Sunraysia region of Victoria, Australia, it is published on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. From its first publication in 1920 until 14 September 2007, it was published ...
'', drawing attention to the email's Canadian origins, and stating that benefits paid to refugees were on the same basis and at the same rate as those to any Australian resident.
[Logan, Sandi]
Refugees not paid more than pensioners - hoax email
Department of Immigration and Citizenship (Australia)
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) was an Australian government department that existed between January 2007 and September 2013, that was preceded by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and was s ...
, 21 February 2008.
See also
*
Immigration to Canada
According to the 2021 Canadian census, immigrants in Canada number 8.3 million persons and make up approximately 23 percent of Canada's total population. This represents the eighth-largest immigrant population in the world, while the proport ...
*
Economic impact of immigration to Canada
The economic impact of immigration is an important topic in Canada. Two conflicting narratives exist: 1) higher immigration levels help to increase economy (GDP) and 2) higher immigration levels decreases GDP per capita or living standards for ...
References
{{Reflist
Immigration to Canada
Anti-immigration politics
Misconceptions