The federal government has taken fire for Quebec`s Immigrant
Investor Program (QIIP) which offers residency to wealthy
immigrants, mostly from China. Critics accuse Ottawa of
disregarding that the vast majority of these individuals settle in
British Columbia and Ontario, and deprive these provinces of
federal immigrant settlement transfer payments which Quebec is
unfairly receiving.
The critics would be better advised to aim their fire at the
federal government to reclaim its role as a dominant player in the
residence through investment industry as it has the policy basis
and the market demand to do so.
Until 2014, the federal government gave entry-level millionaires
a pathway to residency and ultimately, citizenship in Canada
through its Canada Immigrant Investor Program (CIIP). The scheme
operated largely on the interest income earned from investors'
funds. The program benefits to Canada peaked during the 1990s, when
interest rates were high. The program was
