Canada's anchor babies

Canadian doctor's have recently noticed an increase in expectant mothers from foreign countries having babies in Canada to secure citizenship for them.

According to the article, most are relatively well-off mothers from developing countries.

Under Canadian law, anyone born on Canadian soil automatically becomes a Canadian citizen and is entitled to state funded social services such as Medicare.

So far the number of anchor babies being born in Canada hasn't reached the levels seen in the U.S, but the problem is likely to increase if the government fails to tackle the issue soon.

On a more positive note, the government of Australia says it intends to reduce skilled immigration in response to the global economic slowdown.

The size of the expected cut should be annouced in the next few weeks.