He is detained, interrogated and if he cannot show that he is fleeing persecution, ordered to return to China.

A furor erupts in Canada about queue-jumpers and lax immigration laws.

A wealthy investor in Hong Kong, seeking a more secure future, pledges to invest $400,000 in Canada. He flies to Vancouver and checks into a five-star hotel.

His application for permanent residency status is processed by pleasant immigration officials.

No one protests. No one questions the fairness of the system. Even when he builds a monster home in a quiet Vancouver neighbourhood, the grumbles are muted.

There has been something cock-eyed about this summer's immigration debate.

Canadians have demanded that Ottawa crack down hard on migrant boat people, without asking why foreigners with deep pockets should be given front-of-the-line treatment.

Government critics have sounded the alarm each time a boatload of migrants arrives, while ignoring the evidence of widespread fraud in the immigrant-investor program.

Both the smuggled migrant and the affluent investor are, in essence, buying their way into North America.

Both the would-be refugee from Fujian province and the monied newcomer from Hong Kong are, knowingly or not, relying on criminals to advance their interests. The migrant puts his fate in the hands of a smuggler. The foreign businessman puts his money into an investment fund, managed by dubious middlemen.

If Canada wants to send out a message that its immigration rules are fair and consistent, it cannot punish the 600 migrants who have arrived by boat this summer, while ignoring the other flaws in the system.

Human smuggling is a serious international problem. The steps the government is taking - sending RCMP officers to Fujian province, keeping the migrants out of the clutches of the smugglers and meting out tough jail sentences to the crews of the smuggling ships - are good.

But this summer's influx needs to be kept in perspective: