Sure. You might be able to get out of the tax just by living in the house. The law is just meant to be for people who are buying property as an investment with no intention of living in the city.
Incorrect. You need to be a Canadian citizen, or a Permanent Resident, or have a valid work visa to avoid the tax.
Those are trivial to buy in most countries by "investing" in a business. Probably even a business that buys and sells property.
You can buy PR in Quebec, the predominantly French speaking province that has a parallel government as they threaten to seperate every so often when they don't get what they want.