As I have followed the great debate in the U.S. about illegal immigration, I have tried , with great difficulty to keep my views to myself. I promised someone I would not discuss politics or religion. I have also written to the Government of Canada with these concerns.
I believe countries such as Canada need to have immigration to survive both politically and economically. In Canada, immigrants are screened for their ability to be able to pay their own way. This is as it should be. Better to bring in somebody with skills who can contribute rather than a person who is going to be a drain on society. So where is the problem?
In the U.S. immigrants are encouraged to become part of the society and adopt the ways, life-style and laws of the States. In Canada, to a certain extent the same is true. However, here we encourage people to retain their own culture and display that culture. We are not the "great melting pot". And there-in lies the problem. When immigrants come to Canada, many want to bring their laws with them. This becomes a problem when their laws are closely tied to their religion. Canada was founded as a Judeo-Christian country. In the last few years the aboriginal groups want to bring back their societal ways. This has proven to be both good and bad. The Muslims, in Ontario, want to bring in Sharia law. They also want as many signs of Christianity removed as possible. In different cities in Canada, a coffin with a cross was going to be the symbol of death related car accidents. Now it is just a black coffin as some people found the cross offensive. Gang related violence is on the increase and usually breaks down along ethnic lines. People from countries have come in where death is an everyday occurrence and this mind-set seems to have come with them. Community leaders from these populations must speak out forcefully against this behaviour. Saying," oh that is not representative of us" is not enough anymore. These leaders need to take action to have their people respect Canadian law.
The second problem with immigration in Canada, are the people who come here , stay long enough to get their citizenship and then return to their own countries. Granted, they work hard while they are here but in some cases , it is so they can live high or buy businesses when they return home. By having Canadian citizenship, they expect the Government to take care of them even when they don't live here. A good example of this was during the war in Lebanon when Canada had to repatriate and extract 40,000 Lebanese from the war zone, even though some had not lived in Canada for 20 years or more. Some even had the gall to complain that this was not done fast enough and they had to find their own way through Syria. When they arrived back in Canada, they were given free medical, housing and welfare care even though they had not paid into it through taxes for years and years.
I am not against immigrants or immigration. What I do want to see is these immigrants become true Canadians with their loyalties to Canada, not their home countries or laws. By keeping their own traditions so prominent, they are often dismissing the way of life they chose to come to. We have great festivals here that all people can take part in and different cultures and food are shown off. This is terrific. Love you homeland, respect your culture, but let me do the same with mine. Don't bring your problems with you.
Over the years, immigrants into Canada have made great contributions. People from China, Japan, the Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Scotland, England, Holland, the Caribbean,India, Pakistan, Lebanon---- countries from around the world have all made POSITIVE contributions. Lets keep it that way.
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19 comments:
Moose, it always offended me that many came to Canada just long enough to get a foot in the door to the U.S.
More annoying was talking with some virulent Quebec separatists who kept this as their back up (and probably REAL desire); that if they separated and failed, the U.S. would GLADLY take them in, rather than risk a new Cuba on their physical border. I kid you not.
Lin: I don't think the Americans would put up with their crap about language and culture
Why not, Moose, they are more than putting up with it from their neighbors to the south. It is so sad to watch this happen.
I just don't think the Americans would go for a law that says your signs must be predominantly French and if you weren't educated in Quebec, your kids have to go to a French school
Moose, you have beautifully described and written the thoughts that are on many Canadians minds these days.
We have a situation going on right now in BC where a man from India came into our country with a fake passport. Then he had a stroke.
Of course he's been well taken care of by our medical system but the government finally said okay you're as well as you're going to get now you have to go back to India and go through the immigration process like everyone is supposed to do.
Now the community of East Indians have smuggled him out of the hospital and are giving him sanctuary in one of the temples. They are on the news and protesting up and down that Canada is being unfair and they demand that Canada allow this faker to stay here.
He needs continuous long term care. The East Indian community said they will care for him and pay for his medical costs which is the right thing to do but I'll betcha our government will find a way to make that offer illegal. They just won't go for people making private deals with public medical.
The government will not only allow this man to stay but will also pick up the tab for his medical costs.
This kind of thing goes on all the time. But what can people do about it? Seriously, we're stuck with government policy on immigration, health care, AND education of immigrants legal or illegal.
I think you have to write both your provincial MLA and your federal MP.I have found that with this new Conservative government I usually get an answer,. It may not be the one I want but at least they answer. The Liberals never did.
I hope they don't let him stay, only because then he'll want to bring his family and their families and and their families etc etc.Let him go through proper channels. No skirting the system.
Yes, our written-rules are grand-sounding, aren't they? Now if we could just get those words off the paper, and onto the "play-sheets", therefore, "into-practice", then this country would once again be the great nation it was intended to be!
But we're too busy trying to be, "politically-correct" with every bum and moocher who literally walks across the border.
Like Lin said---we're already being forced to accept Spanish as our "alternate" language, to suit our "future-populace".....
Bruno: I do know that the present government here is actually looking into what can be done so we don't have to bring back 40,000 again when they don't contribute. Time will tell.
Loved this post. You haven't broken your promise, either. It is NOT political nor religious. It is a heartfelt, well-reasoned problem a citizen of Canada has. It deserves even more wide spread publication than it has at present. I, for one, have never been able to understand why Quebec feels that French should be their language. Che Sara, Sara? And I have no intention of allowing our American government to make a separate state for Spanish speakers.
The problem in the U.S. is that we have forgotten we are supposed to be a "great melting pot". It seems we need signs in various foreign languages just about everywhere. That's illogical to me. If we're a melting pot, then, aliens, MELT.
I really liked this post, moose. Thanks for sharing.
Cat:I agree with our assessment. Being a melting pot seems to work a lot better.If we could drop all the hyphenated Canadians we would be a lot better off.
Glad you enjoyed it.
You are so right. Drop the hyphenated Canadian. You either are one or you're not. A young lady I work with was born in Delta BC Canada. She is constantly referring to herself as East Indian and sometimes Indo-Canadian. I lost it one day. Couldn't take it anymore. I said "I hate to disappoint you but you are Canadian. That's it. No other. Accept it." Sheeesh.
Catmoves - French and English are both official Canadian languages equally. Any other language spoken here has been introduced and is not official.
The trouble with Quebec is they want to do away with English and have suceeded in many respects such as signage is ONLY French. No English allowed on signs.
Whereas in the rest of Canada you can have whatever language you want on private business signs. Government is all English and French. Street signs are English.
We have malls in the lower mainland that are all Asian or East Indian businesses. One in particular won't serve non-Asians. They say stuff like "What are you doing in our mall?" They get away with it too.
I'm grumpy tonight. It's too hot here. 35 degrees today.
Babzy: I don't think we are the only ones who think this way. Be a Canadian or don't be a Canadian. Can't have both.
OK moose. Where's the comment section in Earththings?
The idea was funny.
The U.S. has this crap about hyphenated citizens, too.
My heritage would have to have so many hyphens it would take up pages. I suspect I'm not alone, either.
Must make me a mongrel.
C-A-T-M-O-V-E-S: that's only 7 hyphens.Lol
I 'LL PUT IN A COMMENTS SECTION, i THOUGHT i HAD.
I'm lettin' Catmoves do the talkin' here, saves ME a lot of breath!(And gets ME outta the "frying-pan", here!)
Bruno: Does that mean you have a lot of hyphens also? Yo seem more the pure-bred type rather than a mongrel. LOL
moose - I came overhere on a whim from Chez babzy, and this is a topic I am very passionate about. I have to put my two bits in... I agree that Canadian laws need to prevail, absolutely. I don't, however, think that the melting pot idea has worked any better than the patchwork quilt thing. I don't know what the happy medium would be - why shouldn't an immigrant, law abiding and all that, be allowed to preserve their heritage, hyphens and all, so long as they are willing to be as socially conscious of the host country as they expect us to be of theirs? (Technically, if someone has dual citizenship, hyphenating would be more accurate, but if you're born on Canadian soil and carry only a Canadian passport, the hyphen becomes redundant. I'm 3rd generation Canuck from a hodge podge of nations. I'm Mongrel-Canadian.)
Immigrants fill a huge void in the work force by taking on jobs that many of us feel is below our earning potential or we simply find beneath us: taxi driving, cleaning bathrooms in hotels, and running 24-hour convenience stores. The nice immigrants, the ones who have regular jobs, own a business, pay taxes, teach their kids to count to 10 and how to hum the hockey Night in Canada song aren't the ones making headlines, but they get lumped in with the rest by well-meaning citizens who would be horrified to think they said something that could be labelled as a racial slur. It's very difficult to make that very important distinction without sounding like a bigot, and so many people shy away from this topic.
Now. As far as the wankers who plop themselves down on Canadian soil and expect to be taken care of, send 'em home. Send 'em packing. Canada's bleeding heart immigration policy needs to be toughened up, and sternly reinforced. I would personally never think to walk out of my home, and into the neighbour's house, to take up residence because I don't have air conditioning and cable, and they do. It's mighty presumptuous. It lacks R-E-S-P-E-C-T. I also have no tolerance for those who come here and bring their wars with them. You want to hyphenate your heritage? Knock yourself out. You want to translate the national anthem to your own language? Sure, as long as the words and meaning remain the same, whatever. You want me to chip in taxes to educate, house, and provide medical care for your entire extended family while you sell crack to my sons and pimp out my daughters and shoot at someone who lived in the country next door to you back home? No thanks.
Kudos for bringing this up, Moose. It needs to be talked about more openly, by everyone, not swept under the rug by the people who are afraid of not being PC while bigots in back rooms plot to spread (or God forbid act out on) hatred and intolerance.
Ticblog: Thanks for coming over and thanks for the comments. The reason I included hyphenated Canadians was because these seem to be the people who yell and scream the most about the injustice they suffer here. They seem to be the ones who want to bring heir radical ideas wand ideology with them and expect us to just say "Okay, that's fine." No wonder we don't have a National identity.
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