Who said it was easy ......

Many people from my birth country have asked me this question:
"what is it like for an immigrant living in Canada"
My answer is always a generalization, as my experience can't be uasd as the only criteria.
However, there is one underlying fact "IT IS NOT AS EASY AS MANY MAY SAY".
One must be prepared for rejection and racism, but you should also know when and what battles to fight: you can't win them all.
Recently there were two letters published in the Gleaner, so it started me thinking that I may issue this session on Immigration to North America and Canada, in particular.

Here is a quote from one letter:
Consider going back to college to get a Canadian certificate; they tend to discriminate against all others, including those from the USA. Always remember, Canadians are not as open as Americans - they just like to project themselves as such.

Please take the time to read the letters "here" and "here"

The Canadian Society prides itself to be a mosaic, however, the social system is complex and racism is systemic and not as blatant as in the USA.

Before anyone migrats to the US or Canada, I would stronly suggest to them to think very hard and be sure of what you want to accomplish, There is no safety net to bail you out if you make any mistake. If you migrate to an area with colder climates, remember that it is like living in a freezer and there is no neighbour that will come over to give you a quart of milk or provide warmth, you are on your own.

One last word of warning ..... it is not your country and you must always focus on why you are living in the foriegn country.

February is Black History Month

The month is here that we (as a people) celebrate Black History.
Some object to this as tokenism, and it should be seen as a reason for permanent change and to embrace the richness of what black people have brought into this country.
I am NOT going to delve into slavery and what is supposed to be the legacy OR what some see as retribution that is owed ... that subject is NOT the topic of this session.
It is a month of celebration, intrepreting our history, learning from our history and exposing others to our rich and vibrant culture.
To find out what is happening within this community, I ask that you read these three articles.

"This year’s theme, Minding Our Health, Building a Community, promotes the importance of health towards building a vibrant, productive community"

"Every year Canadians are invited to take part in the festivities and events that honour the legacy of Black Canadians, past and present, during Black History Month"

"– February is Black History Month, and in Ottawa there are all sorts of things happening to mark the occasion. Library and Archives of Canada is host to a number of free events, starting with the opening ceremony on February 1."

Take Pride in your roots and culture.

Peace

Black Focused Schools in Toronto

This proposal brdges a great divide.

"After a heated but civil debate, Canada's largest school board voted 11-9 last night to open an alternative Africentric school to help fight a 40 per cent dropout rate among Toronto's black teens. "

An Africentric School, in Ontario?

The question that should be asked "Is this segregation"?

According to the article, they are trying to stem the tide of the high dropout rates amoung "black" children, and I quote:
"The Toronto District School Board says 40 per cent of Caribbean-born students drop out, and 32 per cent from east Africa."

Lets call a spade a spade (pardon the pun) ..... is there a better way to curtail the droput rate?

If the statistics were reflective of "white children", would they have created a distinct and separate school for them?

Is this promoting integration and the often touted "mosaic" of the Canadian Society?

What are the parents role in this "drop out" ?

Are they expecting me (as a taxpayer) to foot the bill for their inadequate parenting?

This is a slippery slope with no fine tuned results. It will come back to bite those who insist on establishing such a distinct, separate and segregated class of students, at my expense.

This is insane.

Times are a Changing

IS CANADA BECOMING A LESS TOLERANT SOCIETY

This was in MacLean’s Magazine on December, 2007.

http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20071022_110249_110249&source=srch

I find it interesting and disturbing that the society in this country are now coming to the realization that the times are changing.
Let me try to provide a perspective from the eyes of an immigrant, meaning me.
In the US, they promote a “melting pot” approach to immigrants. That is you arrive in that country and you follow their rules, laws and culture. If you want to preserve your own culture, you do so in the privacy of your home, but the Government (federal, state or local) does not provide any resources for your individual expansion of your culture.
In Canada, they choose to promote a “mosaic” approach. This encourages the individual culture to be promoted and all levels of Government provide resources to assist in that promotion. So the Caribana Festival is subsidized by Governments, and the newspapers (representing ANY culture) are also subsidized by all Governments. So that leads to situations like the Sikh wanting to join the RCMP, is given permission to wear a red turban, instead of the red hat, and the rules are changed.
So to maintain the “mosaic”, the Canadian society has changed its own rules to accommodate the immigrants.
Let me go further and explain a situation that is unique to the Canadian culture. In Quebec, they see their language as an integral part of their culture. So in some parts of that province you MUST speak French. Now bear in mind that Quebecois French is not the same as Parisian French, so any immigrant who speaks French (Parisian or taught proper French), is not totally accepted in the Quebecois culture.
Put the “mosaic” approach and the Quebecois attitude together, and we have a potential problem looming.
You will notice that I never used the word “racist”, because the backlash is not based on race; it is based on the erosion of a culture and tradition. Canada is built on the expertise of immigration, hence the “mosaic” approach.
In the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, immigration to Canada was from Europe. In the late 70’s and early 80’s, the influx was from Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, and at that point the change began. This massive shift became more noticeable in late 80’s, 90’s and 00’s when Asia and the Middle Eastern immigrants started to have an impact.. Most of the so called immigrants in Canada are no longer immigrants, as they are now “born” in this country, their parents came to Canada in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.. Most refuse to speak or learn both the official languages because they are in the “mosaic”.
Canada is changing, and its traditions will soon be no longer a viable status quo.
The only question remains to be asked is:
Will Canadian Society remain Tolerant?
Peace

The responsibility of tolerance lies in those who have the wider vision.