Waiser: Politicians have recently taken to blaming immigrants. This isn’t a new trend in Canada

A bit too history based, where the Canadian record is mixed at best, and too little based on the nature of complaints which, in contrast to earlier periods, are based upon the practicalities of housing, healthcare and infrastructure, not xenophobia and racism:

…What Oliver and other commentators didn’t appreciate was that there were poets, thinkers, and musicians among the people who decided to make Canada their home. But outright prejudice effectively prevented them from realizing their true potential at the time. Today, many rightly complain that the Trudeau Liberals made a mess of Canada’s immigration program. But why blame recent immigrants who struggle to find a meaningful place in Canada?

They too face roadblocks, both real and unspoken, that limit their opportunities and hence their ability to contribute to the larger society. They did not leave behind another life on another continent just to become Amazon delivery drivers or fast-food servers.

Indeed, Canadians need to realize that these new immigrants are not any different from immigrants a century ago. Like earlier waves of immigrants, they have come to Canada for a better life – if not for themselves, then for their children and their children’s children.

And if we’re going to build a better Canada, build a better tomorrow, then we need to do it together. Blaming immigrants is not the way forward.

Bill Waiser is a Saskatoon-based historian and distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan.

Source: Politicians have recently taken to blaming immigrants. This isn’t a new trend in Canada