Opinion: Multiculturalism should not be misused to justify divisions: Farid Rohani

2014/11/25 1 Comment

Farid Rohani of the Laurier Institution on multiculturalism and integration:

Canadians must understand that multiculturalism is not about segregation and division.

What we are seeing now, more and more, is a polarization and mistrust among significant segments of our population. What is needed, then, is a more unified vision of Canadian society, one that emphasizes interdependence and cooperation among diverse groups, beginning at arrival and continuing at schools and throughout our communities.

Failure to do so will see some within our communities who don’t understand or accept the fundamental concept of pluralism use violence, including acts of terror and fear to import distant conflicts onto our shores. There will be attempts at imposing their beliefs on the rest of society and they will use, support or facilitate violence, as a method to effect societal change to achieve their goals.

Any polling I have seen suggests that Canadians get it and view multiculturalism in this manner, and place emphasis more on integration than an “anything goes” accommodation.

And no matter what governments and others do, there will always be some who sit outside that political consensus, whether in the context of religious fundamentalism (or other fundamentalisms) or violent extremism.

Overly general, without concrete or practical suggestions.

Opinion: Multiculturalism should not be misused to justify divisions | Montreal Gazette.

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US Congresswoman-Elect Mia Love: Personification of GOP Hypocrisy on Immigration

2014/11/25 Leave a comment

Sigh …

On November 4, 2014, the Republican Party made black history. Mia Love is the first Republican black woman elected to Congress. Black women aren’t exactly clamoring to join the Republican Party, so it’s obvious why this is an impressive feat. Love also became another “first” that night—the first Haitian-American elected to Congress.

But, as a woman born to immigrants, a group Republicans have been hostile towards for decades, Mia Love’s membership in the Grand Old Party is downright hypocritical.  Her parents, Marie and Jean Maxime Bourdeau, fled Haiti in the 1970s after Jean Maxime had been threatened by the Tonton Macoutes, the brutal police force of Francois Duvalier, the late dictator. According to Mother Jones, the immigration law in place at the time offered the possibility of her parents gaining citizenship if they had a child born in the United States. The law was set to expire in January 1976. On December 6, 1975, Love was born in a Brooklyn hospital.

“My parents have always told me I was a miracle and our family’s ticket to America,” Love told the Deseret News in a 2011 interview.

Congresswoman-Elect Mia Love: Personification of GOP Hypocrisy on Immigration.

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‘Cloud of misperception’: Canadians don’t know their country as well as they think, online survey finds

2014/11/24 Leave a comment

Cloud_of_misperception__Canadians_don’t_know_their_country_as_well_as_they_think__online_survey_finds___National_PostNot terribly surprising:

Canadians might think they know a lot about other Canadians, and about Canada itself. But Canadians are profoundly confused, at least according to the results of a recent Ipsos Reid global survey, The Perils of Perception. The survey asked Canadians to answer a number of questions about Canada, and then compared their answers to the facts. And the facts, as revealed below, show that the Canada Canadians think they know, is a Canada that doesn’t exist.

“Canadians are flying blind in a cloud of misperception,” said John Wright, a senior spokesperson for Ipsos. “So let’s try and clear some things up.” The good news: we are most certainly not alone. People around the world get their countries wrong too.

‘Cloud of misperception’: Canadians don’t know their country as well as they think, online survey finds | National Post.

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Ottawa Conference Addresses Key Citizenship Questions – New Canadian Media – NCM

2014/11/21 Leave a comment

Summary of the recent Canadian Race Relations Foundation symposium on citizenship:

The focus of the symposium was clearly on the meaning of Canadian citizenship and the role of Canadian identity in the context of immigrants and newcomers to Canada. This was discussed in several sessions, such as whether new Canadians were “importing conflict” from other regions into Canada, if multi-faith based organizations were impacting positively on greater co-existence between different communities, the role of the media in reflecting diversity, and most controversially, the role of religion, most notably Islam, and the rise of extremism in Canada.

Divisions were clearly etched in this latter discussion, where there was both a call for greater awareness raising and education among both adults and the youth on issues of extremism and racial discrimination, as well as accepting the reality of a changing global security scenario. Law enforcement agencies such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police RCMP and provincial police forces have particularly been the focus of attention in trying to sensitize their officers in working with diverse and multi-faith communities in countering cases of radicalization.

From a psychological and human perspective, speakers suggested that violence should be seen as a function of human vulnerability and personal behaviour, rather than associated with a particular group or belief system. Almost all presenters belonging to various diverse communities had personal stories to share about their experiences in Canada with racial discrimination. However, it was clear that there is still far to go in bridging this divide.

The takeaway from the symposium was that change, especially positive change, takes time. For the 250,000 immigrants welcomed to Canada annually, the message from the government was one of integration.  But the message was not limited to only newcomers. Those born in Canada also need to be aware and understand the responsibilities associated with citizenship. For this, the work of both small community groups and large government organizations were considered to be equally important in creating a tolerant and secure Canada.

The panel I moderated, on the role Canadian values have in improving community resilience against extremism, certainly had a wide and diverse range of views from those who proposed cutting back immigration from certain countries to those focusing on social inclusion.

Ottawa Conference Addresses Key Citizenship Questions – New Canadian Media – NCM.

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‘Comedy of errors’ lets woman become Canadian citizen despite abysmal results on citizenship tests

2014/11/21 Leave a comment

Well, mistakes can happen but this one shouldn’t have:

A “series of administrative errors” put Haheen Afzal — despite her abysmal results on the tests — before a citizenship judge in Hamilton, Ont., swearing an oath to the Queen and being issued a citizenship certificate.

When the mistake was discovered, Ms. Afzal did not want to surrender her citizenship and fought to keep it.

The errant ceremony took place on Sept. 26, 2013, but the legal dispute — leading to its cancellation — was only recently resolved in the Federal Court of Canada.

Ms. Afzal failed the citizenship test twice before being awarded a citizenship certificate: the first time she scored 2/6 on language and 8/20 on knowledge. When she appeared before a citizenship judge and tried again, she scored even worse.

The citizenship judge noted in writing that Ms. Afzal failed the tests and did not qualify but mistakenly checked the “Granted” box on the decision form, court heard.

The next day, an official at the Citizenship and Immigration Canada CIC office acknowledged that the judge’s decision had been “seen” and checked “Citizenship Granted” before sending the form along for processing.

Eventually, CIC’s decision to cancel her citizenship certificate was appropriately upheld by the Federal Court.

‘Comedy of errors’ lets woman become Canadian citizen despite abysmal results on citizenship tests

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Americans Getting Dual Citizenship To Use Canada’s Production Tax Incentives | Deadline

2014/11/20 Leave a comment

Interesting side effect of measures to strengthen the Canadian film and television industry:

Dual residency has become a popular way for American filmmakers to find work with producers who get tax breaks when they hire Canadians. The veteran director [unnamed] says he has no qualms about his decision. “If it were Iran, I’d have a pang,” he said, laughing, “but I see Canada as a more refined version of the United States. It’s a cool country. I don’t see a big difference.

“People have been doing it for 20 years,” he continued. “Primarily it has to do with production companies getting a tax credit to film in a particular Canadian province. If you hire a certain number of Canadian workers, they give you a tax credit.” The credit can be as much as 60% of production costs, depending on the number of “points” a production accumulates.

Americans Getting Dual Citizenship To Use Canada’s Production Tax Incentives | Deadline.

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Canadian attitudes toward immigrants conflicted, CBC poll says

2014/11/13 Leave a comment

Despite the headline, overall confirmation of general welcoming attitude towards Immigration and multiculturalism. Some highlights:

  • 79 percent comfortable with employing or working for someone of different ethnicity;
  • 30 percent believe immigrants take jobs away from Canadians (meaning 70 percent don’t);
  • between 60 and 75 percent comfortable with being in a relationship with someone of another ethnicity;
  • between 70 and 85 percent are comfortable with neighbours of different ethnicity.

Canadian attitudes toward immigrants conflicted, poll says – Canada – CBC News.

The Powerpoint of the complete results is here:

CBC Discrimination Poll November 7 2014

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Adrienne Clarkson on why Canada’s multiculturalism works – And my review from Embassy Magazine

2014/11/13 Leave a comment

As she delivers her Massey Lectures, this interesting vignette from Montreal:

She rejects the notion, however, that belonging means excluding others.

Clarkson’s assertion was put to the test after she delivered her first Massey Lecture in Montreal, when an audience member pointed out that excluding others is precisely how many political leaders define the identity of the group they profess to represent.

The audience member pointed to some extreme opinions expressed during the Quebec Charter debate, and how right-wing leaders in Europe score political points by openly vilifying Muslims and immigrants.

“It’s basically racist,” was Clarkson’s answer. “And in France, I’m afraid, you still do hear things that I heard in Canada in the ‘40s as a child, about Jews and so on.“

I think that fear and ignorance and bigotry and so on should be always met head-on.”

Adrienne Clarkson on why Canadas multiculturalism works – Canada – CBC News.

And excerpt from my take:

Her praise for what the Aga Khan calls a “cosmopolitan ethic,” where we need to continuously engage in conversations with those of different backgrounds, loyalties, religions and ethnicities, further reinforces this need for ongoing dialogue and understanding in a complex multicultural society such as Canada.

Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship provides a welcome antidote to so much of the excessive fretting that occurs around Canadian citizenship and multiculturalism.

But Clarkson’s reliance on behaving “as if” things are working well, wishing it were so, can be as risky as the alternate “as if,” that Canadian citizenship and multiculturalism are not working.

Certainly, compared to most countries, we have been remarkably successful. Political differences are at the margins, we have no political parties opposed to immigration and all political parties actively pursue ethnic community votes.

But we do have serious challenges from the perspective of equity, discrimination and representation.

By provoking discussion implicitly on what kind of “as if” we should employ to help shape the ongoing evolution of Canadian society, Clarkson has posed the fundamental question on what kind of Canada we want and how we should behave to help it come into being.

A relentlessly upbeat take on citizenship

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Ezra Levant wrongly accuses Ontario school board of allowing exemptions for Muslim students on Remembrance Day

2014/11/13 Leave a comment

Never let facts get in the way of sensationalism – or marketing:

The school board memo, which was primarily about the significance of Remembrance Day, included a series of six links directing teachers to online resources.

It was accompanied by 10 photographs, including pictures of Sikh soldiers and veterans, an Ojibwa Canadian veteran of the Korean War, a Mennonite veteran and a Jewish soldier in a prayer shawl carrying a Torah.

“Remembrance Day is a wonderful ‘teachable moment’ – and the Canadian War Museum has lots to offer with resources that are reflective of our Canadian nation – and our equally diverse local population,” read the memo, with a link to a page on the National War Museum site.

Other links included a memorial about the first Canadian Muslim woman to wear a hijab in uniform. There are also links to Google Image search results featuring aboriginal Canadian soldiers, African Canadian soldiers, and Asian Canadian soldiers.

“There were some links included on the memo that were provided for principals and schools doing Remembrance Day ceremonies that helped reinforce the diversity of our armed forces, because that’s sometimes a forgotten element,” said Mr. Scantlebury, who noted that the Greater Essex County is one of the most diverse in Canada.

Mr. Scantlebury said on Tuesday that he was not aware of any student that had requested any special accommodation. He added that he had been receiving calls on the matter for much of the day.

“We feel it’s very unfortunate that this has taken away, somewhat, from what is a very solemn occasion in our schools,” he said.

Mr. Levant’s column ends with a call to sign a petition protesting the school board at LoveItOrLeave.ca. There, Levant’s supporters can purchase T-shirts sporting a Canadian flag design and the statement “If you don’t love it, leave.”

They can also buy tickets to a three-night “Free Speech” tour featuring Levant and Sun Media’s Brian Lilley. VIP seats for the stop in Red Deer, Alta., are priced at $109.85.

Ezra Levant wrongly accuses Ontario school board of allowing exemptions for Muslim students on Remembrance Day – The Globe and Mail.

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Declare soldiers who died fighting in WWII Canadians – Macleans.ca

2014/11/12 Leave a comment

The last battle of the “Lost Canadians” are the deceased:

Don Chapman and Howe Lee want Canadians to know that those who died before 1947, and whose graves are marked with maple leaves, are still not officially considered citizens by the federal government.

At issue is Ottawa’s interpretation of the law, which holds that citizenship didn’t officially exist until Jan. 1, 1947, when the first Citizenship Act came into effect.

Chapman, of the group Lost Canadians, has started a petition, calling on the federal government to recognize as citizens the war dead who were killed before 1947.

…Sonia Lesage, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said the legal concept of Canadian citizenship has only existed since Jan. 1, 1947.

“That was not retroactive, and the act which created the concept contains no authority to grant citizenship posthumously,” she said in an email.

Lesage said recent reforms have included extending citizenship to more “lost Canadians” who were born before 1947 and to their children born outside of Canada.

…. [Green Party Leader Elizabeth] May said she has agreed to introduce the petition to Parliament when it’s ready.

“For the most part, this is a matter of respect and setting this historical record straight,” she said.

“These people were Canadian. And these soldiers, these people who gave their lives for this country, were Canadian citizens at the time and should be recognized as such, despite the weirdness of our laws.”

Declare soldiers who died fighting in WWII Canadians – Macleans.ca.

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