THEN AND NOW: Canadian Immigrants then are so vastly different from Immigrants now. Who they were, where from and why they came to Canada tell a different story. To tell it short, one is compelled to generalize from specifics. And this needs cold searching questions.
The recent Canadian policy to “dump and refund” thousands of immigration applicants is a SIMPLE management problem on the one hand. It is a work backlog problem above sensitive underlying policy uncertainties. Which suggests the inability of workers to cope and conquer work overload. Additionally, it may also be the failure of managers to provide a rational approach to a baffling problem of scarcity. What I see is nothing but a plenitude of tasks and methods and machine resources under extreme scarcity of time, and of course manpower.
On the other hand the problem seen over extended time could be of global if not of “Mt. Everest”significance. To amplify it is likely to have long term internal and external political, economic and environmental consequences for Canada. Immigrants now can make and unmake Canada of the future. Which explains the heat of the current attention and concern of Canadian citizens.
To resort to the use of the scalpel of interrogative pronouns and adverbs, one can dissect the problem by asking the Who and Why of immigration of the then and now. Instead of pursuing answers to the What, Where, When and the adverb How. Advent immigrants came from Europe and elsewhere of the old world and really helped MADE the New World to which Canada now belongs.
WHO WERE THE IMMIGRANTS THEN? Remembering what was written, Canadian immigrants had in their ranks sturdy farmers from England, Wales, and Scotland, from France and other parts of Europe and Asia. They were workers, guildsmen, farmers, fishermen, bureaucrats, strong young women to be future wives of settlers and pioneers, adventurers, etc .
There were group pictures of domestic helpers recruited from Hamburg, Germany their passage fully paid for. Europeans in the very early times outnumbered Asians. These immigrants to the end of the Second World War really made Canada into a unique world class nation. WHY they left their mother country underscores the quest for a new life, for adventure, land ownership, for greater freedom and tackling the unknown RATHER than fleeing “no life, no future or poverty places,” despotism, corruption, starvation, and lack of work and opportunity. They were resolute more for a better life than for a contented status quo.
Those immigrants made what is now Canada and still the country as the best alternative to their own. It might be asked if immigrants of old MADE Canada, who amongst them then helped MADE the Canadians now for what they are, the way they live and believe. Who, foremost, strongly influenced and shaped their values and morality to make up the Canadian psyche as distinguished from the Americans, the English and the French or even against the world’s other peoples.
The truthful answer could assumed a seamless web or may become an endless bone of contention. Culture at the time was yet to gain social science currency. Insidious elitism has began to pre-occupy those whose power over the masses emanated from religion, wealth and politics. The seeds of multi-culturalism—alongside American immigration—were first sown by the English, Welsh, Scots, French, Germans and other parts of Europe and Asia. Not to discount the role and contributions of slaves transported from Africa.
My answer a mere conjecture comes from reading the life of two men among others, who literally and figuratively died; who bravely risked their lives perhaps unknowingly for nothing but the future Canada. William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis Riel I strongly proposed are the two men, the main instruments who shaped the Canadian psyche today. Reading a book or two about these two men may not be enough to share my conclusions.
Using big words, Scotland’s William Lyon Mackenzie fought with all his being and his mighty pen against elite despotism and religious authoritarianism while Louis Riel native born, of mixed European and Aboriginal ancestry fought and was hanged more because of his rebellious activities which sought to elevate the positions of the down trodden and disadvantaged people of first nations.
It can be said that Mackenzie aimed his musket at the undesirable behaviour of the highs while Riel tried to bear with his shoulder and offered his life to raise the positions of the lows . What resulted was a strong Canadian middle class behaviour that seemed to reflect distinct and well-balanced amalgam of the elite and non-elite. Which since then had dominated the Canadian way. The lives and heroism of Mackenzie and Riel had defined what is Canadian hero or traitor, had blurred the distinction between the two; defending on one’s political conviction at the time and government response to heroic or treasonous pro-people but anti-government activities.
WHO ARE THE CANADIANS IMMIGRANTS NOW? Why are they immigrating to Canada? No doubt they are more numerous in number, diverse in economic status, political beliefs and heterogenous in their culture, also they come from many countries mostly developing, rarely from the well-developed nations; more from Asia and other parts like Africa and the Middle East than from Europe. Nowadays we hear more of Indo-Canadians , Fil-Canadians, Asian-Canadians, Afro-Canadians than Euro-Canadians.
Said another way, the current crop of applicants for immigration is one big bundle of heterogeneity in customs and tradition, in appearance, language, education, religion and ambition. Just as numerous perhaps for their reasons why they are immigrating to Canada.
Since a decade from the end of the Second World War, the poor’s world has changed dramatically: changed in their lives for the best among the well to do; for the worst among those low in economic status. Had there been maintained decent life from these countries of origin emigration might have been confined to the minimum. On the contrary, where there was significant change for the better in the lives of the poor as in Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea, exodus by emigration was just a trickle or none at all.
So, WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE immigrating to Canada? For a better life spelled out as better opportunities for employment, better education for the youth, cool clean climate, great health care, respect for human rights, sanctuary for the persecuted and prosecuted; for the stable business environment; for relatively tractable politics and good governance; etc. These are reasons significantly different from the reasons that fueled the determination of the first and early immigrants to Canada. Who did not know that they are to build from scratch a country; but the immigrants nowadays pretty well knew they are coming to a well-built country. Precisely why they chose to come in earnest and in great numbers.
Canada can make or unmake immigrants by subtle and obvious ways and by national policy inducements to adapt and adopt the Canadian ethos and therefore improve their beings. Conversely, immigrants can possibly unmake or make a dent into Canada’s culture by subverting it with their own. The two guys Mackenzie and Riel by force of being good examples demonstrated how a life of selflessness can influence the early immigrants to avoid and detest the pitfalls of greed and opportunism.
Multi-culturalism as consequence of immigration can be a key to a maintained economic progress and a respectable world image; or a mere convenient camouflage tolerating, furthering racial isolation and ethnic divide. There is no assurance that multi-culturalism will be a catalyst to national assimilation.
The ultimate concern of the dynamics behind a peaceful and progressive multi-culturalism for both immigrants and Canadians is the utter rejection and abandonment of undesirable sub-cultures like corruption and opportunism, human rights violations and civil disobedience, to mention a few. Who shall and how these are accomplished by hard government policy should be answered by those who govern as they correctly interpret the common good, and the public interest at the moment. All these are to weigh in heavily in the long run against Canada’s best future.