Canadian Idiot: Hollywood Sereotypes of Canadian Culture

Let’s start off the week of Canadian Culture by debunking a few Hollywood myths and stereotypes about Canada. Sit back, relax, hit play, and have a few laughs. (Laughing at ourselves is something Canadians almost stereotypically love to do!)

1. Canadian Bacon [year, director]

For the record, I really enjoy this film. It is campy and fun, and despite possessing certain Canadian stereotypes it doesn’t offend my sense of national pride. The plot is this: Some Americans get angry at some Canadians and craft a silly scheme to invade Canada… it’s like the war of 1812 but in the 1980s, with less people, more beer, bigger guns, and hockey.

2. Due South [TV, 1994-1999]

If you haven’t seen Due South, here’s what you need to know: it’s about a Mountie (Fraser) who essentially gets kicked out of Canada for saving the caribou for the evil dam-builders just a little too well, and moves down to Chicago to solve crime with an obnoxious American cop trope. Yep, it’s a Mountie buddy comedy. Take a peek at the opening scenes of the first episode and see if you can spot all the tropes and stereotypes:

3. Bon Cop, Bad Cop

This one really plays on the trope of English vs French in Canada. And it’s a pretty great buddy cop movie too… Wait, why are the buddy cop movies using Canadian stereotypes? Right, because buddy cop movies thrive on any kind of stereotype they can exploit for comedy.

4. Strange Brew

This gem is definitely strange. The film originated from SCTV sketch comedy and was pretty pioneering for its time. Here’s a brief look into the hockey-hoser-toque-wearing-beer-swilling life of Bob and Doug Mackenzie:

5. Men with Brooms

Curling… a sport only Scots, Canadians, and Norwegians in crazy pants really seem to love. It was hard to pick just one scene from this Canadian classic staring Paul Gross (who also played the Mountie Fraser in Due South) but it had to be the beavers. They’re our national animal after all, eh?

 

6. “Canadian Idiot” by Weird Al Yankovic

Self-explanatory. Just take a listen to how many Canadian stereotypes Weird Al can cram into a brief parody song:

 

7. “The Lumberjack Song” by Monty Python’s Flying Circus

Not so overt as others on the list (possibly because it’s more about cross-dressing and British humour) but the red-uniform clad Mounties are a little nod of the head.

 

8. Arrogant Worms songs- “Rocks and Trees” and “When Canada Rules the World”

Most Arrogant Worms songs talk about Canadian stereotypes. Take a listen, and laugh:

 

9. Family Guy “Canadian High School” and “Canadian Alcatraz”

Yeah, I ain’t got nothin’ to say for these…

10. X-Men “Wolverine”

Wolverine is a Canadian. How do you know? I mean he’s so grumpy and Canadians are nice, right? Well, the dead give-aways of his Canadian-identity are apparently a plaid shirt and the fact that he is a lumberjack in the mountains.

11. The Red Green Show “Zamboni” and “Beer Holder”

This classic gem of Canadian TV shows you how to create some uniquely Canadian inventions with duct tape, of course.

 

12. Rick Mercer “Talking to Americans”

See how little convincing it takes to get people from other countries (in this case, America) to believe our government buildings are made out of ice and snow?

13. SCTV Great White North “Long Underwear and Canadian Bacon” and “NHL Teams” Yeah, these guys pretty mch wrote the book on exploiting Canadian stereotypes for laughs. See number 4 on this list.

14. How I Met Your Mother – Robin “Give me the Stick”, “Robin Sparkles”, and “Canadian Barney vs American Barney” Hockey, eh’s, Mounties, and niceness oh my!

 

15. That 70’s Show “Canada”

Detained at the border by Mounties while on a beer run.

16. Corner Gas “Saskatchewan is Flat” and “Stephen Harper on Prairie Dogs vs Gophers”

All the fun stereotypes of living in small-town Sask.

 

17. Whose Line is it Anyway “Canadian Foreign Film Dub”  and “Canada Compilation”

18. The Simpsons “I’m from Canada, eh”

As one youtube commenter said “Canada’s two official languages: herp and derp”.

19. “Sh*t Canadians Say”

One of these trendy videos but for Canadians. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0EsYiNA76Q

I’ve made a YouTube playlist of these videos for the viewing enjoyment of all netizens. You can find it here:  http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDB0C22951857B3DC&feature=mh_lolz

Topic of the Week: Canadian Culture

So, you’ve decided to immigrate to Canada, eh? The forms are filled out, the approvals have been stamped, and the folks at customs are awaiting your arrival. It is an exciting time! But then you realize… you don’t really know that much about Canadian culture. Is it going to be snowy when you arrive? Will you need to build an igloo? Buy a dog sled? Hug a Mountie? Kiss the cod (that’s not a dirty joke by the way)? Hunt a bear?

Fear not! I am here to be your guide to some funny stories and intimate details about my country, the true north strong and free: Canada.

That’s right! The Topic of the Week is: Canadian Culture!

The Canadian Immigration System: Provincial Nomination Program (PNP)

Recall that the Topic of the Week is The Canadian Immigration System. So far, I have covered the Point System, and Permanent Residence. (If you have any questions on these, you can still pose them in the comments, on twitter, via email, or on youtube.) Today, I’m going to talk about the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

The Provincial Nominee Program is a fairly recent development in Canadian Immigration, and as the story from PEI earlier this week shows there are still some issues that need to be worked out in order to ensure that these programs are administered in a fair and just manner.

As you may be aware, Canada is comprised of ten provinces and three territories. Each of the provinces, aside from Quebec which has a skilled worker program that operates parallel to the federal one, can have a Provincial Nominee Program. However, only certain provinces/territories are currently participating in the Program. (Check here for the most updated list of them: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/provincial/index.asp) These programs help the provinces to attract immigrants who meet their identified needs by meeting their special requirements. Furthermore, the PNPs act as fast-tracking for many immigrants by bringing them to Canada and granting them Permanent Residence (PR) sooner.

A COUPLE OF GENERAL FACTS ABOUT PROVINCIAL NOMINEES:

- They are “economic immigrants” and are identified on the basis of job skills and the ability to contribute to the province/territory’s economy.

- They are nominated for this program by the Province/Territory. This needs they need to apply to the province first.

- As of July 1, 2012 most provincial/territorial nominees in “semi- or low-skilled professions” will have to show language skills in either of the two official languages of Canada.

- Once you have a Provincial Nomination you can apply to the CIC for permanent Residence right away. This is how PNP can act as fast-tracking towards PR.

- If you can’t get into Canada through the regular federal streams (ie you do not obtain at least 67 points in the points system) the Provincial Nominee Program might be an alternate way for you to become a Canadian Permanent Resident. This is because PNP does not judge you based on the same criteria as the CIC. However, you do still have to pass CIC screening to get PR… but if you’re on the threshold of those 67 federal points, PNP might give you that extra boost you need.

- Provincial nominees still need to get a medical and a police check. Canada does not normally accept immigrants with serious medical conditions or criminal records. You may also have to undergo language testing. These checks are done at your own expense, so prepare for those costs.

- The process for PNP is different in every participating province or territory, so make sure you are looking at the right province’s information when applying. You can’t expect to apply in Saskatchewan using Alberta’s PNP procedure.

Sources: www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/provincial/index.asp

The Canadian Immigration System: Permanent Residence

Readers of this blog will know that I was born in Canada and am a Canadian citizen. However, this status does not mean that I am an expert in the affairs of my country or in dealing with my government(s). In fact, I recently realized how ignorant I am about the actual process required to immigrate to Canada. I mean, I always knew it was a fairly long process with the usual mass of bureaucratic red tape but I never really understood the implications of the point system or the practical side of immigration. So, I’m doing a little research now, and I am going to share my results with you.

How does one get Permanent Residence?

The saying goes: “There are many ways to skin a cat.” There are also many ways to become a Permanent Resident in Canada (none of which, thankfully, involve skinning cats).

Picture from: http://www.sodahead.com/fun/how-many-tabs-do-you-have-open/question-2860047/?link=ibaf&q=&imgurl=http://qweka.com/file/pic/photo/2010/12/lolcat-lol-cat-49-jpg.jpg

Here are the different categories, each with its own criteria:
1.      Skilled workers and professionals
2.      Quebec-selected skilled workers
3.      Canadian Experience Class
4.      Investors, Entrepreneurs, and Self-Employed people
5.      Provincial Nominees
6.      Sponsored Family Members
7.      Refugees
8.      Other

The government aims to grant PR to a given number of people in each category per year. (How they come to this number I do not know, but I assume it involves civil servants, consultations with labor market stakeholders, an agenda coinciding with the ruling party’s position on the political spectrum, and some sort of mathematical formula.)

Here’s a rough look at the trend in Permanent Residents by category in the last 3 years that I made from figures provided on the CIC website (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/statistics/facts2011-summary/01.asp):

As you can see, most people who are granted PR are “Economic Immigrants”. So, I’m going to focus on that category for now. Here’s a further breakdown of Economic Immigrants granted Permanent Residence in 2011 (also from the CIC) chart:

As you can see, most Economic Immigrants are considered “skilled workers and professionals”. So what does it take to become a skilled worker? In brief, education, knowledge of English and/or French, work experience and other factors relating to economic suitability count for points here. I’ve tried to summarize this information into the little graphic below. However, the rules for applying in this category do change often so it is best to check the CIC website frequently if this is the category your application fits under.

Note that skilled workers applying to Quebec take a different route and are specially selected by that province.

All of this sounds fine and dandy, but there have been issues with the federal skilled worker stream of applications. Notably, a massive backlog of people who applied to come to Canada over 4 years ago. This was in the news around a month ago because Minister Jason Kenney decided to deal with the backlog by clearing the slate, hitting restart and pretending as though most of it didn’t happen. The people caught up in the backlog were told they would have to start again (although the government did promise to refund their application fees). Additionally, he has put a “temporary pause” on federal skilled worker applications (with a couple of exceptions). Why? Well, look at this direct quote from the CIC website:

“Why are you putting a temporary pause on Federal Skilled Worker applications?

CIC is implementing a temporary pause in order to draw down the FSWP inventory, helping to clear way for the introduction of a new application management system to support our “just in time” vision of immigration.  The temporary will also enable the Department to concentrate efforts on bringing in an improved FSWP to select skilled workers who will be better positioned to succeed in the Canadian economy.

Application intake will likely be re-opened to coincide with the launch of the revised FSWP selection criteria and new Federal Skilled Trades Program. The proposed regulatory amendments will be pre-published in the Canada Gazette in the coming months and are expected to take effect by early 2013.

It is important to note that this temporary pause on new FSWP applications does not apply to candidates with qualifying offers of arranged employment or to those applying under the PhD eligibility stream.”

What kind of costs and forms are involved?

Of course, there are multiple forms and other hoops to jump through, and costs to account for when applying for Permanent Residency regardless of the stream you are applying in. I doubt I, as someone who has never completed the process, can accurately list all of these costs, forms, and processes. If I’ve missed anything please let me know it the comments! (or on www.twitter.com @MBlogger2 or via email comingtocanadablog@gmail.com or on www.youtube.com Coming2CanadaBlg)

You can check out everything straight from the source! That way, there’s little chance of me telling you something that is incorrect. Check out:

www.cic.gc.ca

What are the benefits of having Permanent Residence in Canada?

Being a Permanent Resident allows you to live and work in Canada (which is a goal for immigrants who wish to settle and stay in this country, obviously). So, if you get your PR card in the mail, it is definitely time to celebrate because you have succeeded in navigating the Canadian immigration system in order to achieve a goal.
From the CIC website:

You get a PR Card. This PR Card allows you to re-enter Canada when/if you leave.
You have Canadian rights and privileges. This includes: the right to most Canadian social services and health care, the right to work/study/live anywhere in Canada, the right to apply for citizenship (when you meet the requirements), etc.

What are the conditions of Permanent Residency?

You can lose Permanent Resident Status if you do not meet the conditions and legal requirement associated with your status.

You must reside in Canada for at least 2 out 5 years while you hold a PR Card.

You cannot be convicted of a serious crime. This may still report in deportation.

You are not yet a Canadian citizen. Technically, you are still a citizen of your home country.


This website goes through the process in fairly direct, step-by-step way and may be a helpful additional resource for some, particularly those looking to apply as Live-in Caregivers: http://www.tlc-edmonton.com/immigration.html

The Canadian Immigration System: Points System

So, in case you didn’t know this (I was only slightly aware of it before doing some research), Canada’s immigration process (for “economic immigrants”) operates on a POINT SYSTEM.

When submitting your application, you can gain points in six selection factors, or categories. The categories and the weigh assigned to them changes over time as the government tries to prioritize immigrants who meet the needs of the country. In order to be deemed acceptable as an immigration candidate, you must rack up at least 67 POINTS (that’s the minimum passing number). If your score is lower than 67, you will mostly likely not qualify to immigrate to Canada. And even if you get a score of 67 or higher, you may not qualify for immigration. However, the score you receive is still a good indicator of your chances.

The most recent changes to the point system emphasize the importance of the following qualities: YOUTH and LANGUAGE SKILLS.

If you’re thinking of coming to Canada as an economic immigrant, try the points calculator here:

http://www.workpermit.com/canada/points_calculator.htm

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/assess/index.asp

I tried the calculator using my own information and stats to see if I would qualify to immigrate to Canada given my skills etc. I barely made it in. The threshold is 67 points to pass and I only scored 69. Most of my points came from belonging to the coveted 21-49 age category and for my proficiency in both official languages. My education, on the other hand, counted for next to nothing as I have yet to complete my degree. The contents of my savings account barely met the requirements.

If you are a Canadian, I encourage you to calculate your points and see if you would qualify. I especially recommend this to those who speak disparagingly of immigrants in Canada because it will give you a sense of just how qualified you have to be in order to immigrate to this country.

More resources and information here:

http://www.canadaupdates.com/content/canadian-immigration-points-calculator

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-factors.asp

http://canadianimmigrant.ca/news-and-views/new-immigration-point-system-for-canada-in-2012

Topic of the Week: The Canadian Immigration System

After reading the news story about the issues with the Provincial Nominee program in PEI, I decided that the Topic of the Week for August 13-20 will be:

The Canadian Immigration System.

I hope to touch on some of the following:

- What is the “point system”? How does it work?

- Who are Provincial Nominees? How does one become a provincial nominee?

- How do you gain Permanent Residence (PR)? What does PR mean/what privileges, rights and responsibilities does PR entail?

- How do you become a Canadian citizen? What are the citizenship requirements?

- Current Issues with the Canadian Immigration System

Systematic Discrimination in Canadian Immigration (Historical)

Systematic Discrimination in Canadian Immigration (Historical)

Today I want to take a closer look at a part of Canadian history than Canadians don’t like to talk about. There are significant spans of time in Canadian history where our government created and upheld some very racist laws pertaining to refugees, immigrants, and immigration. Some of these laws were very overt and blatantly discriminatory while others were more subtly non-inclusive. As Canadians we should be ashamed of these terrible laws that are a part of our past. However, that shame should not cause us to sweep these horrible bits of history under the rug because we need to remember them in order to ensure that they never happen again.

Here are some examples for Canada’s past that we should keep in mind and prevent them from happening again:

1. The Chinese Exclusion Act (1885-1923)

This act “imposed a head tax on Chinese immigrants of $50, [which] increased to $100 in 1900 and to $500 in 1903” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000). During the years of this act “more than $22 million were collected in head tax payments” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000).

2. The Chinese Immigration Act (1923-1947)

This act meant “almost total prohibition of Chinese immigration in Canada” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000).

3. Order in Council (1908)

This was known as the “’continuous passage rule’ which had the effect of excluding from immigration people who could not make a direct journey to Canada” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000). Who were they discriminating against and trying to keep out? Reportedly, “immigrants from India, since there was at the time no direct voyage from India” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000) to Canada. This rule did not apply to Europeans however, except in the 1920’s when it was used to discriminate against Eastern Europeans (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000).

4. Order in Council (1911)

This “prohibited ‘any immigrant belonging to the Negro race, which race is deemed unsuitable to the climate and requirements of Canada’” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000). This order was “never proclaimed” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000) but the government clearly tried to discriminate against immigrants from the African continent in even proposing such a law.

5. Prohibition of Immigration by Doukhobors, Mennonites and Hutterites (1919-1922)

What reason did the government give for prohibiting these individuals? Apparently it was their “’peculiar habits, modes of life and methods of holding property’” (Canadian Council for Refugees 2000). Apparently, communal agrarian communities were against Canadian values at the time. I suspect this had to do with the Bolsheviks in Russia at the time and the fear that Communism would spread, which ties back into the information in my previous post: discrimination towards immigrants often happens during troubling times, and immigrants are the target because they are convenient scapegoats.

Responding to Discriminatory Comments

Now, I’m an avid reader of blogs and online news from both sides of the political spectrum. I like having a complete picture of any issue and the discussion surrounding it before I form my own opinion. (This is one of the most valuable skills I have picked up from my university courses in Political Science.)

So, today I want to address a general statement that I often see on blogs and in comments sections. It usually goes something like this:

-          “I’m not a racist, but those immigrants…”

-          “It’s not racist to say that we need to stop accepting refugees…”

-          “It has nothing to do with race. I just don’t like foreigners…”

Right away from a rhetorical point of view I find it hard to believe these kinds of statements because of the stated or implied “but”. I have found that the conjunction “but” often indicates that faulty logic is about to follow a statement. (Of course, there are many arguments that use “but” and proceed to support their points wonderfully but the ones I am referring to rarely do this.) I find that “but” is not the best way for a logical argument to unfold, and more credible arguments usually make use of “if… then” statements instead.

I’ll just step down from the “rhetoric soapbox” now that I’ve said my peace on the matter, and get down to discussing the actual premise of the above example statements. These statements all have one thing in common: they are asserting that expressing distaste, dislike, and other negative emotions towards immigrants, refugees, or “foreigners” is not discriminatory or racist. Essentially, these statements are about justification. The author is trying to justify their judgment of individuals based on a group stereotype as being “okay” by stating that they are not being racist or discriminatory… while making racist or discriminatory statements. You can see the logical flaws here.

However, let’s put aside rhetorical issues and logical flaws for now. Let’s just look at the assumption that hating, being rude to, or openly disliking people simply because they are immigrants and refugees is not somehow racist, as authors of the above type of comments are suggesting. What evidence can be used to refute their claims? For this, I turn to the “Report on Systemic Racism and Discrimination In Canadian Refugee and Immigration Policies” put out by the Canadian Council for Refugees on November 1, 2000.

Their introduction states:

“Intolerance of refugees and immigrants, xenophobia and racism are intricately linked. Indeed, in Canada, where open expression of racist ideas is generally not tolerated, hostility towards newcomers serves as an outlet for the expression of underlying racist sentiments. This is especially true in times of economic or political difficulty, when those with less power, including newcomers, are easy scapegoats for the shortcomings of society.

Anti-refugee and anti-immigrant prejudices foster hostility and violence against newcomers…”

This passage asserts the exact opposite of what the above examples argue. That is, intolerance towards refugees and immigrants is racism and discrimination, plain and simple. It doesn’t matter how an author or poster or commentator “window-dresses” their intolerant comments; they are still expressing discriminatory statements. The motivations behind these statements, the passage contends are the result of tough times and the need for a defenseless social scapegoat.



Let me know what you think in the comments or on Twitter!

Busting Racism and Discrimination Myths About Immigrants

I wonder if much of the discrimination and racism that Canadian immigrants/new Canadians face is the result of ignorance. There are so many myths and stereotypes out there that if they were believed to be true, might make people more inclined to behave in a negative way towards immigrants.

All of the myths in this article are based purely off my own experience. These are things that I have personally heard people say or read in other blogs/web forums. These myths might not be representative of everything that is out there. Please comment on anything you feel was omitted in the comments section, on twitter, via email, or youtube.



Myth #1: “Immigrants get a free ride at Canadian universities and then go back to their home countries and use all that free education to benefit their home country instead of Canada.”

There are so many things wrong with the above statement. I’m going to have to break this myth down piece by piece:

-It seems that the people who say things like this are a little bit confused about the basic definition of an immigrant. They seem to be forgetting that immigrant implies “settling” in a new country instead of temporarily staying somewhere while going to school. They also do not seem to understand the distinction between an International Student (who comes to Canada on a student visa) and an Immigrant (who may come to Canada on a variety of other visas).

-International students do NOT get a “free ride at Canadian universities”. In fact, they have to pay higher fees than Canadian citizens do. Few Canadians that I have encountered, particularly here in Alberta, realize how heavily the government subsidizes post-secondary education for Canadian citizens. At many universities local students only pay a fraction of the tuition that international students do. The figures vary based on each province and university, but if you’re curious you should ask an international university student what their tuition is and compare it to the amount paid by a local student at the same institution. The results might surprise you. Now, to be absolutely fair in this discussion, I should point out that international students might have more scholarship and subsidization opportunities available to them. However, there are also many scholarship and loan/grant options available to non-international students. The whole point of scholarships, loans/grants, subsidies is to try to level the playing field as much as possible so that all qualified individuals can attend post-secondary education.

Here are some figures I found from a sampling of Canadian Universities:

My sources:
http://www.students.ubc.ca/coursesreg/tuition-fees-deposits/tuition-fees/
http://www.registrarsoffice.ualberta.ca/Costs-Tuition-Feesaspx
http://www.mcgill.ca/student-accounts/tuition-charges/fallwinter-term-tuition-and-fees/undergraduate-fees

As you can see, based on a data from these three well known Canadian Universities, the average international student pays $13, 044.00 more than a Canadian citizen or resident. That’s a far cry from a “free ride”.



Myth #2:“You let one immigrant in and then they bring over their entire family, who will just sit on welfare, use and abuse our healthcare system, and never get jobs or contribute to Canadian society!”

You see this myth emerge often in comments on news stories about immigrants who are trying to sponsor their families for Canadian residence. Now, with any system there will be people who take advantage of it, but there are measures in place to ensure that the family members that are brought over on sponsorship will not be a burden to Canadian tax payers. (People should also keep in mind that immigrants and permanent residents are also taxpayers in this country when they work here, so it’s not as though they aren’t contributing to the system.) These measures are (according to the CIC official website):

1.      Only Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their spouses, common-laws, conjugal partners, and dependant children. This means that the immigrant in question has to have already worked in Canada, contributed to taxes, and jumped through all the other hoops in place. (BTW, this is “Family Class” sponsorship that I’m talking about here.)

2.      When sponsoring a family member, the sponsor has to sign documents that commit them to provide for their family member/dependant financially. They must provide financial support for that person for 3 years after they become a permanent resident. If the person they are sponsoring is their child, they have to provide financial support for 10 years, or until the child turns 25 (whichever comes first). This means that “Joe taxpayer” isn’t supporting these people, the individual immigrant is.

3.      If an individual signed the above agreement before to get a family member residency and failed to deliver (ex the family member ended up using social assistance before the 3 years were up) they are NOT eligible to sponsor a family member again.

4.      A person cannot be a sponsor if they receive financial assistance (unless it is for a disability).

5.      There’s a minimum income require to sponsor a given number of people. See here (search LICO): http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5196ETOC.asp#table3 This means only financially viable individuals can sponsor relatives.

6.      Currently there is a hold on applications to sponsor Grandparents and Parents. These applications are not being processed. So, contrary to popular belief young people are not coming here, and then bringing over their elderly relations to use up our healthcare resources. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/index.asp




Myth #3: "Immigrants get let into Canada all the time and they don’t even speak our language(s)!”

This is another argument you often see in the comments section on news stories relating to immigrants.

However, if people making these comments read the news more carefully they would know about the recent changes that require immigrants to demonstrate a given competency level in either of our two official languages.

Also, why does it seem that many people are afraid of people speaking in languages they don’t understand? Do you honestly think the Russia mother and daughter on the bus are whispering about you or something? It’s pretty self-involved to think that just because someone can speak in a different language that they are conspiring against you/Canadians/English-speakers when they do it. Different languages shape the way we form our thoughts, so it might be much easier for someone to express a given though in their native tongue or in a second language other than English or French. Why do you think translation is hard to do? Some thoughts just don’t have an equivalent in all languages!



Myth #4: “Immigrants are destroying Canadian culture! We let them keep their cultures, and we lose our own. They are colonizing us!”

This is something I’ve seen on some right-wing blogs/sites/comments.

To bust this myth, there isn’t much I can provide in terms of hard evidence. I can only offer this argument against the myth:

If someone claims that “immigrants are destroying Canadian culture” I always find myself asking the question: What is Canadian culture anyway? Do we even have one unified culture that can be destroyed, in the first place? Just asking these kinds of questions chips a hole in the Canadian culture myth.

Canada is not a nation in the ethnic or cultural sense. We are a nation purely in the political understanding of the term. Since the time when the first non-Aboriginals settled here we have not been ethnically or culturally homogenous. Even before the Europeans arrived on the scene, the territory we now know as Canada was one of diverse religious beliefs, languages, and cultures. So, if we have ever had a “Canadian culture” to destroy it was always a culture comprised of many diverse cultures. And how does on destroy a culture of diversity? By imposing homogeneity on it. So, those who argue that immigrants are destroying Canadian culture by bringing their diversity with them, are really the one destroying our culture.

Secondly, if part of knowing and embracing Canadian culture is learning about our nation’s history, then immigrants are likely more up-to-date on Canadian culture than most born-in-Canada Canadians. Why? Well to become a Canadian citizen, permanent residents have to pass a Citizenship test which includes questions about our political and judicial systems, history, and “culture”. I bet many Canadians would do very poorly on this exam if they were to take it.



Myth #5: “Immigrants don’t contribute to Canadian society! They’re all about doing things for their home countries and even if they live here, they don’t care about Canada!”

This myth is usually something I hear uttered, and from that moment on decide to avoid that person completely. Saying something like this is a big mark of ignorance in my books.
So, to bust this terrible myth here’s a list of successful/famous Canadian immigrants and refugees:

1.      Adrienne Clarkson: Refugee. Was the Governor General (the Queen’s top representative in Canada) and is reportedly good friends with British actor Alan Rickman.

2.      Alexander Graham Bell: Immigrant. Invented the harmonic telegraph, which later became the telephone.

3.      Peter Mansbridge: Immigrant. Famous Canadian newscaster.

4.      Robert Herjavec: Immigrant. Wealthy businessman featured on the show Dragons Den.

5.      Olivia Chow: Immigrant. Member of Parliament and wife of the late Jack Layton.

6.      Mike Lazaridis: Immigrant. Founder of Research in Motion (RIM), the BlackBerry company.

7.      Michael Ondaatje: Immigrant. Author.

8.      Gideon Sundback: Immigrant. Inventor of the zipper.

Multiculturalism and Discrimination

Multiculturalism: it’s a word we associate closely with Canada, a country that is composed, like a patchwork quilt, of various cultures and ethnicities. This is enshrined in the Multiculturalism Act. We are a country built by immigrants and the word “multiculturalism” implies that we embrace each separate immigrant culture instead of forcing new Canadians to abandon their cultures and assimilate. Multiculturalism implies that we want immigrants to feel integrated in Canadian society while being able to comfortably express the culture of the places they came from. 

Immigrants in Canada are protected from many forms of racism in Canada by Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Human Rights Commission, the Multiculturalism Act, and the Employment Equity Act. (Side note: these items also benefit and act as protections for those born in Canada.) Whether or not these protections are used enough, or too much, or not effectively enough, or whether they are manipulated for unethical gains is still very much up for debate.

However, all of this doesn’t change the fact that racism still exists in Canada. Discrimination is part of many new immigrants’ realities in this country. Do you doubt what I’m saying? Look at any news story about immigration in Canada on the web and scroll down to the comments section. You will find it to be full of people who are judging immigrants as a whole based on some stereotype or another. Although everyone is entitled to their opinion, (provided they do not act in a harmful way based on that opinion) when someone judges an individual based on a racial-group or ethnic-group based stereotype that is racism. And racism and discrimination tear our multicultural society apart instead of building it up.

As Bill Nye the Science Guy used to say “Consider the following”:

A 2009 Article by Lesley Ciarula Taylor in the Toronto Star (http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/634117) discussed a then recent study of immigrants and discrimination. The study of “41,666 people interviewed in nine languages… found skin colour – not religion, not income – was the biggest barrier to immigrants feeling they belonged…” (Taylor 2009) The study determined that the failure to integrate into Canadian society and the entrenchment of ethnic enclaves was not the result of multiculturalism allowing them to not adopt Canadian values if they chose not to, but because of the racism that they experienced. Or as Taylor puts it: “The more discrimination someone faced, the more likely they were to identify with their ethnic group, rather than Canadian” (2009).  That is, new immigrants do not choose to be isolated, but are forcibly isolated by their experiences with discrimination in Canada. Clearly, racism is undermining the multicultural society we like to tell the world that we have in Canada.

You can read more about what the Federal Government is doing on the subject of multiculturalism here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/funding/index.asp
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/multi-report2011/index.asp

Topic of the Week: Enough with Immigrant Stereotypes

So, let’s kick this discussion off by going back to one of my initial posts about what the definition of an immigrant is. Notice that the definitions of immigrant, emigrant, refugee, and expatriate DO NOT involve race. These definitions are open and allow for this truth: anyone from any country, region, ethnicity, race, gender, creed, or belief can immigrate/emigrate from anywhere to anywhere else. At its core, the word immigrant does not denote any particular “kind” of person. Anyone could potentially be an immigrant.

So why is it that so many Canadians conjure up a racially/ethnically-specific image in their minds every time they hear the words “Immigrant” and “Refugee”? Why is it that so many people are shocked when their Caucasian neighbors are in fact proud immigrants? Why do people say things like “oh, but you’re the kind of immigrant we want” to immigrants from certain regions of the world while behaving rudely towards those from other areas? Where does all of this discrimination and racism come from?

Do people forget that if you’re living in Canada today, you are the result of immigration? Even Aboriginal peoples, the original inhabitants of our country, are said to have come to Canada in the distance past from somewhere else. If the theory that human life emerged out of Africa and spread from there is held to be true, nearly everyone everywhere is an immigrant.

I’m proud to be the descendant of immigrants. On my father’s side, my great-great-grandfather immigrated to Canada from the United States. And yes, that counts as immigration. Immigrants don’t have to come from half a world away! Remember: an immigrant is just any newcomer to a country who has settled there. My ancestor was a newcomer to Canada from the United States who settled here. He, his family, and another family went on to found a town which still exists today. On my mother’s side I am also the descendant of immigrants. My great-grandparents came from Europe after the First World War. They were newcomers who settled on farms in the west. Today, my grandparents and my one aunt have carried on the family tradition of farming food and raising livestock to help sustain our country.

My family is the result of immigration. If both sides of my family hadn’t come to Canada I wouldn’t exist today. We’ve done relatively well for ourselves in Canada. However, my family is not representative of the whole picture of immigration in Canada. Then again, no one family can ever be representative of what it means to be a Canadian Immigrant because Canadian immigrants are a diverse bunch! Immigrants come from all over the globe; near as well as far. Immigrants come from all kinds of backgrounds, occupations, races, genders, religions, and situations. Every immigrant’s story is different. Some of the challenges Canadian immigrants face are the same, but many of them are unique to their particular situation.

So, the next time you think of an immigrant as a stereotype stop yourself. Immigrants don’t just come from one or two countries. They don’t conform to stereotypes. They are individuals. It is unfair to everyone to generalize about who is an immigrant.

LETS START A MOVEMENT:
Shake up the stereotypes and show Canada that anyone can be an immigrant by making and Immigrant Pride video on www.youtube.com or...
If you are an immigrant:

And if you are the descendant of immigrants: