WHY EACH OF OUR POLITICAL PARTIES NEEDS A MUTINY
Over two weeks have passed in the federal election campaign. It is easy to see that many of Canada’s federal politicians (especially those in our urban areas) are spending enormous amounts of time looking for the ethnic vote. Obviously, that is because many seats are in areas where the ethnic vote is the majority. All of the 5 main political parties think that in order to get that vote and win those seats, they have to show that they believe current high immigration numbers should continue.
In fact, searching for the ethnic vote and the added seats it will bring seems to be the major issue in this election. There really seem to be no other significant issues. Mainstream Canadians might just as well not exist.
If some Canadians still refuse to believe that post-1990 immigration has resulted in this demographic situation where the 20% ethnic “tail” of our population now wags the Canadian “dog”, the current election campaign should convince them that they are wrong.
Although some immigrants accept Canada, a significant number in our urban areas seem to think that Canada is being handed over to them. It is hard to believe that all 5 parties have not sensed that this attitude exists.
There may be a few candidates who have raised this and other immigration issues, but not one of the parties is publicly saying anything about this massive change in Canadian demography and the consequences of that change.
In fact, most have heeded the order to “Shut up or be recalled”.
In our view, immigration should be based on the wishes of the majority of Canada’s population and on Canada’s needs.
But none of our 5 major parties has ever bothered to consult with Canadians about the majority’s immigration wishes and Canada’s needs. On the contrary, to the 5 major parties, “consultation” means meeting with immigration lawyers, immigration advocates and ethnic groups and asking them what they want. As we have said before, this is like Canadian authorities asking the Hell’s Angels what they think Canada’s drug enforcement policies should be.
Here are some reasons why candidates from all parties should mutiny :
(1) Most Canadians understand that politicians have to campaign to get support. However, grovelling for the “ethnic” vote is disgraceful and undignified. The grovelers may think that ethnic groups hold them in high esteem, but in reality the grovelers invite disrespect from everyone : both the ethnic groups and the rest of the population. For example, Prime Minister Harper recently announced that he would give $50 million to help immigrants update their skills. The big questions most Canadians ask are these : “Why is Canada throwing even more money into the bottomless immigration pit which has already taken hundreds of billions? Why were these people (who probably entered as skilled immigrants) ever allowed into Canada if they did not have updated skills?”
(2) Political parties that claim to consult Canadians but who, with absolutely no consultation, impose a radical transformation on Canada’s demography will receive the contempt they deserve. Lack of consultation is a betrayal of Canadians and is probably a major factor in a steadily declining voter turn-out. It is probably also causing many Canadians to lose faith in democracy. This betrayal will inevitably result in politicians at all 3 levels of government losing any moral authority they might have. For example, to gain ethnic favour, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has recently stated that immigration will play an ever-increasing role in Canada’s future. He has pledged that he will reverse Conservative cuts to the family reunification program. He should note that a significant percentage of the people who are admitted under the Family Class program are older parents or grandparents. The big questions Canadians ask Ignatieff are these : “Where is the evidence that Canada needs so much immigration?” and “What is the point of bringing in older people who will worsen the aging population problem?”
(3) Continuing to ignore Canadian concerns about unnecessary immigration is producing negative consequences on Canada, particularly on our economy and on our unemployed. Many of our jobless feel abandoned in the current recession—as others did in the previous 2 recessions since 1990. They think that our political leaders are ignoring important findings such as that provided by the non-partisan Economic Council of Canada. It concluded that in every decade from Confederation to 1990, immigration did not provide any significant economic benefit to Canada. According to a more recent major study, non-stop high immigration, an abnormality in Canada’s immigration history, has cost Canada billions every year since 1990. According to that study, in the year 2002 alone, immigrants who arrived from 1990 to that time cost Canada $18.3 Billion. To put this into perspective, the $18.3 Billion was about 16% of the total $116 Billion federal spending in the year 2000-2001. It was also more than the amount the federal gov’t spent on healthcare and twice the amount it spent on defence.
Canada needs some real democracy. Mutinies in all of our political parties are necessary to get democracy. Which party will be our “Tunisia”?
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We are copying a recent letter from “The Richmond Review”. Richmond is a suburb of Vancouver. The letter was written by a Mainland Chinese man and demonstrates an attitude towards Canada that all of our federal parties have nurtured. As readers will see, the letter provoked an uproar.
Assimilation Was Never Intended
The Richmond Review
March 26, 2011
http://www.bclocalnews.com/richmond_southdelta/richmondreview/opinion/letters/118685289.html#
In D.M. North’s March 4 letter (“Lessons on integration”), the letter-writer once again brought up the assimilation topic. While the letter-writer did present some valid reasons of why the Chinese in Richmond would not practice English, unfortunately the biggest reason was left out in his article.
The truth may be shocking for some, but I feel a frank but honest discussion is more healthy than being polite but hypocritical : For many of the Chinese in Vancouver, becoming Canadian was never a reason why we moved here, nor do we have the desire to do so. Rather, we see ourselves as Chinese expatriates, living in Canada for a short-term purpose, be it providing our kids to an easier education environment, setting up a business, or even just taking a long vacation.
Much like many Canadians who spend some years living overseas and eventually return to their homeland, a lot of us would just spend several years in Canada and eventually return to Asia. With that mindset in mind, it would be silly to think that many expatriates would actually take the effort and learn a foreign language, in this case English.
Furthermore, many Chinese simply see Canada as a vacation home, allowing them to come for a couple of months every year and enjoy Canada’s great outdoors after a year of hard work in China. Much like many Americans who have a vacation home in Mexico, would anyone actually expect these Americans to take learning Spanish seriously? Rather, the Americans would expect the area where his Mexican vacation home is located to be an English friendly environment, and the same goes for us Chinese expatriates, and this has made Richmond the way it is today, catering to Chinese expatriates like me and many others.
I really do hope the Canadians can come to the realization that we are here not because we wanted to be Canadian, but simply because we like the resource this country provides to us. Much like many of your ancestors who came to this land, not because of they wanted to become natives, but because they desire the resources and opportunities in this land.
So please, my friends, set your expectations right.
Ray Lin
Richmond
