The Changing Face of Canada – a change that is not Canadian

Our country has been evolving over the years and for the most part for the better. I am a proud Canadian because of the wonderful things that have happened. Which makes me think of the Tommy Douglas CBC movie that I watched last night. I knew of his visionary work for establishing public healthcare across Canada but didn’t know of his other society-benefiting initiatives (e.g., old age security, public car insurance, bill of rights for more refer to: Wikipedia). From this I have been able to accept change and embrace the idea of change being good. But Canada is getting a huge facelift and it’s not pretty. Since Harper has taken power (less than 2 months) there have been many subtle but significant changes to our country that is attacking our very own identity. Below are three that I want to highlight:

1. Being Unrelentless in Afghanistan
I woke up this morning to the 1130AM news and I heard that a recent poll (the poll’s accuracy itself is questionable) is suggesting that people in Canada are now supporting Canada being in Afghanistan for ‘peacekeeping’ efforts, even though we were supposed to be pulled out years ago. This is of course due to Harper’s (Canada’s current Prime Minister) recent visit to Kabul where he is providing moral support to our troops… Hmm doesn’t this sound similar to what Bush just recently did as a strategy for the troops in Iraq. Nonetheless this is troubles me for other reasons, as in the months prior I heard two things:

(1) I heard of all the killings and accidental deaths of Canadian soldiers which could have been avoided if we did not associate ourselves with the US-led mission or if we did the humane thing and actually pulled out - My heart goes out for the Canadians that are risking their lives and the their family members; and,

(2) I heard that there were huge percentages of Canadians from previous polling results wanting Canada to pull out.

As a Canadian, I love our real peacekeeping efforts and mentality. Sure some of our initiatives have not been as successful as others but overall on a international level what we have done is phenomenal for world peace and solidarity (take Suez Canal, Pakistan relief, South Asian Tsunami work etc). BUT I do not support the misleading information now being put forth that we should force ourselves into countries where we are not needed or welcomed (i.e., US in Iraq).

We should be supporting other peace-promoting initiatives and events, not our ‘occupation’ of countries. Things like the World Peace Forum (WPF) – where mayors from cities around are coming to Vancouver this Summer, should be further supported by all levels of governments. It is a sample initiative which will make the future of the Earth worth living for. On a related issue I should mention Vancouver’s current Mayor has not supported additional funding to the WPF as he doesn’t see it as a priority; but I don’t want to digress to far in this post.

2. Recent non-support for a UN Resolution
Another scary news tidbit that I read on the ferry going to Victoria I believe in the Globe & Mail is that Canada is one of only 2 countries which DID NOT support a UN resolution where Palestinian refugee women and children be allowed back into their homeland from Israel (something like 70+ UN countries favoured it!).

3. Abolishing the Ministry of Multiculturalism
When Harper announced his new Cabinet, he dissolved the Ministry of Multiculturalism. Okay this one makes no sense to me as data suggests Canada is needing this Ministry more than ever.

From the 2001 Census, 13% identifies to a visible minority group as defined in the Employment Equity Act*. That’s more than 1 in 10 people on average across Canada, and if you look at cosmopolitan centres there is even a higher proportion- where for example in Toronto, Vancouver & Montreal almost half the population is a visible minority! In addition, the visible minority group is growing at an alarming pace when compared to the rest of Canada; between 1996 and 2001, the total population increased by 4% while the visible minority population rose 25% (six times faster!)*.

And if recent Statistics Canada ethno-cultural population projections are true almost 1 in every 5 of the nation's population will be a member of a visible minority by 2017 when Canada turns 1501. This has huge implications and if there isn’t a Ministry to handle multicultural issues (cultural sensitivity to immigrant settlement, employment, housing, health etc) we are in big trouble.

My Conclusion
I have always embraced change as we wouldn’t be where we are on so many fronts especially in the past 5-10 years in regards to ethical research, sustainability, environmentally sound policies etc. But this is probably only time I would say this: I hope times are not changing in Canada. If they are, as exampled by these many subtle altercations, I do not want any part in it. Our country’s face is not getting transformed its getting deformed. If anyone out there would like to help me in getting our country back – Blog me!