Moncton Forum

A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
So many letter writers have explained how this land is made up of immigrants. Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people why today's Canadian is not willing to accept the new kind of immigrant any longer.

Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to Canada , people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in Halifax and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground.
They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new Canadian households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home. They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.

Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labour laws to protect them. All they had were the skills, craftsmanship and desire they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.  Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. Canadians fought along side men whose parents had come straight
over from Germany , Italy , France , Japan, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Sweden, and so many other places. None of these first generation Canadians ever gave any thought about what country their parents had come from.

They were Canadians fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan .  They were defending the Freedom as one people. When we liberated France, no one in those villages was looking for the Ukrainian-Canadian or the German-Canadian or the Irish-Canadian. The people of France saw only Canadians.

And we carried one flag that represented our country.  Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be a Canadian. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue bowl.

And here we are in 2006 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and
privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that
includes a Canadian passport and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. 

 I'm sorry, that's not what being a Canadian is all about. Canadians have been very open hearted and open minded regarding immigrants, whether they were fleeing poverty, dictatorship, persecution, or whatever else makes a person adopt a foreign
country.  And, I suppose when we say adopt, we think of those aforementioned immigrants who truly did ADOPT our country, and our flag and our morals and our customs. And left their wars, hatred, and divisions behind.  I believe that the immigrants who landed in Canada in the early 1900s deserve better than that for the toil, hard
work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags, fighting foreign battles on our soil, making Canadians change to suit their religions
and cultures, and wanting to change our countries fabric by claiming discrimination when we do not give in to their demands.