The Liberal Government recently announced easing of immigration standards for those wishing to sponsor relatives. The government seeks to justify the laxer immigration regulations by noting that the greater cultural diversity would be beneficial to Canada. While the aims of the Government on the surface seem benign, the political manipulation of the immigration system to cultivate Liberal party loyalty is unfortunate.
The problem with the immigration system is in its goal to create a multicultural society. The embracement of multiculturalism as a societal goal stems from the misplaced conviction that we as a society owe foreign nationals, particularly those from developing nations access to benefits of our society and thus improving their quality of life.
North America has been open to immigration since its discovery and eventual settlement. Canada and the United States recognize that we are all immigrants or descendents of immigrant ancestors. Our immigrant ancestors transformed North America into the most vibrant and diverse society. Recognizing these facts North Americans has been most welcoming of immigrants.
Most immigrants immigrate to Canada or to the United States to gain those things which set us apart from their countries of origin. Better prospects for the future, national stability, democratic institutions and peaceable living are obvious benefits of North American lifestyle. These are not merely accidents, but a conscious cultural evolution of western civilization rooted in the acceptance of Christian principles and values.
Europeans and Christians adapt more easily because they share with most other Canadians a common heritage. The former share a common culture while the latter a common religious affiliation. However, this does not mean that those not sharing in these commonalities cannot adapt into North American society. We do know many immigrants, not initially sharing in these commonalities, who have successfully adapted to our society.
It means that certain immigrants may need help in adapting to our lifestyle and society. Ultimately it is the immigrant who has the choice to adapt to our society. The very reason individuals immigrate is to partake in the benefits our culture provides. However, overlooking the cultural ethos which gave rise to these benefits prevents successful integration into our society.
There is no such thing as cultural relativism. All cultures are not of equal merit. The very fact that makes immigrants flock to the western world is the recognition of the reality that culturally the western world is indeed qualitatively superior to their nations of origin. If no benefits to immigrating are forthcoming there would be no reason to immigrate. Immigrants have chosen to cast their vote with their feet.
Multiculturalism ignores this fact of reality and buys into the false notion that all cultures are equal. If one accepts multiculturalism we must also approve of the subjugation of women in the Moslem world, the caste system of India or the overt racism present in Zimbabwe as fair and just from a cultural standpoint. If we cannot accept such aberrations as just, how then can we maintain the equality of cultures? Logically we cannot.
Maintaining our western cultural identity is the most pro-immigration attitude we can maintain. By conserving our culture we maintain a safe haven for all immigrants who value our culture and society. Those who champion our values and freedoms on foreign soils and in the face of danger should have the option of seeking refuge in Canada. As North Americans we have a duty to our citizens and those sharing our values to maintain our culture and society.
Government funded multiculturalism fails immigrants in that it does not seek to integrate them into Canadian society but reinforces a foreign cultural ethos that may be at variance with our society. Sectarian violence is not unknown in Canada. The Air India bombing, firebombing of a Toronto area yeshiva and the support for Al Queda within Canada points to a failure caused by Canada’s abandonment of integrating new immigrants. Tribal factionalism is also not unknown. Ethnic gangs, be they Vietnamese, Arab or Tamil are symptomatic expressions of the failure of multiculturalism.
Being a government funded program, multiculturalism is open to political manipulation. The Liberal Party of Canada has been known to manipulate the leaders of ethnic communities so as to cultivate and reinforce ethnic loyalty to the party. As beneficiaries of the laxer immigration system, the ethnic leaders are inclined to urge co-ethnics to vote Liberal, even to the ultimate detriment of Canada.
Citizenship is about becoming and Canadian, not an Asian-Canadian, Indo-Canadian or an African-Canadian. Citizenship is reward for successful integration into our society. Multiculturalism fails immigrants because it does not seek to maintain a Canadian identity but a multicultural diversity. By accepting multiculturalism we have abandoned integrating immigrants into the fabric of our society and instead we indirectly promote strife and mistrust, ghettoizing every ethnic and tribal faction into its own enclave.
Multiculturalism is the very antithesis of a Canadian identity. One cannot expect the forging of a common Canadian identity when the government promotes multiculturalism. The result of Canada’s headlong dash to create a multicultural society is a country without an identity. For this reason Canada will never achieve nationhood but remain an artificial geographic construct: just a country.
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