Tolerating the Decidedly Lethal Intolerant

What a wonderful country is Canada. We congratulate ourselves continually, hug ourselves with rare appreciation of our ability to just well, kind of get along. We're a community of multitudes, of varying cultures, traditions, ethnic origins, religions, and we embrace each other's presence. We are proudly multicultural. Our laws give protection to one and all. We are egalitarian in outlook and in practise alike. We are a tolerant, respectful society. We care, deeply.

We are so tolerant that we hesitate to ever offer perceptions that might be construed as questioning of others' values. What, after all, could be worse than being termed as 'intolerant' or 'discriminatory' in this uber-welcoming-of-others society of ours? Our own traditions and values? Well, needless to say we value them, they have great meaning for us. Our current social mores and values are what conspire to make life so satisfying for us, so welcoming to immigrants.

Do we feel that our own values are paramount, that those who gravitate to this country through immigration should adopt our values? The Canadian way of life? Ah, we hesitate; we don't wish to take it upon ourselves to be too pushy, to insist that if people migrate they should be prepared to accept that which the welcoming country holds dear. After all, we are respectful of other cultures and traditions and social values; we don't want to insist on ours. We are polite.

We are cognizant of peoples' sensibilities and feelings. Canadians don't wish to impose hardships on others. Our vaunted way of life will somehow wheedle its way into acceptance, we feel, without our having insisted on its adoption as needful for societal integration. So we overlook that which we should not. That groups coming to Canada often bring with them grievances and unsettling political situations which should be left behind.

We're so bloody polite that even when we're confronted with the reality of another country's terrorist element operating with perfect impunity to threaten and harass, fund-raise, visit physical harm on their detractors, we stand back in puzzlement, uncertain how to proceed. We don't wish to interfere, to insist that Canadian civility be practised by all, that soul destroying political agendas of violent intent be left in the country of origin.

This unfortunate tendency was quickly identified by militant immigrant groups with their axes to grind. They learned swiftly the implications of offering block votes to political parties in exchange for 'tolerance' of their activities. Canadians have learned the painful lesson of what this can lead to, in the mid-air explosion of Air India's flight that took the lives of hundreds of innocent Canadians.

But what lesson did we in fact learn? In Canada's large expatriate Tamil community the Tamil Tigers go about their business of threatening Tamils and extorting funds from them. Leaders of some of our federal political parties have not been averse to attending gatherings in support of the Tamil Tigers - until the current government listed them as terrorists. Which hasn't stopped their terrorizing of the Tamil community.

Members of the Muslim community in various parts of Canada who practise a fundamentalist Islam inveigh against non-Muslims and Jews in particular, spreading their particularly vile brand of anti-Semitism. Islamists from among some of these communities have been implicated in attempting jihadist attacks on Canadian soil. Groups and individuals representing Muslim 'antiwar' interests travel to the Middle East to meet up with high-placed officials of organizations deemed to be terrorist groups by the Canadian government.

Moderate Muslims who speak out in protest at the militarization of Islam in the community face death threats, are beaten into silent withdrawal, perceiving no support from the community at large, including their new government. Moderate Muslims understand the power of the bloc vote, the tentative hesitation of the Canadian government at all levels to appear discriminatory against immigrants. They fight a silent battle.

But there are courageous souls among us like Ujjal Donsanjh who insists the RCMP be ordered to investigate a Sikh parade held in Surrey, B.C. last month at which government representatives at all levels made their appearance. This was not just any Sikh parade, but one whose purpose was to celebrate the legally outlawed Khalistan movement for independence from India, whose Babbar Khalsa adherents conspired to murder Canadians.

The Air India conspirators responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Canadians, whom a jury acquitted where proudly present as well. Celebrating not the diversity of this country, but the success of their terrorist activities carried out in India through assassinations, and in Canada by murder and bombings. Canada has identified terrorist groups but like the Khalistan group, does nothing to stifle their operations in this country and hold their leaders to account.

Members of terrorist groups banned in this country should be made to understand by legal action leading to arrest and incarceration that they are not free to behave as they will, to destroy the peace and good governance of this country.