Comes a Time to Demand Loyalty

Past time, isn't it? for the government of Canada to make it abundantly clear that citizenship in the country is a two-way street. The comforts and freedoms and protections that Canada affords its citizens require that all of its citizens understand that they are obligated to conform obligingly and willingly to the values and priorities that constitute our social contract. Before anticipating that one will receive respect and egalitarian treatment, one must be prepared to extend it to others.

This is a fundamental that Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney understands very well, and also insists upon. Like Australia, a sister Commonwealth country with its own problems of immigrant integration into its larger society, Canada should take the step the Australian government did, to rename that portfolio the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. On the basis that they were shifting the emphasis from 'altruism to pragmatism'.

It is nothing but pragmatic to anticipate that immigrants seeking a better life, choosing to emigrate from their home countries to Canada, be prepared to insert themselves in the larger social atmosphere that prevails here. To learn the language, adapt to the customs, become familiar with the laws and practise good citizenship. The foremost of which is to understand that in a society comprised of people of various ethnic, religious and social backgrounds, parochialism takes a back seat.

Above all, it is not permissible that social attitudes inimical to various ethnic or religious groups respecting each other, and traditional enmities not be imported to the new country that has accepted them. The psychological unwillingness to surrender long-held beliefs that are obviously not in keeping with the transition to a pluralist society where all are held in mutual respect despite ethnic and religious diversity, is unacceptable within Canada.

Mr. Kenney has experienced his share of familiarity with building support networks between Sikh, Hindu, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Jewish and Arab communities, during his time as Secretary of State for Multiculturalism and Canadian identity. It is the 'Canadian identity' portion of his portfolio that should be stressed equally with that of multiculturalism. He was committed to assisting immigrants solve issues important to them.

Helping him were his staff which included an individual of Tibetan origin, a Muslim and an Armenian. He was involved in the government's initiatives to recognize the Ukrainian Holdomore, its apology for the Komagata Maru incident to the East Indian community; the defence of Chinese Uyghur Muslims and he acted for the government in paying respects for the terrorist attack on the Mumbai Jewish Centre. He is colour-blind and ethnicity-insightful in the clarity of his vision.

He needs no lessons from groups such as the Canadian Arab Federation, whose president feels free in this society to spout gratuitous insults and racist slurs. And free also to express his unequivocal support of overseas terrorist groups whose support is seen as a criminal offence by the Government of Canada. It is no credit to Canada that one group of its citizens continually attempts to smear the good character and citizenship of another group whom they despise.

Mr. Kenney feels that immigrants to Canada have an obligation both to themselves and to the country to ensure that one of their first orders of business is language proficiency. Without it, social communication and a full awareness of the society at large is unachievable. Without the ability to function in one or both of the country's two official languages immigrants' opportunities for employment are constrained.

Mr. Kenney's message is clear: immigrants to the country must be aware that it is past time that Canada support its core liberal values of tolerance, democracy and secularism. "We want to avoid the kind of ethnic enclaves or parallel communities that exist in some European countries. So far, we've been pretty successful at that, but I think it's going to require greater effort in the future to make sure that we have an approach to pluralism and immigration that leads to social cohesion rather than fracturing."

Canada welcomes almost a quarter-million new residents annually from every corner of the world. That the federal government, through various incentives to ethnic groups, materially supports the integration of immigrants, language training and employment opportunities is most generous. There was a time in past history when new immigrants were on their own, themselves responsible for the struggle to earn a living, learn the language, support their families, and integrate into the economy and society. And they did all of that, and did it splendidly.

Now, with all the tax dollars spent in various ways to assist new immigrants to settle in to a new country and a new society, the outcomes are more problematical. The more assistance newcomers are given, it seems, the less willing they would appear to make a more personal effort to ensure they fit the expectations of the country, even while their expectations of the country are being fully experienced.

Mr. Kenney is cosmopolitan in outlook, Canadian to the core, and wise beyond his years. That he remains unperturbed by the malicious complaints lodged against him by groups taking umbrage at his decision-making is part of his job. And he does it exceedingly well. The mosaic of the Canadian population largely sorts itself out logically, but there are elements of distrust, unrest and downright racist ideology hindering the potential of universal accord.

Those are the areas of discontent and dissonance that require a firm reminder that specific groups are overstepping the boundaries of government patience and society's acceptance. Canada has an obligation to itself, to all of its people to ensure that its traditional standards of social conduct are observed and respected. It's past time.