Blogue||Nous sommes - noussommes.ca

I find we don’t debate immigration issues enough in this country. If someones does open a discussion, it sometimes takes on a negative connotation for no justified reason.

It’s possible to meaningfully pontificate about such matters without paranoid assumptions often associated with adherents of anti-immigration or politically correct minions.

A perfect example of where the law, politics, immigration and racism all conspire in a confused dance is with the problem of illegal Mexicans pouring into the United States.

The question revolves around exactly how to handle illegal immigrants presently working and living in the United States.

For many, there is a legitimate argument with the notion that illegal aliens must be forced to follow the rules. If it means deportation so be it. Those who go for this approach aren’t anti-immigration or racist; they just want to maintain the integrity of the law.

Is it fair for illegals to be granted amnesty? Not when measured against the reality that thousands of people are patiently and legally waiting in line.  Indeed, how is this fair to them?

So America has to wrestle with its own immigration issues including Muslim immigration and racial profiling.

At least the debate is in the open in the United States. Not so here in Canada. This is unfortunate because once in a while we need to vigorously question and challenge our leaders. It’s the only way to really keep democratic public discourse alive.

Is discussing immigration in Canada a taboo subject? Does the media offer a fair and balanced picture of it?  Is Canada’s  immigration department is secretive and non-transparent?

Sometimes I wonder if we simply shy away from facing questions that force us to look into the mirror.

Who we are has a direct correlation in what we become. But if the road is littered with misguided ideas or faulty immigration policies, what we become may mean we won’t care about who we are.

Here are some links regarding immigration:

Immigration Watch Canada

CanadaVisa.com

Refuge

Canada and Immigration by Freda Hawkins (Google Books)

Double Standard: The Secret History Of Canadian Immigration

Immigration is a long, costly and sometimes painful process. The most important key for a successful immigration request is to be organized and to have an acute knowledge of its process. For instance, failing to submit a document could further delay your request as well as cost you a lot of money.

We at WhoWeAre would like to help you get prepared for this life-changing adventure by giving you some useful resources! This site is for you, and if you know of any other good websites that would be relevant to this community, please do not hesitate to share in the comment section!

1 – CIC | Citizenship and Immigration Canada

This is an obvious one and should be your primary source of information for all official procedures concerning immigration to Canada. Make sure you read everything on this site, and understand under which category you should apply for immigration. Some categories of immigrants are more “favourable” to the Canadian Government than others, which means your application process could be sped up greatly. Also, all forms and necessary documents to be submitted are listed on this site (though not in the most ergonomic way). Do not count on Canadian High Commissions to provide you with information, we’ve heard countless times that they are not being really useful to immigrants. Basically, this site is a fantastic source of official information.

2- Immigration.ca | A forum for immigrants just like you

Along the years, this forum has grown to become a great source of unofficial information regarding immigration to Canada, and in a way completes nicely the CIC website. Powered by people looking to or in the process of immigrating, it covers everything from Processing times for people in the Philippines to How much money has to be shown to Canadian officials upon arrival. It’s also a great place to build up a sense of community and to share with people who are going through the same process as you are.

3- Not Canada

This website has sprung up to give a voice to immigrants who are disillusioned by their arrival to Canada. We know this is an odd reference for a post that actually is pro-immigration. Even though this site tends to be over dramatic, the stories of these people are real. NotCanada might shine some light about some realities of Canada that are unknown to immigrants before their arrival. For instance, it’s important to know that your diplomas and work experience might not be recognized upon arrival in this country. To avoid any disillusion and to get prepared properly for what’s really awaiting you in Canada, we strongly suggest you take a look at this website. Again, we want to stress that preparation is key for success. Get to know what you’re getting into, and this way you won’t end up on NotCanada!

4- Settlement | A source of information for those who want to immigrate to Toronto and Ontario

Of all the provinces in Canada, Ontario is the primary destination for immigrants, especially Toronto. Here, you will find information and help to find a job, learn English, organize daycare services for your kids, learn about your community and get your legal documents such as your driver’s license sorted out. Don’t wait till you’ve arrived in Canada to get accustomed with all those elements. The more you know about Canada before you get here, the easier your integration to this nation will be.

5- Nabeez’s blog

Nabeez immigrated to Canada some time ago and he is sharing on his blog some very useful information on how to get settled in this country. His experience is especially relevant to those who want to immigrate to Ontario, but it is still informative for most of you.

This completes our first post in this 25 Articles serie on How to Immigrate to Canada. We want to hear what you have to say and your inputs on immigrate. Start sharing now in the comments section!

–
This post takes part in a 25 Articles serie on How to Immigrate to Canada. Stay tuned for what’s to come next!

The history of Pier 21 (along with the forgotten Pier 2) in Halifax is an important part of Canada’s cultural experience. It’s tempting to look at this video with nostalgic eyes; as if immigration is in static motion set in one place and time.

Is it?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw3Z4MlLXHs

As the world goes through climate upheaval, populations will be displaced, thus creating a refugee problem. It’s conceivable that immigration will prove to be an evolving process for several nations moving forward.

In other words, immigration and climate change may converge, and Canada is likely going to be a major player – just like it witnessed with Pier 21.

In the process, we may see our population grow further in the upcoming decades. It stands to reason that if the world south of the equator warms, cold climate countries will benefit on numerous fronts including the availability of new fertile lands. We’re already seeing climate issues in Australia with its water drought. The Southern United States continues to get winded by an increasing number of hurricanes. In Europe, fires have sparked Greece while other Mediterranean nations like Portugal, Italy, France and Spain, all food exporters, may see their fertile lands become arid. China’s climate is doing wacky things, too.

If a new collection of huddled masses do arrive in large numbers, it would be ironic given the aftermath of the “reasonable accommodation” debates recently conducted in Quebec. The debates indirectly led to a recent symbolic piece of legislation presented by the Liberals asking immigrants to sign a document reminding them which culture is boss here.

Benign racism is nothing new in Canada. If we recall, eugenic scientists in the early 20^th century were concerned whether new immigrants, particularly from Eastern and Southern Europe, were a weaker and unhealthier species. All this (immigration and climate change wars) is compounded and made more complex by the ghosts of 9/11 who continue to haunt our memories. That tragic event plays a psychological role on how we react to and perceive immigrants and Muslims in particular.

In his own twisted way, God is displaying his dead pan sense of humor by increasing Muslim immigration to Western nations since 9/11.

Maybe he’s testing us.

A new term for me today, brought to us by The Globe and Mail: cross-cultural psychiatry. British psychiatrist Kwame McKenzie is now practicing in Toronto, and he specializes in redesigning mental-health services for visible minority groups.  In an interview with Margaret Wente, McKenzie explains how minority groups may have mental health needs that are specific to experiences such as surviving trauma in their homelands or facing discrimination in Canada.

McKenzie makes valid points regarding how Canada could better respond to such issues faced by immigrants.  I was surprised by how inoffensive Margaret Wente was until she asked a telling question:

“Apart from the obvious issues of fairness and equity, why should we care?”

Because obviously, Ms. Wente, fairness and equity are not big enough concerns on their own; these words, clearly, are spoken by someone who has evidently never been on the receiving end of unfairness and inequity.  When Dr. McKenzie gives a very reasonable answer, Wente’s response is this:

“In other words, you’re saying that mental health is connected to much broader social issues?”

If there is a journalistic award for stating the obvious, Wente should get it.  I suppose in this case I can’t blame her, though, since the comment section of this story indicates the kind of anti-immigration right-wing yahoos that appear to be in scary majority in the Globe’s readership.  These people could use any opportunity possible to see the bigger picture regarding immigration in Canada.  Got a problem?  Get out of Canada is their answer.  Meanwhile I really think that if these people are so offended by the principles of socialized assistance upon which Canada is built, they should be the ones to go.  There are still two months of Bush left down south for those who believe in pulling themselves up by their boot straps.

WhoWeAre shot this video of Montreal’s own Audley Coley, an amazing dancer and performer. Audley also suffers from manic depression.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLpxFBTCi-w

Canada is a hot destination for immigrants.

We now greet more than 250 000 newcomers every year in this country, and those numbers keep increasing more and more. Immigration is changing the face of Canada and giving this beautiful destination new colours and flavours. But who are those individuals, what is their take on this country? We want to know!

Our WhoWeAre project is aiming to give a voice to all those immigrants (as you can see on the immigrants’ video page), but we also want to share with you our advices on the immigration process and how to get settled in Canada. There’s a lot of ground to cover, so we at WhoWeAre have decided to prepare for you 25 articles on How to Immigrate and Get Settled in Canada! Over the following weeks we will unravel those articles for you. Of course, we would love to hear about you and your needs. If there is something you would like to discuss or hear about, or if you simply want to add your input to the debate, we highly encourage you to do so. Leave us a comment or get in touch with us through email! Our first article will be up soon, so stay tuned.

Fresh on the heels of the Bouchard-Taylor commission is a new pledge that the Quebec government will require immigrants to sign. The pledge asserts “Quebec values” including French as an official language, gender equality and the separation of church and state. Link to the cbc.ca story is here.

This pledge doesn’t seem to have any practical application. What do they expect to happen: someone travels all the way here, refuses to sign the pledge, and Quebec manages to keep out those who don’t want to assimilate? Or, conversely, an immigrant signs and we can expect no cultural tension from then on in? The only real effect this pledge appears to have is to offend many and create further divisiveness both in Quebec and throughout Canada.

The comments on the CBC story are, as usual, more disheartening than the story itself: while some criticize the idea of the pledge, many do so while making fun of Quebec; others applaud the move as a good one to “protect Canadian culture.” Are we this insecure about Canadian culture that we think a pledge is going to protect it?

Lire le reste de cet article ››

httpv://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=OhobvsUuogI&feature=related