— Feature, Musings —04.13.2024 06:40 PM
My latest: the end of multiculturalism
Is this, at long last, the result of multiculturalism?
As Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, our ally, what was happening in Canada?
In Toronto, the pro-Hamas cabal were firing off smoke grenades downtown. Near Union Station, they celebrated Iran’s act of war.
“Iran has just launched drones towards Israel!” a man shouted over a loudspeaker.
And the crowd cheered. Loudly. They applauded. They looked deliriously happy.
Is this what multiculturalism has wrought?
For a long time, believing in multiculturalism did not render you a “Libtard” or a “Cultural Marxist” or any of the other things that often get said about those who believe in multiculturalism.
Because this writer’s political home was for many years the Liberal Party of Canada, I was a supporter of multiculturalism.
I believed in it, and I wasn’t alone. Many of us thought multiculturalism was a good thing. For card-carrying Liberals, in particular, multiculturalism was part of the catechism. We even put it in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in section 27.
The word defines itself. “Multiculturalism” is a policy that encourages people to preserve and promote the cultures from whence they come. It’s the opposite of the American “melting pot,” which encourages completely embracing the culture and values that define America, and none other. (Canadians therefore had a tendency to like multiculturalism even more – because it wasn’t American.)
So, newcomers to Canada – whether they be immigrants, refugees or the Canada-born children of immigrants or refugees – were encouraged to preserve their unique cultural traditions here in Canada, wearing a keffiyeh and waving a Palestinian flag, if they wanted to. We were such believers in multiculturalism, in fact, we supported using government money to fund multiculturalism.
For years, we’ve done that, under successive Liberal, NDP and Conservative governments at all levels. Some of the multicul projects government has funded caused scandals.
The formerly-governing BC Liberals, for example, were caught spending millions on multicultural events that, a leaked document showed, were actually designed to be “quick wins” for the party, and paid for by BC taxpayers. And that became the suspicion about multiculturalism, in fact: that it was about politics, not people.
In exchange for supporting multiculturalism – in exchange for funding it, too – the likes of me asked for just one thing in exchange: obey our laws. Be civil. Embrace that most-Canadian of principles: peace, order and good government.
The vast majority did. Newcomers did. The bargain was fair, you see: in exchange for Canadian citizenship, you will leave behind those beliefs and behaviors that disturb the peace. Which are probably the things you wanted to escape by coming to Canada in the first place.
All good. Fine. And then, something terrible happened. Something beyond words.
In June 1985, Air India flight 182was blown out of the sky above the Atlantic Ocean. The plane had started its journey in Canada, in Montreal. And everyone aboard – 329 innocent men, women and children – were slaughtered. They were murdered.
They were murdered, serial investigations concluded, by some madmen who had come to Canada, and brought with them black hate in their hearts. They were Sikhs, but it wouldn’t have actually mattered if they were Catholics, Hindus or Seventh-Day Adventists. All that mattered is that they came to the multicultural paradise that is Canada, and they commenced the process of destroying that very ideal.
Others have followed in their foul wake. Others have come from other places and hacked away at the multicultural dream. By 2023, not much was left of it.
And then, on October 7, multiculturalism breathed its last. As word spread – as we learned that Hamas terrorists had invaded progressive farm communities in Israel, and raped and tortured and killed hundreds of innocents, and kidnapped scores more – something else happened, here in Canada.
In Mississauga, Ontario, people – newcomers to Canada, it seemed, but definitely people who do not deserve to call themselves Canadian – celebrated. At the intersection of Ridgeway Drive and Eglington in Mississauga, a large crowd of all ages gathered to celebrate the barbarity of October 7. They honked horns and cheered for Hamas’ mass-murder. They waved Palestinian flags. They handed out sweets.
It wasn’t a one-off. It wasn’t an outlier. In the days since, there have been many, many other such displays of inhumanity and cruelty, almost entirely aimed at Canada’s puny Jewish community. There have been crimes, like firebombing of synagogues, and shootings at schools, and attacks on Jews.
But there have been other things, too, which don’t amount to crimes – but are specifically designed to make Jews feel just as unwelcome and isolated and terrified. Marches through their neighborhoods, epithets screamed at the elderly Jews who live there. Blocking access to hospitals that Jews support, chanting unsubtle calls for genocide and violent revolution. Demanding that references to Jewish traditions erased, and replaced by that of others.
And now, hundreds cheering on Iran’s attack on Israel. Right out in the open. Proudly.
Have these terrible things been done in the name of multiculturalism? No. But multiculturalism was naïve. It let its guard down. It persuaded us that every single newcomer would come here and treat every other culture with dignity and respect.
They didn’t. They haven’t. A minority, hearts of hate beating in their chests, came here to hate some more.
Well, multiculturalism was an experiment, and it was an experiment that hasn’t worked out.
We are, as the saying goes, a country of immigrants. That shouldn’t change.
But the ones who come here to spread hate?
It’s time to kick them out.
Warren,
“It’s time to kick them out.”
I don’t see this problem in terms of multiculturalism. After all, the United States is a melting pot, and they have the same problems we have concerning biased immigrant protests and intimidating acts. Much of the rest of the Western world has as well.
I go back to the police and judicial response. That’s where the true problem lies. These protests need to be dealt with effectively and according to the law.
Sure, we need to tighten up and expand our response to offences under the Immigration Act and other statutes.
So, by all means, after due process and judicial review in some instances, then let the law be applied equally to all permanent resident immigrants. In the worst cases, proceed with deportation and return to a home country. But again, there needs to be a gradation scale before decisions are made or enforced.
+1
..the “melting pot” theory was debunked long ago.
where and when?
I am descendants of polish/irish ancestors with a little bit of German and Russian on 1 side and the other side welsh/English with probably some norse if you go back far enough. My ancestors have been on opposite sides of multiple conflicts.
I am just a kiwi from a well stirred pot.
When and by whom?
The melting pot worked down here for a long time.
I am Scots-Irish, English and French with a bit of German. My wife is Chinese. My son-in-law is Italian and Mohawk. My grandchildren reflect all of this. What all our Scots, English, French, German, Chinese, Italian, and even Mohawk ancestors* have in common is adoption of English, respect for fundamental Western values, and a patriotic love for our country.
That being said, their is an effort to put aside the melting pot model in exchange for multi-culturalism. You will never hear US intellectuals speak positively about the melting pot.
*My son-in-law’s Mohawk father was a proud US soldier.
..the “melting pot” theory was debunked long ago.’
1. It was never a theory. More like an aspiration. You put your Polish-ness with my Mexican-ness and her Italian-ness to combine the strengths of each, and the alloy was preferable to any single ingredient.
2. You missed the point, as well as the long march through the institutions. Decades ago, melting pot was the image. Over time, someone noticed that their ethnicity was being subsumed, and didn’t like it, wanted the hyphen, preferred thinking of themselves as Argentine- American or Laotian-American instead of American. In response to their anguished cries of lack of diversity and unfairness, there arose a demand for a changed image, from melting pot to “mosaic” or “tossed salad.” In a lot ways, those images were prettier, much nicer than the last scenes in “Terminator.” And the change not only missed the point of America, it buried it, which was the goal. You see, in a salad, you can still spot the individual ingredients. And you can reanimate tribalism to get the radishes to hate the bean sprouts if that helps you get funded or elected or a place in the freshman class.
Remember when the current PM rallied on making sure convicted terrorists would always be welcome here? Aged well, didn’t it?
I agree more with Warren’s earlier position that the issue is effective policing / enforcement of the laws that are already on the books.
The problem isn’t with multi-culturalism. The problem is that we are allowing people in who genuinely oppose it and more importantly are prepared to act on it.
Canadians have become comfortable / assuming that multiculturalism just works on its own. We’ve lulled ourselves into believing it doesn’t require any work to preserve it. Well, apparently it does and we need people in positions of authority to takes things more seriously.
Meh. I like Germans but detest Nazis. When you don’t take out the trash the rest of the house stinks.
Warren, I really enjoy reading your often unique perspective on Canadian life and politics. This column more than any other has hit the mark. Thanks for making the effort to say the things that many of us think but are afraid to say out loud in this crazy woke world. It is time for Canada to turn a corner.
Most folks pull their head outta their ass by their 30’s. Some…as you’re now aware…much later than that.
Multiculturism is ok, as long as you are selective about the cultures you multi, (gasp). Cultural reletivism is not ok, and this is now manifest. When you import a culture that segregates women and celebrates violence, and then you get segregated women and celebration, shortly followed by perpetration of violence, the fault lies with the importers, not the imported. They are just being who they are.
Be brave, bring yourself to write the word, “islam” in this context of broken tier 2 Canada. The Palestinians weren’t protesting for Palestine, the Iranians don’t protest for Iran… but they all read from the same book, all learn as children who to hate, as they’re instructed to in their “holy books”.
You know the others you’ve mentioned won’t dispute you. The Catholics, Jews, 7th Day Adventists, Sikhs, Hindus… they’re not going to attack you, not going to toss you off a building. They’re “easy picking” in today’s Canada, and nobody cares if you print a picture depicting their founder.
We’re like that.
> as they’re instructed to in their “holy books”
Blatant lie, try again.
Not a blatant lie. A simple truth.
Except the bargain wasn’t fair. Dissimilar immigration inevitably breaks the continuity with the past, and immigration to a welfare state, is often in search of welfare. Plus quantity has a quality all its own – numbers overwhelmed the forces of assimilation, already weakened by self-reproaching societies, guilt-ridden about their forebears astonishing achievements.
Although the quest for unconditional peace and harmony is a noble one, human behaviour will not allow it. Ever!
Pipes,
Yup, absolutely. So many people just positively rejoice in being assholes. Trump made it worse, but it existed eons before that POS ran for president.
As Mark Steyn said, multiculturalism is the stage between your old culture and the the one that’s replacing it.
The melting pot worked well in the US and Canada when the majority of immigration was coming from European countries – countries with a similar culture. Immigrants from some cultures plainly do not assimilate well into the west – in fact, they don’t want to.
Multi-culturalism is a lie. Some cultures are obviously better than others, see Dawkins quote re Nobel prizes and Muslims. Why would we want to import other cultures that diminish our country?
The western liberal nations preach tolerance, which is tricky because to be successful, toleration has to have limits derived from other fundamental principles such as the rule of law and protection of all citizens (with particular attention for the most vulnerable, such as religious minorities).
Without limits on tolerance, and with a pervasive self-deprecating culture, you end up tolerating perspectives and actions that first criticize, then challenge, then tear down your tolerant, liberal society. Western civilization is being challenged by the very principles that allowed it to succeed in bringing democracy and prosperity to so many around the globe.
Western liberalism has its many faults. It is a terribly-flawed way to organize a society, except that it has proven to be more caring and successful than all of the illiberal ones who seek to destroy it.
It’s time to for those who continue to see the great value in our fundamental western liberal principles to stand up against hateful and destructive ideologies, or all will soon be lost. We cannot let our tolerant, caring society be destroyed by misuse of the values that has made it historically exceptional.
This is a brave and likley career limiting article. Why has Canada embraced multi-culturalism? The only reasons I can conjure are:
-ease of government and political parties to target ethnic communities with vote buying votes
-delaying the inevitable cultural integration of Canada’s French speaking and aboriginal populations
Doug,
“[…] delaying the inevitable cultural integration of Canada’s French-speaking and aboriginal populations.”
You give us far too little credit. None of us have been assimilated post-1867 and none of us will be in two hundred years.
The pendulum always swings both ways. Those that pushed ridiculous policies are about to experience a massive backswing.
Craig,
EXCEPT, none of us got the memo that Trump is really God, and therefore it’s only him — and the Pope who are infallible.
(I’d rather become a devil-worshipper.)
If you favor the current American president, it is quite possible that you are already a devil-worshiper.
Our early history aligned with the American immigration system. People arrived from Europe. All speaking different languages and in some cases religious beliefs. The one thing that united them was having a dream to build a better life. They toiled and died building the railroads ,canals and cities. That is what made them truly feel like citizens of the country they were building. The thing to remember is that our country discriminated against Catholics and Jews. I don’t know why. It was before my time. But I suspect that it was a threat to religious belief’s of the protestants, which weren’t that different from the afore mentioned religions. So in the end were accepted. Neither of these religions tried to change the trajectory of the country. We separated church from government. Now we have opened our doors to Millions that believe religion is government. But a portion of those came here to escape that. So who do kick out? I think the first step is to close the gate.
Welcome to the party, pal.