HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-10-20, Page 5THE CITIZEN. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1999. PAGE 5.
Give us your poor ...
We Canucks are a quiet, mannerly bunch.
We don’t like to raise our voices or make an
unseemly fuss.
Until someone or something pushes our
buttons. It can be a tiny thing. A hockey
championship. A referendum.
Or a rustbucket ship full of illegal Chinese
immigrants. The way talk show loudmouths
have run with this puppy, you’d think we’d
been invaded by teeming hordes of Asian
terrorists bent on blowing up the Peace Tower,
ravishing our womenfolk and using the Grey
Cup for a urinal.
Tain’t that big a deal, folks - just a few
hundred desperately poor people, weak from
bad food and seasickness who want to change
their luck.
And it’s not like they’re the first uninvited
guests we've had to deal with. Illegal aliens
have been flitting across Canada’s porous
borders for years.
Not that they’re always good at it. Last year,
a Sri Lankan human smuggling ring was
uncovered through the cheat sheets’ they’d
given their clients. The would-be immigrants
were told to refer knowingly to “Block leader
The brain drain -
another view
There has been a lot of comment recently
about the alleged brain drain which sees highly
qualified Canadians in a number of specialized
fields leaving for greener pastures in the
United States with the word “green” referring
to the amount of money paid in salaries.
The word “crisis” has been used on a
number of occasions. That word, however,
seems to be used more than it should when it
comes to describing a situation which many
see in a negative light.
While I admit that a considerable number of
our bright people do head for the United
States, as they have in the past, I do not see the
situation as anything approaching a crisis. The
reasons for this are simple. Very little
comment is made about the large number of
people who are not Canadian bom but through
the years have come to Canada and given our
country the benefit of their talents.
Surely this must be taken into account in any
balance sheet of the exporting and importing
of talent. In addition, nothing is ever
mentioned about all those Canadians who
come back, as many of them do after a stint in
the U.S.
I can speak about this with a certain amount
of conviction since I am one of those people
who chose to live in Canada even though I was
not born here and my entire knowledge of
economics was gained in foreign countries. I
have, in fact, never taken a course on that
Lucian Bushart...; Prime Minister John
Charafiean”; * and not to forget “Ontario
Premair Mr. Mick Harries.”
A Guyanese migrant was intercepted when
she tried to finesse her way into the U.S.
professing to be a Canadian citizen, she airily
informed the border agents that she lived in a
town “in the Province of Montreal.”
Oh, really? Then she would know the capital
of that ah, province?
“Certainly,” she snapped. “The capital is
Ontario.”
One group of Chinese snakeheads assured
its clients that they would easily slip through
Canadian customs if they just adopted the
‘Singapore look’. These gate crashers
pretended to be prosperous Singapoie business
honchos. They flew into Vancouver first-class,
wearing Tommy Hilfiger duds, Nike running
shoes and toting glossy copies of Vanity Fair
under their arms.
One thing they couldn’t fake was the fluency
in English most Singapore businesspeople
possess. As a matter of fact, these folks didn’t
speak a word of English - and their French
was equally non-existent.
The most audacious attempt to crash our
border?
That honour probably goes to a flock of
prostitutes from the Dominican Republic who
showed up at the customs office in Port au
Prince...dressed as nuns.
subject in English.
But there are many such as I who have
chosen to live in Canada and who have tried to
make our contribution to the well-being of this
nation.
But this does not extend only to professipnal
people. When I drive by some of the neat and
prosperous farms owned by Swiss and Dutch
immigrants who have made farming their
career and who have certainly contributed to
efficient food production in Canada, I am
convinced that they and similar immigrants
must be included in the balance sheet.
In short, while the country has lost some of
its talented people, it has gained many others.
Looking at one side of the picture only does a
disservice to those who have brought an
imported talent with them.
Since the vast majority of our drain goes to
the United States, let’s look at the situation
from the American point of view.
It soon becomes evident that in their realm
of things, the number of Canadians who go to
the U.S. do not even rate an honourable
mention in that country. The biggest sufferers
of a drain are Britain and Germany in Europe
and China and India in Asia.
Canada and all these other countries have a
lower rate of investment than does the U.S.
However, government spending for research
etc. is falling in all major industrial countries
A Final Thought
True greatness consists of being great in
little things.
- Charles Simmons
Maybe it was the perfume, or perhaps the
tell-tale clickety clack of spiked heels under
those habits, but they were denied entry. The
fake nuns disappeared into a washroom and. as
the customs report dryly notes: “reappeared
shortly thereafter dressed in their normal work
clothes that amply advertised their actual
profession.”
I can’t get too angry at people willing to risk
their lives and mortgage a decade or so of their
futures for a chance at a new life on this side
of the waters.
It’s not as if it’s a new story.
Heck, if we could go back about a
hundred and twenty years or so, I’d take
you belowdecks on a tatter-sailed, clapped
out frigate listing at anchor in Montreal
harbour. If you could stand the stink, I’d lead
you to a couple of scurvy-looking bums lying
under a filthy blanket near the back of the
hold. Look at them. Them and their rag-tag
family - two squalling brats - and the sunken
cheeked wife looks like she’s about to whelp
again.
They’re dirty, malnourished, probably lice-
ridden. Five’ll get you 10 they both sign their
names with an X. Haven’t got a halfpenny to
their name. Spent it all on passage to Canada.
Is Canada Customs going to let these losers
in?
Sure hope so. They’re my great-
grandparents.
and is being replaced by spending in the
private sector.
Perhaps that is where we should look for
part of the wherewithal in keeping our minds
here and not dump the whole responsibility
solely on the shoulders of the government.
Furthermore, with this embarrassing
quantity of foreign talent, are not an increasing
number of Americans competing with
foreigners for higher salaries, etc.? It is
possible that there will eventually be a
backlash from American professionals who
are losing out to all this foreign talent.
In the meantime, let's not get overly worked
up about the coming and going of talent. There
are certainly several moves that the
government, for its part, might do to make
working here more attractive but, in the
meantime, we can count on most Canadians
staying home while many immigrants plus the
homecoming Canadians make a positive
contribution to the level of our well-being.
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All I could ask
I like stuff. Once an anti-materialistic, anti
establishment child of the 1960s, I am
somewhat shamefaced to acknowledge that I
have become a material girl.
One of my weaknesses for which I am less
apologetic, however, is books. I don’t just
enjoy reading them, I like the look of them,
the feel of them. A bone of contention at our
home has been the bookcase to line my den
wall, for which I have waited with extreme
patience these past several years.
There is something deferential about a
book-filled room, a warm, but distinguished
aura, rather like that of a loving grandparent’s
home. You are very welcome, but maintain
respect.
One of my favourite memories of childhood
was my weekly visit to the local library. Too
young to recognize what attracted me, I knew
only that I enjoyed spending time there. In
retrospect I see I was enchanted by the
warmth of lots of old wood, rooms divided by
a veritable treasure trove of the written word,
secluded alcoves and quiet sanctuaries. I was
invited to enter, browse and take my time.
And I see that in the middle of life, where
activity resounds, there was an oasis of calm.
For this reason, I was not one of those
ecstatic about the idea of computers being
placed in the libraries. While looking at the
situation practically, one might have to admit
the combination is a good fit that improves the
viability of the smaller branches. But for
sentimentalists like myself technology’s
arrival has been a little sad.
To me the library has always been about the
best of this world — simple pleasure with
words, enlightenment and knowledge.
Computers give us the words, enlightenment
and knowledge, but in a cold, emotionless
way. They are as incongruous in a library’s
old-world warmth as a metal table in a
Victorian dining room.
And, so, though I accept the inevitability of
their intrusion I cannot help but harbour a
mild resentment.
I have found a new haven, however. These
days, a much anticipated outing for my
daughter and myself is a trip to a Chapters
book store. Walk in the door and the first thing
you notice is the quiet. The retail area is off to
the side, barely noticeable as you enter a
cornucopia of literature. Computers to track
down information on books are placed
discreetly, their existence easily ignored.
As it is in a library, no staff is looking over
your shoulder and you are welcome to stay as
long as you like. Soft chairs beckon you to
pick up a book and envelop yourself in cozy
comfort. Or if you prefer you can nestle up to
a table with a steamy de-caff mocha. Though
people are chattering it is with a mannerly
regard for those seated off in a corner, reading.
Granted, the store symbolizes the arguable
concept that bigger is better. But ironically, as
much as it illustrates modem thinking, it is
also a fitting example of what was good about
the past. The chain has managed, while clearly
thinking about making money, to keep the
intimate feeling of a library.
For the material girl with the sentimental
heart, who wants to sift through books, savour
then: and own them, that’s all I could ask.
Well, that and a bookshelf to put them on.