Filed under: Politics
Even though we are all Canadians, multiculturalism has placed us all in various groups that divide us. In terms of elections, Conservatives across Canada will need to take some time to ‘understand’ and study the voting patterns of visible minorities in Canada. Albeit, if you are in Toronto or Vancouver, the term visible minority is unclear! So why is Conservatism associated with racists and bigots? Making these accusations aids play with “old stereotypical attitudes towards Conservatism”. Somehow the word “conservative” is a bad word. Maybe you are an extremist or someone who is insensitive. Unfortunately, in the past, old links to the Reform and Canadian Alliance Party seems to still haunt the party. I am sure that there are racists and bigots in all political parties in Canada; however it seems to only stick to Conservatism. History is also a problem, which will affect any party with the name Conservative in it for visible minorities. The perception is that right-winged politics is associated with anti-minority and anti-immigrant feelings. Even the history of the United States affect the voting patterns of visible minorities. Right or wrong, it’s a fact that the feeling exists and it will take time for conservatives to remove that sigma. Generally I like to pull towards a bit of ‘Fiscal Conservatism’, so that would I guess make me a Progressive Conservative. However, they no longer exist and, so now I find myself pulling towards the “Green Party of Canada” (http://www.greenparty.ca/). Makes sense, eh? Nothing wrong with that since all of our political parties are failing on the environmental stage and we have little time to waste. In addition, the Green Party of Canada is not necessarily in the fictional left of the political spectrum.
In like manner, visible minorities all have different backgrounds and support different platforms’. We are not all ‘anchored’ to the Liberal Party just because of “Pierre Trudeau”? Oops, I said it! Yes “Pierre Trudeau”! The allegiance to Pierre Trudeau is an issue that must be discussed. This has been an underlying reason for the voting patterns amongst visible minorities in Canada. So many Canadians vote Liberal just because of one man. There is a sense of loyalty to him and the Liberals in the Canada of today. Even though there should be more ‘principle’ to your vote, so many political candidates have had to deal with this issue. It is not the Liberal right or privilege to hold up the banner of defending minority rights in Canada. Conservatives are not ALL racists or bigots. They just tend to attract the majority of them. If you are a visible minority, do not vote Liberal just because of a loyalty to the party. If the Liberals came up with draconian polices would you vote for them? The Liberals need not take the voice of visible minorities in Canada for granted. I am not saying that you should not vote Liberal but have another reason why. Take time to question your MP or MPP. Also take time to look at the policies of other parties like the NDP or The Green Party of Canada.
One interesting sidebar is that Justin Trudeau may seek political office in Canada. Something many Canadians have waited years!
What may be more interesting is what will happen when he becomes an MP. What will happen if the Liberals do not fair as well in the next election. Will he run for leadership of the Liberal party? I doubt that he will at this point. Getting some years of experience will better shape and mold him into a contender. There are some similarities across the border in the United States, where Senator Barrack Obama has decided to run for President. The ‘Rock Star’ appeal has similarities here in Canada. I wonder, in like manner, when ‘push’ comes to shove, will Justin Trudeau even have a choice but to run for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada? I sense that Canadians are looking for some ‘charisma’ in Politics again. Are we looking for someone who can be Canada’s Messiah to save us from a devastating future? If Justin Trudeau does become leader I certainly would not want to run up against him. I mean who would stand a chance? At present visible minorities still tend to vote Liberal and I cannot imagine, even if he decided to bankrupt the country, how he could even loose. But then again, what is a visible minority these days anyway? Only time will tell!
By: Torontomatic
Filed under: Issues
Well the numbers are in and a recent poll indicates that “81 per cent of those surveyed support the idea that Canada is a bilingual country”. If Canada really wanted to be bilingual they should have made it a mandatory requirement for children in school many years ago. Now some of you are probably saying right now, no way; but here me out on this one. In Ontario, French is learned up to grade 9 where you then have the option to drop it (unless that has changed – starting to feel a bit old myself). As a High School student, I was quite happy to drop the language. However, I live with the regret of making that decision. I am now trying to “re-learn” French, which is quite difficult. When the for-fathers of our Country made these choices I wonder if they thought about the future implications of their decisions. If we all knew French and its culture and made it a part of Canadian culture, would Quebec really want to leave Canada? With a better appreciation of French culture maybe we would all ‘just get a long”?
Well this is where ‘multiculturalism’ comes in. Now everyone wants their own culture to be recognized. ATM machines show languages, other than our two official ones in Toronto. I do not blame various visible minority groups from promoting their language and culture, since we in Canada allow it. I do not blame Banks and corporations, since it is good for business.
I will save talking about Quebec culture for another day because it is a worthy topic, but do you blame Quebec when they enacted sign lawn, ensuring that all signs were in French? I cannot. You see, in a sense, multiculturalism has caused every group to promote their own language and culture, at the expense of Canadian heritage (whatever it is now). Children, in public schools, have been offered extra courses to learn their own language, from Cantonese, Urdu, Punjabi, and a host of others. I am not saying that they shouldn’t, but tell me can Canada continue in this fashion for years to come without a bit of fracture to the fabric of our society? So what is Canadian heritage or culture now? What is it being shaped into? Maybe a “melting-pot” is a better model for Canada? Culture is still respected, but you are Canadian first. So we will continue with this live experiment and hope that the future of Canada is bright and clear.
By: Torontomatic
