come bearing their own gifts and talents and perspectives, all of which contribute to the growth and continued prosperity of the country. Canadian leaders recognize the contributions that immigrants have made over the years and acknowledge that for the country to remain prosperous the knowledge, skills, talents, and hard work of immigrants are needed. For immigrants to feel at home, however, it has been necessary, from time to time, for the government to step in where the expectations for the exercise of goodwill and decency on the part of ordinary Canadians may have fallen short. Immigrants have also occasionally had to appraise their ways of doing things and to show sensitivity to their neighbours, friends and fellow Canadians. Yes, Canada is committed to equality, and new entrants are certain to experience, sooner or later, some of the sense of caring and concern that Canadians show for one another. Indeed, as a new immigrant you can look upon other Canadians as fellow workers in the crafting and shaping of a society that moves ever closer towards the ideals of fairness, justice, and equality for all.
So committed is Canada to fairness that the idea of equality has been included in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Equal but separate, however, is not the notion here. As the Citizenship and Immigration Canada publication A Look at Canada points out, “In Canada, we also believe in the importance of working together and helping one another.” Anyone who comes with the full willingness to help make Canada work for all is likely to find in Canada’s system the opportunity to also reach personal goals while contributing to an ideal that has made Canada the frequent recipient of the United Nations’ honour of being the best country in the world in which to live.
Canada Needs You
The Canadian government, with all kinds of statistics at its disposal, is all too aware of the need to prepare the country against possible skills shortages. The projected shortages range from medical technicians and construction tradesmen to university professors, of which the need is projected in the tens of thousands. Nurses, who are apparently already in short supply, are going to be in even greater demand over the years. But already, immigrants in Canada have proven their worth. They make up a large proportion of the labour force and are a major driving force of economic growth in Canada. The match between immigrants and Canada would seem to be a perfect one, with immigrants helping to shore up the economy and Canada giving them a safe environment in which to raise their families. In fact, other than First Nations people all Canadians can trace their history to immigration, two, three, or maybe even seven generations back. In a very real sense then, Canada has been built on immigration, a tradition that has also garnered the country much international respect. The room Canadians give one another and the tolerance they show for one another is increasingly seen as a model for the rest of the world.
Canada, one of the most peaceful, progressive, and prosperous nations in the world, is a magnet for people from all over the world. The name ‘Canada’ is like a talisman that promises protection from persecution and privation. It is like an amulet that promises to ward off the twin evils of poverty and hopelessness. Immigrants come with the full awareness that in order for them to achieve their goals they have to work hard. Yes, hard work is necessary but it is not sufficient to achieve the Canadian dream. In addition to hard work, the new immigrant, refugee or international student needs to be connected with strategic resources such as community, relevant Canadian educational credentials, and/or intimate knowledge of employment or business opportunities in Canadian society. It was so when Chinese labourers helped build railway lines in Canada in the late 19th century and it is so as new streams of immigrants come in from Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. One such individual for whom the Canadian dream has come true is James Chim who came to Canada over 30 years ago from Hong Kong and began his life in Canada as an MBA student at the University of Saskatchewan. After working for seventeen years at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce he struck out on his own and opened a chain of Japanese restaurants in the United States. Sarku Japan, of which Mr. Chim is the president and CEO, is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, and has over 170 outlets, mostly in malls and shopping centres. James Chim and other successful international students and immigrants help fuel the dream that Canada is indeed a land of opportunity and possibilities. Canada needs you; if you stay long enough and do your part for Canada and your fellow Canadians you might even begin to feel, more than just being needed, you are wanted.
Stranger in a New Land
It takes a certain measure of courage for one to abandon the comfort of hearth and home, one’s community, one’s country, one’s home and native land, to settle elsewhere. But migrating from one place to another is a common human response in the face of economic, social, political, or other challenges. It is by no means the only response but it is one that is not usually taken lightly. Hope and optimism usually foreshadow this courageous act, because a person might have to leave behind more than just material things; migrating from one’s home often means leaving behind the old familiar faces -- friends and family members.
For those who lived under dictatorships, when expressing one’s opinions can mean having to literally lose one’s tongue or face death the thought of living in a free foreign land such as Canada can seem inviting indeed. Whatever problems may lie ahead diminish in one’s mind. For others, migration might be motivated less by the push of economic or political necessity than by the pull of opportunity. This is often the case with immigrants who come to Canada as investors or arrive with the view to educating themselves in order to increase their options in life. The place from which the immigrant might have come may not necessarily be the picture of comfort but tearing oneself away from one’s closest associates, whether by choice or necessity, is hardly ever an easy thing to do. For some, migration, or more appropriately, flight is the only real solution to the problems they face; thus, without projecting a positive image upon the intended destination how could one make such a difficult move?
Before coming into the country you may have seen pictures of Canada; the country is really that beautiful. As you travel around you are certain to be impressed, and watching ordinary Canadians going about their business, truck drivers and students, office workers and loiterers, you already have a sense that you are in good company with such a polite, sometimes laidback but hardworking people. The warmth and generosity of Canadians will touch your heart and you’ll pat yourself on the back for having made such a brilliant decision to come to the second largest country in the world, after Russia.
As Adrienne Clarkson, former Governor General of Canada, writes in the article “An immigrant’s progress,” “Being an immigrant has many advantages besides optimism. For one thing, if you immigrate to Canada, you find that you have more space than you know what to do with. This was an enormous advantage to our family, and we quickly seized upon it after settling in Ottawa, building a cottage nearby in Quebec as soon as we had any savings and spending summers fishing, boating and living in the wilderness.”
The Best Country in the World
So says the United Nations, over and over again, year after year. Canadians themselves may not always fully appreciate what a treasure they have in their country, but a comparative analysis of countries across the world has consistently resulted in the United Nations’ rating of Canada as the number one country in the world. Even when Canada has slipped from the top spot it has remained near the top, ensuring that people who are in the pangs of economic or political distress around the world continue to see the Great White North as the place where their hopes for peace and prosperity are sure to be realized. Canada has become, to many people, a land that is synonymous with hope. From Afghanistan through Tunisia to Zambia, Canada also symbolizes freedom and the fulfillment of cherished dreams. Each year, in countries around the world, people plan, scheme, and do whatever it takes to land in Canada. In the old days, the Chinese referred to Canada as Gold Mountain (gam san), a term that captured the sum of the migrants’ hopes for success in this land. Such hopes for financial success in Canada continue to be a motivating force for thousands of immigrants. But material needs are not the only draw. The vast prairies, the hills and hillocks, lakes and rivers, and even the uninhabited frozen fringes of the Canadian north all
