“Our discussion of “Canadian values” couldn’t be more hobbled.
“When ‘Conservative’ leadership candidate Kellie Leitch recommended screening immigrants for “Canadian values,” politicians and pundits mocked her…
“But the barrage launched at Leitch, particularly from the so-called “liberal elite”, falls into its own unhelpful ideological pitfalls.
“The first mistake that Leitch’s critics make is dismissing the entire notion that most Canadians aspire to certain values. Their second mistake is assuming that talking about Canadian values is out-and-out xenophobic.
“Despite the ‘moral panic’ over Leitch’s proposal in Canada, Australia is getting on with screening immigrants for “Australian values”, such as respect, democracy, freedom and rule of law.
“And, believe it or not, reasoned public discussions about national values have already occurred in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and other civilized countries, where citizens do not fear difficult debates.
“The fact is, national values are easily measured with social-science techniques…
“How can we appreciate members of a multicultural society if we adopt the mawkish cliché that everyone is essentially the same under the skin?
“Or, if we are willing to admit ethno-cultural differences exist, who are we to assume, as many Canadians do in a patronizing way, that immigrants will eventually become “just like us” anyways?
“How can we learn from members of another ethno-cultural group if we aren’t curious about them?
{Never mind ‘learning’ from less-evolved cultures –How can we integrate new immigrants if we don’t put forth our own national values???}
“The ‘World Values Survey’ can help.
“The WVS conducts polls in nations across the planet, probing for core beliefs. The ‘United Nations’ and the ‘World Bank’ use it to track ‘diversity’.
“The WVS has discovered, for instance, more than 83% of residents of France, Britain and Canada take seriously “tolerance”. So do 80% of Taiwanese.
“But far fewer people in India, 56%, think “tolerance” is a key virtue.
“A particularly valuable question the World Values Survey asks parents around the globe is:
“What qualities would you most like to see in your children?”
“Even though few Canadians have bothered digging into such rich ethno-cultural subjects, an exception is Ken McGoogan, author of “Celtic Lightning: How the Scots and Irish Created a Canadian Nation”.
“In his unscientific yet credible book, McGoogan considers how the nine million Canadians who claim Scottish or Irish heritage have strengthened certain values in Canada — such as “independence” (exemplified by rebel Michael Collins), pluralism (exemplified by gay writer Oscar Wilde and mixed-race B.C. governor Sir James Douglas) and “democracy” (exemplified by egalitarian poet Robbie Burns and prime minister Sir John A. McDonald).
“Did the ancestors of more than one-quarter of our population arrive (in Canada) without cultural baggage? No history, no values, no visions?” McGoogan asks. “Surely the idea is ridiculous.”
“Indeed, it’s absurd many Canadians assume people arrive from Ireland, Egypt or China without both individual and ethno-cultural traits.
“So it’s especially worthwhile to learn about values widely held in Canada’s biggest immigrant-source countries.
“The top sources of immigrants to Canada include China, India, South Korea, Iran and the Arabic-speaking countries of the Middle East, all of which have had their values measured by the WVS. {Why is the Canadian government sabotaging Canada’s heritage by limiting quotas on European immigration?
“How do the values emphasized in these countries play out in Canada’s major cities, where the potential for inter-cultural exchange is high in schools, businesses and neighbourhoods? …
“More than nine of 10 parents in the Muslim-majority countries of Egypt and Iraq, for instance, strongly emphasize “religious faith”.
“But fewer than one in 10 parents in Germany and China — and just three in 10 in Canada — care if their children believe in God.
“The ‘World Values Survey’, like all polls, is imperfect, missing subtleties and regional variations. But it’s a reminder the sooner we take ethnocultural differences seriously, the sooner we become knowledgeable about why people are the way they are.
“The implications can be significant. We may start to recognize, for instance, why people with roots in China tend to vote for certain Canadian political parties, while those linked to India are inclined to vote for others {Because too many vote only for their own race/ethnicity, and no one has explained to them how this only produces conflict and resentment. Democracy is about an individual voting, not a collective…}.
“And — unless we’re utter moral relativists — the sooner we understand ethnocultural differences, the sooner we might take seriously the values we ourselves are ready to stand for, reject or tolerate.”
–‘Values of some immigrants contrast sharply with ‘Canadian’ values’,
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, May 25, 2017
“In this era of mass migration, one of five residents of Canada is now born outside the country, mostly in Asia. The ratio of foreign-born residents rises to almost one in two in Toronto and Metro Vancouver.
“Pakistan has become Canada’s fifth leading source of new immigrants. China, the Philippines and India remain the three largest immigrant-providing countries. The U.S. is fourth.
“Unfortunately, the record of many Asian countries in regards to male domination and women’s freedom leaves much to be desired…
“So far, pollsters have not measured what values new immigrants bring to Canada about male authority or female rights. But researchers have assessed attitudes toward women and men in the countries that are Canada’s five leading sources of immigrants.
“In addition to ranking Pakistan as 132nd on women’s rights, the ‘Global Gender Gap Index’ (conducted by the ‘World Economic Forum’) rated China as a middle-of-the-road 69th and India as a laggard 105th…
“Pollsters have found additional ways to assess the way girls and women are treated around the world.
“A key way to test for patriarchal attitudes is to ask people if they agree with the statement:
“A wife must always obey her husband.”
“That’s the question the ‘Pew Research Center’ posed. In Pakistan, which is virtually entirely Muslim, almost nine out of 10 agreed that wives should obey their husbands. So did the same proportion of all residents in India.
“In the Philippines, almost six out of 10 agreed; suggesting that, despite the Philippines’ high ranking by the ‘Global Gender Gap Index’, domestic authority in that Roman Catholic nation still tends to go to males.
“In the U.S., less than three in 10 agreed wives must obey husbands. Pew researchers did not ask the question of Canadians, but other polls suggest Canadians would respond similar to Americans.
Toronto, 2016
“Two more research questions by Pew strongly suggest patriarchal beliefs continue to prevail in China, the Philippines, India and Pakistan.
“People in these countries were asked
“When jobs are scarce, (should) men have more right to a job than women?”
“More than 82% of Indians and Pakistanis said “Yes,” followed by 76% of Filipinos, 73% of mainland Chinese and just 14% of Americans.
“A similar response came in regards to women’s education… Asked their views on the proposition that
“University degrees are more important for boys than girls”,
more than half of the surveyed Pakistanis, Indians and Chinese agreed. In the U.S. only 15% concurred.
“What do such polls on men and women’s relative power suggest for a city such as Metro Vancouver? A new book by Oxford economist Paul Collier points to an answer.
“Exodus: How Migration is Changing Our World” (University of Oxford Press) is being highly praised, by both conservatives and liberals for the thoughtful approach it takes to the polarizing issue of immigration.
“Even while the author focuses on the economics of migration, Collier maintains most people leave their homelands because their countries have become “dysfunctional” – with poor standards of living and weak protection of individual rights.
“The big danger for the host country, Collier maintains, comes when in-migration grows from a small stream into a wide river. In the face of mass migration, Collier cities studies showing immigrants tend to form into enclaves and are less likely to become integrated into the host culture.
“Such ethnic enclaves have already formed in Metro Vancouver, where more than 170,000 residents were born in Mainland China, 114,000 in India and 94,000 in the Philippines.
“Collier’s book, endorsed by the noted Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam, reveals that mass immigration leads to immigrants bringing their homeland’s “dysfunctional” social practices to their new land.
“He maintains that’s especially true in economics; but may also be the case in regards to convictions about male authority.
“Even though Metro Vancouver’s Farida Bano Ali would not name the countries of immigrants who tend to have patriarchal beliefs, she acknowledged Canada sometimes imports social problems regarding gender.
“Many women and men come to Canada with baggage (such as beliefs men should have absolute control in the home). But they have to know when they come here, they must follow the law of the land.”
“What’s to be done? Given the “dysfunctional” track record that many immigrant source countries have on economics and women’s rights, Collier maturely maintains it’s not good enough for residents of the West to respond by just repeating the
“well-intentioned mantra of the need to ‘have respect for other cultures.’”
“More thorough polling needs to be conducted into the values that all Canadians, homegrown and new, hold about women’s equality. That will give reformers like Ali more ammunition to strive for greater respect between the genders.
“Until then, we are left to remain vigilant against not only the egregious kinds of mistreatment suffered by females like Malala Yousafzai, but the quieter injustices endured by countless girls and women everywhere.
“May such discriminatory behaviours never be endorsed in Canada.”
–‘Is Canada importing patriarchy?’,
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, November 9, 2013
http://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/is-canada-importing-patriarchy
“In April, 2013, the ‘Pew Forum’ released a 226-page report on the beliefs of Muslims in 39 countries {See link below}…
“The Pew findings regarding countries such as Pakistan should be of special interest to Canadians, since it is this nation’s largest source of Muslim immigrants.
“There are more than 140,000 Pakistan-born Muslims in Canada. And it turns out the ‘Pew Forum’ polls show Pakistani Muslims are among the most hard line.
“For instance, most Muslims in countries such as Turkey and Eastern Europe believe a woman has a right to divorce her husband. But support for the woman’s choice to do so drops to just 26% among Muslims in Pakistan.
“Another Pew finding was both encouraging and disturbing. When the pollsters asked whether honour killings are ever justified for pre- or extramarital sex, a strong majority of Muslims in places such as Indonesia, Jordan and Azerbaijan said they are “never justified”, regardless of whether a man or woman stands accused.
“But in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Iraq (all of which are major sources of immigrants to Canada), more than half did not reject honour killings. For Canadians, that is appalling.
“As a typical Canadian who supports choice on religion, I found another Pew finding shocking, related to apostasy – when a Muslim leaves the faith. Pew found most of the world’s Muslims can live with a Muslim converting to a new world view.
“But in Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, Malaysia, Afghanistan and other countries, more than two out of three Muslims who say shariah should be the law of the land “favour the death penalty” for those who convert to another religion.
“That, to put it mildly, is not good news…”
–‘Sharia’ sets off alarms in Canada. Here are the facts’,
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, June 8, 2013
http://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/sharia-set-off-alarms-in-canada-check-the-facts
http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-overview/
‘Multiculturalism encourages a new type of immigrant who shares our wealth but not our values‘ {Feb. 6, 2014}:
“The assumption, unspoken but taken for granted until the 1960s, was that immigration was beneficial as long as it was designed to serve the interests of the host society first. The immigrant’s own interests would be served by the opportunity to eventually join the host society.
“For this to have any meaning, of course, the existence and desirability of a host nationality had to be taken for granted. If there had been no “Americans” or “Canadians”, there would have been nothing to join. Inherent in the American model of a “melting pot” — as well as the fussier Canadian model of a “cultural mosaic” — was the pre-existence of a nation to which the immigrant was applying to belong…
“It was in the past 40 years that the immigrant of dubious loyalty emerged, followed by the disloyal native-born, sometimes of immigrant ancestry, sometimes of Islamic conversion. The new immigrant seemed ready to share the West’s wealth but not its values.
“In many ways, he resembled an invader more than a settler or an asylum-seeker. Instead of making efforts to assimilate, the invader demanded changes in the host country’s culture. He called on society to accommodate his linguistic or religious requirements.
“In 1985, a Sikh CNR railway worker refused to exchange his turban for a regulation hard hat. This was innocuous enough, but in 1991, less innocuously, a newly appointed Toronto police board commissioner of Asian extraction declined to take the traditional oath to the Queen.
“The host societies’ usual response was accommodation. Turbans were substituted for hard hats; the language of the police oath was changed. Even ceremonial daggers were allowed in some schools.
“But accommodation only escalated demands. Requests for cultural exemption were soon followed by openly-voiced sentiments of disloyalty.
“By the late 1990s, a Muslim group in Britain saw fit to express the view that no British Muslim has any obligation to British law when it conflicts with the law of Allah.
“Disturbing as such talk was, it wasn’t unlawful. Dissent was within our democratic tradition. Unfortunately, the new dissenters weren’t democrats. Their “dissent” culminated in threats,’fatwas’, assassinations and finally, massacres in American and European cities.
“How did this come about? Three reasons stand out.
“One, we retreated from the principle that immigration should serve the interests of the host country first. We embraced the idea of non-traditional immigration. We forgot that when groups of distant cultural and political traditions arrive in significant numbers, they may establish their own communities, not as expressions of ethnic diversity — festivals or restaurants — but as separate cultural-political entities.
“Next, we tried to turn this liability into an asset by promoting multiculturalism. We stopped ascribing any value to integration, and began flirting with the notion that host countries aren’t legitimate entities with their own cultures, only political frameworks for various co-existing cultures {Which is the belief of the poorly-educated airhead who is currently the Canadian Prime Minister…}.
“Finally, in fundamentalist Islam, we’ve come up against a culture for which the very concept of rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s, is alien. Puritanical Islam considers that everything belongs to God (or rather, some mullah’s idea of God). This concept doesn’t envisage one’s citizenship commanding a higher loyalty than one’s faith.
“It’s not a matter of where immigrants come from but where they’re going. Refugees from the East are no threat; colonizers are. That’s where non-traditional immigration and multiculturalism become a volatile mix. Extending our values to others is one thing, but modifying our values to suit the values of others is something else.
“By now, multiculturalism has made it difficult to safeguard our traditions and ideals against a new type of immigrant whose goal is not to fit in, but to carve out a niche for his own tribe, language, customs, or religion in what we’re no longer supposed to view as a country, but something between Grand Central Station and an empty space.
“When Canada is no longer regarded as a culture, with its own traditions and narratives, but a clean slate for anyone to write on what he will, immigrants of the new school will be ready with their own texts, including some that aren’t very pleasant. The sound you hear (as I wrote 12 years ago) is the sharpening of their chisels…”
See also:
‘Hiding Behind Dual Citizenship’ (Pakistani-Canadian) {May 18, 2017}:
https://canadiansforlegalequality.wordpress.com/2017/05/18/hiding-behind-dual-citizenship/
‘What Happened To Secular Public Schools?’ {March 31, 2017}:
https://canadiansforlegalequality.wordpress.com/2017/03/31/what-happened-to-secular-public-schools/
‘Mohammedan Violence Reaches Canada’s Capital’ {Feb. 3, 2017}:
https://canadiansforlegalequality.wordpress.com/2017/02/03/mohammedan-violence-reaches-canadas-capital/
‘Freedom of Speech and ‘Islamophobia‘ (Parliamentary Motion) {January 30, 2017}:
https://canadiansforlegalequality.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/freedom-of-speech-and-islamophobia/
‘Muslims Demand Right to Preach in Public Schools’ (Mississauga) {Nov. 28, 2016}:
https://canadiansforlegalequality.wordpress.com/2016/11/28/muslims-demand-right-to-preach-in-public-schools/
‘Parliament Betrays Canada’ (‘Islamophobia Motion’) {November 4, 2016}:
https://saynotosegregation.wordpress.com/2016/11/05/parliament-betrays-canada/
‘Mohammedan Love Lessons’ (ANTIFA Female/Muslim Male) {May 9, 2017}: https://saynotosegregationblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/mohammedan-love-lessons/
‘Muslims Start Pushing’ (Dogs) {April 14, 2017}:
https://saynotosegregationblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/15/muslims-start-pushing/
‘You’d Be Severely Beaten’ (Hijab and Fashion Industry) {April 2, 2017}:
https://saynotosegregation.wordpress.com/2017/04/02/youd-be-severely-beaten/
‘Mohammedans Want Cover-Up — CBC Sympathetic‘ {Feb.10, 2017}:
https://saynotosegregationblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/10/mohammedans-want-cover-up-cbc-sympathetic/
‘Muslim Suburb In Montreal?’ {November 17, 2016}:
https://saynotosegregation.wordpress.com/2016/11/17/muslim-suburb-in-montreal/
‘To Serve and Protect?’ {November 1, 2016}:
(Toronto Police Department’s Muslim Chaplain: Wives Must Be Available for Sex)
https://saynotosegregationblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/to-serve-and-protect/
‘Infiltrating Canada’ {Radical Muslim Literature) {August 24, 2016}:
https://saynotosegregationblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/infiltrating-canada/
‘Muslim Canadian Congress calls for a ban on burka’ {October 15, 2015}: https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/744743672296255/?type=3
‘An Open letter to Niqab-Supporting Western Media’ {September 24, 2015}: https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/736462939790995/?type=3
‘Ban niqab, burka in all public places’ {September 17, 2015}: https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/732790620158227/?type=3
‘University closes interfaith prayer room to make more space for Muslim-only prayer room‘ {Dec. 2, 2014}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/602588219845135/?type=1
‘Muslim Nutbar Murders Canadian Soldier In Quebec‘ {Oct. 21, 2014}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/584836984953592/?type=1
‘Canada and the culture of honour killings‘ {Aug.20, 2014}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/554803021290322/?type=1
‘Muslims Attack Jews At Calgary Demo‘ {July 22, 2014}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/542498012520823/?type=1
‘Toronto Muslims Attack Jews‘ {July 10, 2014}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/537459096358048/?type=1
‘Palestinian Crowd Attacks and Beats Jewish Protesters in Toronto‘ {July 4, 2014}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/535268776577080/?type=1
‘Warnings about potential Muslim radicalization went ignored, ex-U of C prof says‘ {June 29, 2014}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/533204616783496/?type=1
‘Muslim Discrimination in Martial Arts Class – Update‘ (N.S.)’ {May 7, 2014}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/508841612553130/?type=1
‘Muslims Want To Build Segregated Community In Jewish Neighbourhood‘ (Toronto) {Mar. 1, 2014}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/482790208491604/?type=1
‘York defends allowing student to snub working with women‘ {Jan.11, 2014}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/462630110507614/?type=1
‘Stoning is good for your soul, says Canadian cleric‘ {Sept. 2, 2013}:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=412481435522482&id=345805362190090
‘HOW UNCLEAN WAS MY VALLEY’ (Toronto Muslim School Segregation) {Mar.20, 2013}:
https://www.facebook.com/345805362190090/photos/a.350308008406492.1073741828.345805362190090/352447841525842/?type=3
‘Overview‘ (Muslim Intolerance/Calgary) {Mar. 5, 2013}:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=347161492054477&id=345805362190090
‘Undermining Our Culture’ (Mother’s Day) {May 10, 2017}:
https://hectorheisler.wordpress.com/2017/05/10/undermining-our-culture/
‘Trudeau: Iran’s Useful idiot?’ {May 7, 2017}:
https://hectorheisler.wordpress.com/2017/05/07/trudeau-irans-useful-idiot/
‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’ {Feb.14, 2017}:
https://hectorheisler.wordpress.com/2017/02/14/happy-valentines-day/
‘Who’s Teaching Our Children?’ (Nadia Shoufani/Mississauga) {December 6, 2016}:
https://hectorheisler.wordpress.com/2016/12/06/whos-teaching-our-children/
‘Taharrush Jamai’ (Muslim ‘Rape Game’) {December 5, 2016}:
https://hectorheisler.wordpress.com/2016/12/05/taharrush-jamai/
‘Free Society vs. Fear Society’ (Muslim Cartoons) {December 2, 2016}:
https://hectorheisler.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/free-society-vs-fear-society/
‘No Respect For Neighbours’ {Muslim Calls to Prayer) {November 22, 2016}:
https://hectorheisler.wordpress.com/2016/11/22/no-respect-for-neighbours/
‘Face Painting Insults What’s-His-Name’ {October 7, 2016}:
https://hectorheisler.wordpress.com/2016/10/07/face-painting-insults-whats-his-name/
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Post also at:
Canadians For Legal Equality 