Opinion: Alberta once welcomed immigrants now under microscope by government's panel
It's been several weeks since Stampede ended, and Calgary's Ismaili community held its annual Stampede breakfast. As always, the event attracts several thousand attendees and stands as a microcosm of what defines Calgary today, and who has helped to shape it.
Article content
There is no mistaking the immigrant impact on this city and province.
Article content
Article content
In attendance at the breakfast, there are always representatives of current and past generations – many sporting myriad versions of the ubiquitous Smithbilt hat rooted in the immigrant story of the Schumiatcher family, who came to Calgary in 1910 and created the iconic white hat in 1946.
Article content
Article content
From teachers to entrepreneurs, business, arts and community leaders – we are a richer community because of all who have chosen to make Alberta home. And that includes my parents.
Article content
Article content
Which is why the Alberta Next panel – which kicked off just after Stampede Week and is seeking feedback from Albertans on the province's place in Confederation through the summer – is troubling for me. More specifically, it's the question focused on immigrants – targeting those who don't meet certain criteria and could be denied access to social services supports if they come to Alberta.
Article content
I was in Poland when the panel was announced. It's where my parents were born and raised before the Second World War – and it was my first visit to the country, which had the largest Jewish population in Europe until war broke out.
Article content
I am a first-generation Canadian. My parents came to Canada, and to Alberta, in 1951. They survived the horrors of the Second World War, with my dad Moshe losing his entire family and my mother Tova and her parents being the only surviving members of her immediate family. My brother and I grew up in the shadow of loss, which hung over our house every day.
Article content
Article content
Canada was a place of refuge, where my parents could rebuild their lives, and Edmonton was where they settled.
Article content
You see, the war interrupted my mother's education. When she left Poland, she had a high school diploma. And no English skills. She spoke many other languages, but not English. My dad had a Master's degree in history, but lacked a teaching certificate or other qualifications. He also didn't speak English.
Article content
Odds are, they wouldn't have qualified for social services support under the current construct of the question being put before Albertans and the panel.
Article content
Yet, as so many immigrants do, they figured it out. My dad did become a teacher, and my mother went back to school. She graduated with a PhD in history from the University of Alberta in 1968 and retired as professor emerita in 1996.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Forward
4 hours ago
- Japan Forward
A First Step to Solve the Abduction Issue
このページを 日本語 で読む JAPAN Forward has launched "Ignite," a series to share the voices of students in Japan in English. What do they see beyond our obvious differences, disabilities, and insecurities? Individually and collectively, today's students have the power to shape our global future. This seventh essay of the series is by Zui Gu, a student from Tokushima Prefecture, who prods us to think of the first step needed to solve the issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens. Annually, the Headquarters for the Abduction Issue holds a North Korean Human Rights Violations Awareness Week Essay Contest for junior and senior high school students across the country. (The Government of Japan established the Headquarters, an organization led by the Prime Minister and composed of all the Ministers of State to resolve the abductions issue.) It aims to raise awareness of the abduction issue through viewing films and stage plays, reading books related to the issue, and other opportunities to help the students understand the feelings of abduction victims and their families. These students often use the essay contest as an opportunity to think deeply about what they can and should do to resolve the abduction issue. Some, like Zui Gu, also take on the challenge to directly communicate their thoughts and ideas to others in English. Let's listen. Seventh in the Series, 'Ignite' I can't forgive the abductions by North Korea. If I were a member of the family of Megumi Yokota, I would feel desperate every day of my life. The family lost her, their beloved daughter, unreasonably, by the way of "abduction," and they've never known about her since then. But, they have never given up and have taken many actions to get her back. I didn't know anything about the abduction issue before. This year [2024], I became a participant of the JHS summit, so I learned about it. I could understand the fact and severity of it. How about other junior high school students? When they hear about the abduction issue, what will they think? I think they will not be interested, and say "I see … and what?" Probably they don't know about it, and may think it doesn't matter to them. I think it's a big problem that there are many people who don't know about the abduction issue or think it doesn't matter to them. We should solve this problem first. So, I think it's most important to change people's mind, from "I don't know about it" to "I have heard of it." Zui Gu, a student at Itano Junior High School in Tokushima, receives the Excellence Award for his English essay from Minister for the Abductions Yoshimasa Hayashi at the 2024 North Korean Human Rights Violations Awareness Week seminar on December 14. (Screenshot) To do that, the most effective way is using the internet or SNS to send and receive information about the abduction issue. Recently, smartphones are everywhere, and almost all of my classmates possess them. When we send more messages about the abduction issue using the internet, then more people that we don't know can receive and understand the issue. It's easier to use SNS compared to talking to each person, isn't it? However, sending messages using the internet or SNS may cause insults or misunderstandings. But nevertheless, if we debate about the issues, many people may watch the debates. That will increase the number of people who know the issue. Debating about it will deepen our interests in it. Moreover, we should send this message that "the abduction issue is our own affair." I think this idea is especially important. Someone may think, "Can we solve the issue in such a way?" The answer is maybe "No" but it's enough for us, junior high school students. I read the brochure about the abduction issue published by the government. One question is: What can we Japanese people do to solve the abduction issue? The answer I found is, "When each Japanese person expresses strong determination that we will never forgive abductions and we will definitely get all the abductees back as soon as possible, it will be a strong support to solve this issue." Meumi Yokota's brothers and others from the families of abduction victims call for signatures demanding the swift rescue of the abductees. April 26, in Tokyo (©Sankei by Katsuyuki Seki) The abductions happened in the past, but it is the ongoing problem, and hasn't been resolved yet. I think using internet or SNS is the most effective way to inform the younger generation like us about the issue. We can even convey this information beyond the border. So, I want people all over the world to know the issue, not only Japanese. I'm glad if my idea contributes to resolving the abduction issue. At the time he submitted this essay, Zui Gu was an eighth grade student at Itano Junior High School in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. He delivered this comment upon receiving the Excellence Award for his English essay by a junior high school student: Comment from the winner: The possibility of an abduction happening in your town is not zero. So surely the first step towards resolving the abduction issue is to recognize it as something that concerns you personally. Author: Zui Gu Student, Itano Junior High School, Tokushima Prefecture このページを 日本語 で読む
Edmonton Journal
10 hours ago
- Edmonton Journal
'Alberta Forever Canada' petition sees potential hurdles according to Alberta political scientist
Article content 'I would think that this has got to be one of largest petition campaigns, not just in Alberta, but in Canadian history,' Wesley said. 'I can't recall a petition in Canada that would have had north of 250,000 signatures.' Article content If they are able to garner that number of signatures in the dead-heat of summer, Wesley said it would be a great political feat. Article content It's a high-risk, high-reward venture that will ultimately see where Alberta stands on the topic. Article content 'If they get enough signatures, it does definitely support their claim that Albertans want nothing to do with separatism,' he said. 'If they don't, it has the potential to put wind in the sails of the separatist movement, who can claim their numbers are bigger than what the polls are showing.' Article content Wesley hopes the petition isn't motivated by wedge politics. Article content He views petitions and referendums as majoritarian instruments that are often used on complex issues that require discussion and negotiation. Article content Article content 'In a way, taking this to the streets and having these conversations in public removes it from the elite-style accommodation that makes federalism work in Canada,' Wesley said. 'Will this drive a wedge within the United Conservative Party? I'm not sure they need any more. Article content 'They've got the federal byelection campaign that's drawn the leader of the federal party into discussions around this; the UCP has their AGM in the fall where this will be at the top of their agenda; and if anything, this petition adds one more potential area for division among the UCP caucus and cabinet.' Article content With additional external pressures, Wesley said the petition will become another front where the UCP will need to pay attention. Article content 'And that position is very unclear,' he said. Article content In terms of the petition itself, Wesley said one challenge it may face can draw similarities from what federalists ran into during the Quebec 1995 referendum campaign. Article content Article content 'Albertans, like Quebecers, are not happy with the status quo, so selling them on the notion of remaining… (it doesn't) really capture the mood of Albertans, most of whom are not actually happy with the way things are going within confederation,' he said. Article content One of the challenges he sees is avoiding the sell of 'what Canada is right now.' Article content 'That's what the federalists did in Quebec in 1995,' Wesley said. 'Jean Chretien famously said that when somebody asks him how easy it is to campaign he'd say, 'It's easy, I have the best product in the world: I've got Canada.' Article content 'And if that's the tactic that the Lukaszuk group is going to employ, I think they're going to find some resistance on the doorstep.' Article content Another potential pitfall is making people choose between Canada and Alberta. Article content 'The vast majority of Albertans strongly identify with their province and country, and more than that, they hate being asked to pick between the two,' Wesley said. 'If the Forever Canada campaign is only selling Canada and not talking about what it means to be Albertan and how being Albertan is also being Canadian, I think it's going to be a branding misfire.' Article content If there's one thing Wesley would like someone to ask, it would be regarding laws surrounding the Alberta Prosperity Project (APP) petition and Lukaszuk's petition.
Calgary Herald
17 hours ago
- Calgary Herald
Opinion: Alberta once welcomed immigrants now under microscope by government's panel
Article content It's been several weeks since Stampede ended, and Calgary's Ismaili community held its annual Stampede breakfast. As always, the event attracts several thousand attendees and stands as a microcosm of what defines Calgary today, and who has helped to shape it. Article content There is no mistaking the immigrant impact on this city and province. Article content Article content In attendance at the breakfast, there are always representatives of current and past generations – many sporting myriad versions of the ubiquitous Smithbilt hat rooted in the immigrant story of the Schumiatcher family, who came to Calgary in 1910 and created the iconic white hat in 1946. Article content Article content From teachers to entrepreneurs, business, arts and community leaders – we are a richer community because of all who have chosen to make Alberta home. And that includes my parents. Article content Article content Which is why the Alberta Next panel – which kicked off just after Stampede Week and is seeking feedback from Albertans on the province's place in Confederation through the summer – is troubling for me. More specifically, it's the question focused on immigrants – targeting those who don't meet certain criteria and could be denied access to social services supports if they come to Alberta. Article content I was in Poland when the panel was announced. It's where my parents were born and raised before the Second World War – and it was my first visit to the country, which had the largest Jewish population in Europe until war broke out. Article content I am a first-generation Canadian. My parents came to Canada, and to Alberta, in 1951. They survived the horrors of the Second World War, with my dad Moshe losing his entire family and my mother Tova and her parents being the only surviving members of her immediate family. My brother and I grew up in the shadow of loss, which hung over our house every day. Article content Article content Canada was a place of refuge, where my parents could rebuild their lives, and Edmonton was where they settled. Article content You see, the war interrupted my mother's education. When she left Poland, she had a high school diploma. And no English skills. She spoke many other languages, but not English. My dad had a Master's degree in history, but lacked a teaching certificate or other qualifications. He also didn't speak English. Article content Odds are, they wouldn't have qualified for social services support under the current construct of the question being put before Albertans and the panel. Article content Yet, as so many immigrants do, they figured it out. My dad did become a teacher, and my mother went back to school. She graduated with a PhD in history from the University of Alberta in 1968 and retired as professor emerita in 1996.
