tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post1683860195909204842..comments2024-03-21T00:42:18.535-07:00Comments on Koenraad Elst: Impressions from Montréal on Remembrance DayKoenraad Elsthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02503713923882807510noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6138082354348831474.post-51396254665845294342009-11-12T19:42:20.753-08:002009-11-12T19:42:20.753-08:00Dr. Elst,
Great to see that you have spent some t...Dr. Elst,<br /><br />Great to see that you have spent some time in the great, white (meaning the snow not the ‘aryan’ race) north - which is also home to quite a few of the Hindu community. <br /><br />I generally agree with the achievements of Canadian society, particularly the large imprint of French Canada in public life (that among other things is visible in socialized health care). However, some unsavory aspects must be pointed out to correct the idyllic picture you paint.<br /><br />1. Canadian multiculturalism has its flaky aspects. For a decent, slightly conservative critique of the Canadian way – refer the book “Selling Illusions: The Cult of Multiculturalism in Canada “ by Neil Bissondath (an English professor and a nephew of V.S Naipaul’s) <br />2. Canadian multi-culturalism is secure, but should not be taken for granted. Quebec had the Bouchard-Taylor commission to define what would be reasonable accommodation to immigrants. While the report did not provide any revolutionary ideas, the public city-hall meetings created a lot of heat (though not much light). Folks in small town Canada, particularly Quebec, feel their values are threatened. To the extent that Herouxville actually created a code of its own (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9rouxville,_Quebec). The code is modeled on the French “secular fundamentalism” and deprives people some rights (e.g. Burka and carrying of the Sikh Kirpan), but does not outlaw Catholic religious symbols. It should be pointed out that the code is not legally enforceable and will likely be held to be violating the Canadian charter of Rights, if challenged. <br />3. Canada also suffers from a watered-down version of the Eurabia problem. This is especially true in the major, metropolitan cities. For e.g. in the beautiful west coast city of Vancouver, the Sikhs are a major presence. This manifests itself in an annual Vaisakhi parade, which attracts every local WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) and even some Chinese-origin politicians. They dress up duly in Punjabi clothes, say “Sat Sri Akal” and even pay reverence to the Granth Sahib. Vancouver’s former mayor, the very popular Sam Sullivan even learnt Punjabi (http://www.southasianpost.com/portal2/c1ee8c4419bf54a30119c97f92ce00f8_The_Punjabi_Push.do.html) The problem is that these same politicians will never be seen singing Christmas carols for fear of being seen as white-racists. Matters are not helped by ethnic communities voting as a vote-block sometimes. The last liberal party leader, Stephane Dion got there because his opponent Bob Rae criticized the Air India terrorist bombing of 1985. It had the effect of getting Dion nearly all the Sikh delegates (the Khalistani supporting ones anyway) which won him the election, though Rae was clearly the better candidate. Local whites feel exasperated – just like the Hindus in India feeling that democracy is subverted by Muslim vote blocks.<br />4. A major blot on the Canadian record is how it has become home to global terror networks (mostly among the Sikh, Tamil and Islamic diasporas). The enabler for this is certainly the supine, politically correct multiculturalism. The two books to read for this are Stewart Bell’s (http://www.amazon.ca/Cold-Terror-Nurtures-Exports-Terrorism/dp/0470834633) and Kim Bolan’s (http://www.amazon.ca/Loss-Faith-India-Bombers-Murder/dp/077101130X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258083019&sr=1-1). Bell’s is the intellectually more accomplished book. A few more years of this sort of “multiculturalism” and things will not be very rosy for inter-community relationships.<br /><br />Another lingering problem is resentment about Canada being a British dominion and hence ‘ruled’ by the Queen of England. Only last week Montreal had a mini-riot to protest the visit of Prince Charles and Camilla. All this being said, Canada has done very well to accommodate Quebec separateness (I no longer call it separatism), into the national narrative. Perhaps Canada can be a model case for how nation-states can overcome bitter memories and the legacy of violence to create a genuinely harmonious co-existence.Ghost Writerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04356705865349053471noreply@blogger.com