You go after this subject with some trepidation. I have always been proud of our multi-racial Canada. I abhor racists and their writings. I have also been paying close attention to this current leadership of the Ontario liberals. I admired Yasir Naqvi when he was attorney general of Ontario. I also like Nathaniel Erskine-Smith’s progressiveness as an MP and Bonnie Crombie’s outspokenness as mayor of Mississauga. I have yet to meet the other two contestants and therefore have not commented very often on the ongoing race.
Whether Yasir Naqvi wrote the op-ed in the Toronto Star or not is not relevant, he signed it. It was saying some unnecessary things. As a child and as a young man in Toronto after the Second World War, I listened to many of the frustrations of my friends had in dealing with the old-country complaints of parents who raised their children here. It sounds like Yasir’s parents were very supportive. There were parents who regretted their decision to come to Canada. I admired those young people who could keep peace with their parents while enjoying the greater freedoms of our society.
In my view, we are all Canadians. Instead of promoting religious, ethnic or racial barriers, we are one.
I hardly care when your ancestors came to this bounteous land. They could have come 15,000 years ago, a century ago or last week. I wish we could make it easier for people to make the adjustments necessary. I remember an artist acquaintance who emigrated to this country from Austria and told me that to make money, he had to dig ditches. Oddly enough, he wasn’t complaining. He was proud that he could do it. He soon returned to his art and was very successful.
But I do have some prejudices. I abhor religious schools. They work to divide peoples and I object to that. I always believed in the old adage: You go to your church and I will go to mine but we can walk to them together.
I think that the ‘black-lives-matter’ group in Canada hurts our black citizens. I am appalled at those who want to tear down old statues or rename streets because they think it might make up for errors in the past. I would never want to elect a Catholic or Anglican bishop, a Hassidic Jew, or an observant Sikh to any position where they might put their religion ahead of the needs of their electorate. They have too many conflicts to serve.
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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
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