Why aren't immigrants welcome in Alberta, Canada?

Jo Canadian

Council Member
Mar 15, 2005
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no1important said:
Jo Canadian said:
:cry: I guess this link would belong here, it seems to fit the topic.

Attackers cut off Sikh teen's hair

Now the RCMP say the whole thing may be a hoax.

Here


Well that's an interesting turn of events, but only time will tell.
 

no1important

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Jan 9, 2003
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I agree.

I wonder how much is never reported? But Both sides do it as well too. I guess some people can not get past their diferences. I dunno.

All I know for sure every ethnic race (caucasians included) have gangs and some have been getting out of hand latley, especially here in Surrey, where I live.
 

Dixie Cup

Senate Member
Sep 16, 2006
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Excellent observation, MarkMayner. As a "minority" member myself, I and my friends have been on the receiving end of discrimination -- from one end of the spectrum (physical attack) to the other (innuendo).

Alberta is certainly more forthright in its expression of intolerance than many other places I have observed first hand. In some ways it's actually easier to deal with ... if someone comes right out and disrespects me, I can at least defend against the attack. If the denigration is subtle, it's a whole lot tougher to address. It's a little scary, though, to know my next door neighbours wish me harm. And me without my pistol! ;) Love those gun laws.

The climate in the whole of Canada is shifting but it glacially slow. The process of change does leave a mess in its wake, but I still think we're ahead of the game when it comes to making a move toward equality. You gotta remember that women have only had the vote since 1929 ... it's less than a century that we've been deemed real people. In terms of social change, though, the progress has been really quite quick. Let's hope the same trend continues for the rest of the minorities.

As a minority, I learned quickly that if I wanted to keep my own sanity intact I needed to find ways to counter the insidious forms of discrimination. Asking someone outright what they mean by comments like "those people" or whatever slight is presented, puts the insulter in the position of having to either admit bigotry or rescind the insult. Luckily for me, I have no problem being forthright but not everyone is as comfortable confronting the issue.

On the issue of racism (or any form of bigotry, for that matter) I have observed that we are ALL guilty to some degree. I don't think any single group invented it ... I think it's part of our human nature. By any definition, humans are predators. Predators have an ingrained desire to cull from their ranks anyone who is in any way different. Look at albino animals ... other animals of the same species will attack and kill it for being different. The trick, in my opinion, is for us to overcome that remaining vestige living in our reptillian brain stems. To rise above our very nature. It's what sets us apart from the rest of the animals.

Cdn_bc_ca posed an interesting question: So my question is, when does an immigrant stop being an immigrant or are they immgrants forever?

IMHO, one stops being an immigrant when one adopts the customs and way of life of their chosen country. That does not mean forgetting ones roots ... I am of Romanian Gypsy stock, and love my birth heritage. But first I am Canadian and my loyalty is to my country. When I choose to live within another culture, it is my job to adjust to their ways, not that culture's job to adjust to accommodate me. In my limited travels, I have gone out of my way to respect the mores and values of the place I am visiting. Because I am secure in who I am, that in no way changes or damages my view of myself.

I think an immigrant becomes a true Canadian when their loyalty for Canada is greater than their loyalty to their country of origin. That does not mean one cannot embrace their roots, only that if push came to shove, we have to see ourselves as Canadians first and immigrants second. If Canada went to war with Romania, my loyalty would be with Canada, despite the fact I still have relatives living in Romania. That in no way diminishes the pride I take in my heritage. It's just about being clear where loyalties lie. I think it's an inside job ... we all stop being immigrants or outsiders the moment we decide we belong here.


Well Said!!
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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This is a topic that was started in 2005. The topic does still have relevance but a lot of the posters have moved on. I hope Cosmos still looks in but I haven't seen her posts on
the boards for a couple years now.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
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Alberta has a reputation as a very conservative province. It is the Bible Belt of Canada, similar to deep south in USA. Thus legalization of gay marriage was greeted with intense hostility in Alberta, Both Klein and Harper had to promise to build a firewall around Alberta to keep gay marriage out (it was a phony promise, they didn’t mean it, but they had to do it to keep peace in Alberta). In this respect also Alberta is similar to the deep south.

Blacks have plenty of problems in the deep south (whites there fought a civil war rather than give up slavery). Alberta has many similarities to the Bible Belt in USA, so presumably it may be similar to places like Alabama, Mississippi or Georgia in this respect as well.
 

vinod1975

Council Member
Jan 19, 2007
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8O.........Holy 2005, batperson.

Times has changed, and now immigrants are really really really welcomed

All over Canada.

Yup.

Thanks for all welcomes , I have many many friends and relative with very high skill sets [ specially Doctors and Core Engineers] have moved to Toronto and I am on List :canada:
 

Nuggler

kind and gentle
Feb 27, 2006
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Thanks for all welcomes , I have many many friends and relative with very high skill sets [ specially Doctors and Core Engineers] have moved to Toronto and I am on List :canada:

Good man, Vinod. Canada needs SKILLED people.

We apparently have very little desire to train our own.:-(
 

countryboy

Traditionally Progressive
Nov 30, 2009
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Alberta has a reputation as a very conservative province. It is the Bible Belt of Canada, similar to deep south in USA. Thus legalization of gay marriage was greeted with intense hostility in Alberta, Both Klein and Harper had to promise to build a firewall around Alberta to keep gay marriage out (it was a phony promise, they didn’t mean it, but they had to do it to keep peace in Alberta). In this respect also Alberta is similar to the deep south.

Blacks have plenty of problems in the deep south (whites there fought a civil war rather than give up slavery). Alberta has many similarities to the Bible Belt in USA, so presumably it may be similar to places like Alabama, Mississippi or Georgia in this respect as well.

I lived in Alberta (as an "immigrant" from Manitoba) for 5 years. I thought it was a great place to live! I appreciated the gung-ho, can-do attitude, and the sports scene was great. Felt right at home there.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
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I lived in Alberta (as an "immigrant" from Manitoba) for 5 years. I thought it was a great place to live! I appreciated the gung-ho, can-do attitude, and the sports scene was great. Felt right at home there.

An 'immigrant' from Manitoba? Surely you jest. Come to think of it, we also have an 'immigrant' in our community. He 'immigrated' here from Toronto.
 

countryboy

Traditionally Progressive
Nov 30, 2009
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An 'immigrant' from Manitoba? Surely you jest. Come to think of it, we also have an 'immigrant' in our community. He 'immigrated' here from Toronto.

I trust you're doing everything possible to make him feel right at home in his new surroundings.
 

Liberalman

Senate Member
Mar 18, 2007
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I lived in Alberta for five years and I will not let you make them into bad people.

There was a lot of immigration into Alberta of visible minorities and they were given good jobs like cleaners and dishwashers and toilet cleaners and farm workers and nannies.

You see there are a lot of rednecks in Alberta and when the oil price is high a lot of jobs there as well.

So don’t you dare make them into bad people because deep deep down inside they are good Christian people.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
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I lived in Alberta for five years and I will not let you make them into bad people.

There was a lot of immigration into Alberta of visible minorities and they were given good jobs like cleaners and dishwashers and toilet cleaners and farm workers and nannies.

You see there are a lot of rednecks in Alberta and when the oil price is high a lot of jobs there as well.

So don’t you dare make them into bad people because deep deep down inside they are good Christian people.

I understand that even a cleaner or a dishwasher makes 15 or 20 $ per hour over there.
 

ironsides

Executive Branch Member
Feb 13, 2009
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Venerable residents of Alberta,

I have come to realise, after careful observations and analysis, that most local people in Western Canada seem to oppose, if not, disvalue immigration. This, in my humble perspective, is rather poignant and unfortunate. However, what is even more tragic is the fact the prevalance of reported cases of racism and discrimination seem to be quite high in those areas. Now, you may not be content with immigration, but resorting to incivility by promoting racism is unacceptable.

Presumably, there are descent and liberal-minded people in Alberta, etc., but the great majortiy, based upon the general outlook in Toronto, is, in various ways, either involved in or do condone acts of discrimination. For instance, a few years ago as I was driving on my way from Toronro to Vancouver, I stopped at numerous coffee shops to sip some tea and, being the only "brown" person in the coffee shop, I immediately drew the attention of the entire crowd all of whom were of European descent. That time I spent in Alberta was, by far, the most profound and shocking time of my life. Only then did I realise that those glamorous and rosy images of Canada that we were so elated to see were not a reality in certain parts of the country.

This seems to be a problem just about everywhere outside major metropolitan areas.

Florida family gives up on small-town North Dakota

HAZELTON, N.D. – A tiny North Dakota town's promise of cash and free land lured only one family from out of state. Now, Michael and Jeanette Tristani and their 12-year-old twins are trying to move from the town without a traffic light back to Miami.
Tired of crime, traffic, hurricanes and the high cost of living in Florida, the Tristanis moved four years ago to Hazelton, a dwindling town of about 240 that has attempted to attract young families to stay on the map.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100216/ap_on_re_us/us_saving_hazelton




 

DurkaDurka

Internet Lawyer
Mar 15, 2006
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According to the Internet, the lost City of Atlantis is buried underneath Edmonton, it's also guarded by Nazi gargoyles so don't get any ideas about searching for it.