Immigrants should learn English to join civic culture

Harry Reid

By: | TriCities.com 
Published: April 08, 2012

Canada was settled by both English and French. It had no choice but to be a bilingual nation. By contrast, the United States was originally blessed with a single common language.

Canada has experienced social unrest, threats of separation and a referendum that came within a hair’s breadth of breaking up the nation.

One of the major reasons for America’s great success as the world’s first “universal nation,” for its astonishing and unmatched capacity for assimilating immigrants, has been that an automatic part of acculturation was the acquisition of English.

When it was proposed to make English the “official” language, to be used in business with the government, tax forms, court proceedings, ballot boxes, etc., the best the Senate could do was pass an amendment to the immigration bill declaring English to be the “national” language. Even that was too much for Senate leader Harry Reid who called the resolution racist.

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair holds on to his chair while promoting diversity /DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair honoured as ‘champion for diversity’
Published On Mon, 19 Mar 2012

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair will be honoured on Friday for his efforts in promoting diversity.
DAVID COOPER/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO
Kirsten Parucha
Staff Reporter

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair is being honoured as a “champion for diversity.”

The award, to be presented Friday by the Diversity Business Network, honours Blair for his success in the implementation of diversity strategies. Blair is credited with promoting diversity in the workplace and for his commitment to building positive relationships with the diverse communities across the city, the business group says.

Fed race-based hiring rolling on

By BRIAN LILLEY, PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU

OTTAWA — The federal government is continuing to set aside jobs for specific groups based on race, gender and ability, more than a year after it pledged to end such practices.

In November 2010, Stockwell Day, the treasury board president at the time, told the House of Commons that he was instructing departments to end the practice of setting aside jobs for specific groups, such as women, aboriginals, visible minorities and the disabled.

“We have also communicated that all department postings must not shut out any specific groups and must be open to all qualified candidates.

“Final decisions must be based on merit and on qualifications,” Day said at the time.

The move was in response to a QMI Agency story about an Ottawa-area woman denied a job because she was white. Whi le applying onl ine for a position with Citizenship and Immigration Canada the woman was asked to reveal her race.

Once she selected Caucasian the application process was shut down and she was unable to proceed with the application.

Visible minorities in the GTA

Visible minorities vastly underrepresented in municipal politics
MARCUS GEE
From Tuesday’s Globe and Mail
Published Monday, Nov. 07, 2011 10:10PM EST
Last updated Tuesday, Nov. 08, 2011 7:29PM EST

Immigration has changed the face of Canadian cities, but the complexion of their city council chambers remains much the same.

Visible minorities, too scarce at all levels of government, are vastly underrepresented in municipal politics. “We think of local governments as the most grassroots and closest to the people,” said Myer Siemiatycki, a Ryerson University professor who looks at the discouraging numbers in a new report, to be released Tuesday, for DiverseCity: the Greater Toronto Leadership Project. Yet “they are by far the worst in terms of having diverse identities elected.” 

Michaelle Jean dances with a group of women during the inauguration ceremony of the Consolidated Credit Union of Magnambougou

Michaelle Jean named chancellor of University of Ottawa
(…)  Updated: Tue Nov. 08 2011 6:51:44 AM
The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — Former governor general Michaelle Jean has been named chancellor of the University of Ottawa.

Jean, UNESCO’s special envoy for Haiti, will become the 13th chancellor in the university’s history as of Feb. 1, 2012.

Getting the Muslim youth vote out in Ontario

BY CHELBY MARIE DAIGLE, rabble.ca -OCTOBER 3, 2011

Concerns have been raised about the lack of political engagement of Canadian youth. During the federal election, voting flash mobs at Canadian universities were seen as a way to get young voters excited and eager to vote.

Unfortunately, most efforts to engage youth have been initiated by groups and organizations that I feel do not reflect the ethno-cultural diversity of Canada’s major cities. As an activist in Ottawa’s Muslim communities who is passionate about civic engagement, I wanted to take a lead in addressing what I’ve seen as a lack of engagement among young Muslims of voting age.