As Canadians, many of us feel lucky. Lucky to live with a great deal of peace, security, and freedom. Lucky that we can wear and wave the maple leaf, attach it to our luggage – and have it match our passports.
The pride so many of us take in this symbol is directly related to our pride in Canada, as we are perceived around the world as a country of tolerance, freedom, and human rights. Those of us who live here know that our national home is not perfect, but also know this to be a culture of compassion, gentleness, and caring for others (through our health and education systems, as well as some of our international endeavours).
My first sighting of a maple leaf occurred, and my Canadianness began, in 1978 when my family arrived in this country. For many Canadians, it was their parents, grandparents, or forebears who arrived: some travelling in first class, others in far less luxurious conditions; some in recent memory, others several centuries ago. But that’s all history.
Today, as Canadians, most of us do not know the horrors of war or despotism, and most of us live without the fear that we will be subjected to torture, death or persecution at the hands of the state. And most of us are hopeful that if we stand on guard for our democratic, participatory and humanitarian traditions, we will be able to pass them on to our children, and to theirs.
But sadly, there are many people around the world who are not so fortunate. People whose lives have been torn apart, who have suffered terribly, and for whom the risk of persecution, torture or death is still very real. How we as Canadians respond to these men, women and children will have an enormous impact on their lives. But it will also inform our cultural values and norms. Whether or not we can continue to think of ourselves as a nation committed to human rights and to helping others, will depend in part on what we do for asylum seekers, and how we treat them when they land on our shores.
Take the case of the 491 individuals who came to Canada aboard the Sun Sea following a brutal civil war in Sri Lanka. Despite their stories of hardship and trauma, and their desperate, months-long sea voyage, upon arrival in Canada, many were taken into detention and kept their for months. This included children who, though not officially detained, were kept with their mothers in “low-risk facilities.” More than five months later, over 100 individuals were still locked up, with the government fighting to keep them that way, and to render them inadmissible. This treatment must have a horrific impact on people who have already suffered a great deal. The financial cost is enormous. The cost to our ethical well-being is even greater.
The only hopeful news is that such detentions, along with the response of Canadian authorities to the Sun Sea passengers, represent a significant departure from the normal processing and treatment of asylum seekers in Canada.
But if overly restrictive laws were to pass, things could deteriorate still further. One bill proposed in the last session of Parliament would have significantly changed our refugee system for the worse, including amongst other things, a requirement that many asylum seekers upon arrival, be placed automatically in detention for at least one year.
And if all this is not enough to raise concerns, one has only to listen to the anti-refugee and anti-immigrant fear-mongering generated in certain circles, a form of discourse one would not have expected in the Canada we hold dear. Such sentiments are particularly hard to understand, considering how many of us are the children or descendants of immigrants ourselves, and considering the economic, cultural and social benefits Canada has always gained by accepting immigrants and refugees to our country.
All this is an election issue. Immigration and refugee laws are passed and amended by Parliament. Policies are set and implemented by our federal government. In other words, the laws will be made and actions taken by the people who are voted into office next week.
How we treat, talk about, and respond to people in crisis has always been a question of humanitarian values and human rights. If you want to wave that little leaf, and keep our Canada a place that upholds these values and deserves its well-earned reputation, it is critical to know where your candidate and their party stand on these issues. I would urge you to find out before you head to the polls.
- Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, Director of CCLA’s Equality program
