1/ Thread. Making a pot of halusky tonight and thinking of my recently passed grandmother, and the pride I feel in the Slovak cultural traditions she instilled in me. She came to Canada as an immigrant. She worked hard, learned English in her spare time and worked three jobs.
2/ That’s one of things I love the most about Canada, that many different cultures have come here to seek a better life; have worked hard and have added the richness of their cultures through work and sacrifice to our country’s social fabric. Canada wouldn’t be Canada without it.
3/ So in this, I differ Trudeau’s in that I don’t think “diversity” and “pluralism” are buzzwords that can just be thrown around for political gain. They are hard fought, hard won, precious, beautiful frameworks that don’t just magically happen - and they can be lost without work
4/ But they things that are worth fighting for. This is why I fight for orderly, planned humanitarian immigration - so that Canada can ensure those who we allow to seek refuge here are encouraged and supported in integrating into the Canadian social fabric.
5/ This is why I ask tough questions like, “who should we prioritize access for humanitarian immigration to Canada”, “how many people can we afford to provide resettlement support to” etc - b/c it’s not enough say “diversity is our strength” & not have a plan to make that happen.
6/ But this is also why I ask for data points - how much is this costing, how many people have jobs, how many have learned an official language, and make comments from there.
7/ B/c equally as threatening to our pluralism as Trudeau’s lack of ability to maintain a planned immigration system, is those who make claims that Canada is becoming a ghettoized state, infers that Canada is no longer a functioning pluralism, without data to support the same.
8/ To those who would do so, I would ask to ask questions about if Canada’s resettlement services are working. Ask about if Trudeau should have reduced the language requirement age for citizenship. Show up for debate in the House on these issues.
9/ But to infer stuff with little data or effort to back your claims up - that’s not helping the cause. It’s hindering it. And for those who do otherwise, it makes me wonder what they’re actually fighting for.
10/ From a political gperspective, it’s equally easy to say “diversity is our strength, #welcometocanada” as it is to infer Canada’s pluralism has failed, if neither claim is backed up by data or policy. The right, but more difficult path, is to plan to make our pluralism work.
11/ I am so bone weary of watching both sides of this debate be watered down into politically correct, purile, or flat out wrong arguements just for political expediency’s sake. All of you who engage in this are cowards.
12/ Be part of the solution, not part of the photo op.
13/ Or seemingly premeditated tweet thread for fundraising purposes.
