Max Bernier take note: Newcomers have not threatened what it means to be Canadian. To the contrary, they have enriched what it means to be Canadian. Because being Canadian means being compassionate, being hospitable, and not just tolerating difference, but celebrating difference.
Other than Indigenous persons on this land, Canada has been founded by a series of people who hail from all 4 corners of the Globe, who have sought safety here, settled here, raised families here, built businesses here and contributed to their communities.
That is the essence of Canadian Multiculturalism--a policy which despite M. Bernier's assertions, is the furthest thing from partisan.
Need I remind him that Multiculturalism was enacted as policy by Liberal Prime Minister in 1971, and formalized into statute by a Conservative Prime Minister in 1988.
It is a policy that has contributed to building up this country and the tremendous diverse communities within it--and that extends from Vancouver to Montreal, from Red Deer to Trois Rivières.
Today this policy distinguishes Canada and is at the heart of who we are, as a people. It builds bridges, rather than barriers, between communities.
I find Monsieur Bernier's reflections particularly difficult to understand, since he has always fashioned himself a libertarian. As Justin Trudeau put it, in a speech in 2015 on confronting the politics of fear:
“…each successive generation of Canadians has fought to expand liberty to their fellow citizens who had been denied it. The naysayers claimed at every step that liberty’s expansion would compromise our traditional values.
They said it would somehow dilute what it means to be Canadian.
We can see now that they were categorically wrong. That’s because working to gain freedom for our fellow citizens is a bedrock traditional value in this country. It is in large measure what it means to be Canadian.”
We can see now that they were categorically wrong. That’s because working to gain freedom for our fellow citizens is a bedrock traditional value in this country. It is in large measure what it means to be Canadian.”
So yes, M. Bernier, we will continue to advance the liberty of our fellow citizens, and that's because we know the vast majority of Canadians still believe we are strong not in spite of our differences, but because of them.
