Let’s open our communities to new immigrants

Will denying help to families, children stop terrorists from finding a way in?

Life is busy. It’s full of ups and downs, day-to-day worries and annoyances. We spend more time focusing on the things that go wrong than on celebrating our successes and the simple joys of life.

I am embarrassed to admit that, just this past weekend, I stressed about my long “to do” list and why the automated bank machine wouldn’t accept my deposit, and the lack of friendly salespeople at the hardware store, which I visited no less than five times in two days.

In light of what is going on in the world, when innocent people who are enjoying an evening out get gunned down by fanatics, it seems silly to worry about all your chores getting done and to be annoyed that the salesman in the electrical aisle seemed less than helpful.

Perhaps it is a defence mechanism. When problems seem huge, we focus on the little things. And the world is a pretty scary place right now. Almost 3,000 people died on 9/11 and the images of Islamic men, women and children dancing in the streets and celebrating still resonate. It seems like since then, we are getting used to hearing about, and seeing in all too living colour, the bloody victims of violent acts, beheadings, bombs and shootings.

So maybe it isn’t surprising that many people are questioning the wisdom of allowing 25,000 Syrian refugees into our country. I have had a number of conversations with many West Islanders on this topic. Aside from the usual concerns about employment and the costs of housing and health care, we are worried about national security.

I worry about these things, too. But I also know that the overwhelming majority of these refugees are not terrorists. They are scared, uprooted people, looking for a safe haven and a new start in life. More than 240,000 people have been killed in the Syrian civil war and over 12 million, half of which are children, have fled their homes. Their health and education infrastructure has fallen apart.

Maybe terrorists will sneak in with legitimate refugees, but will denying help to families and children really stop terrorists from finding a way in? Is it possible that by offering shelter, education and an open attitude we might strengthen our global community and our place in it?

We are all immigrants. What we have, or should have, in common is that we have embraced Canada. It is important that future immigrants do the same.

I recently read a quote from Sir Wilfrid Laurier, our seventh prime minister, written in 1907. He wrote that immigrants must be willing to become Canadians, and that it would be shameful to discriminate against anyone for reasons of their beliefs or their place of birth or origin, but that it was the responsibility of immigrants to become Canadians in all aspects of life. “There can be no divided allegiance … We have room for only one flag, the Canadian flag. There is room for only two languages here, English and French. And we have room for loyalty, but only one loyalty to the Canadian people.”

If these are the terms, I’m comfortable with that. Welcome to Canada.