Support for Canadian multiculturalism is not a free-flowing fountain of unlimited harmony and goodwill. It has limits, and they have been breached for all to see.
On Friday, Liberal MP Chandra Arya reported that he was threatened by fellow Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal and aggressively accosted by another unnamed MP in the hallways of Parliament. In response to these events, Arya complained that he “should be able to express (his) opinion, (his) views, freely in the House and (he) should not (feel) threatened by any words or actions of (his) fellow members.”
This allegedly all took place after Surrey-Newton, B.C. MP Sukh Dhaliwal attempted and failed to get the unanimous consent House members to condemn India’s 1984 Sikh riots as a “genocide.” Arya had called out “no” before Dhaliwal could finish reading the motion, denying him that unanimous consent.
Of the three MPs alleged to be involved in the incident, we know that two immigrated to Canada from India; Dhaliwal from the Punjab in the north, and Arya from Karnataka in the south.
Firearms, blades, and explosive materials are prohibited items in Canada, and trying to carry them through customs in your luggage results in penalties or refusal of entry. The same mentality applies to the worst Old-World passions and bigotries; they must be left behind when newcomers arrive in this country.
When MPs corner each other and threaten violence in the House of Commons because of the conflicts of lands over 11,000 kilometres away, it is violating a line in the sand.
If MPS are, indeed, threatening or cornering other MPs in the House of Commons due to conflicts happening in lands over 11,000 kilometres away, it was a violation of a line in the sand.
That line has been trampled over and nearly erased by ethnic clientelism and toxic diaspora politics, and Canada’s leaders must redraw it and set it in stone. For example, those who would turn Canada into another Lebanon — a country populated by a husk of a nation divided by race and religion — are bad actors and dangerous people.
Canada was founded upon a partnership of two founding peoples with their own quarrels, and that cannot be changed. Rather than be strengthened by the state of multiculturalism in 2024, we are weakened by it.
Canada’s cities are not more diverse or multicultural than Los Angeles, Auckland, or London. Multiculturalism was long hailed as something that made Canada unique in the world, but those who still insist upon that in the 21st century live in the past.
By its own choices and leadership, countries like Canada and Australia can attract some of the world’s brightest and best, and that indeed makes us stronger. What hobbles us is when Canada becomes nothing more than a place of personal economic advancement and loses its sense of shared community.
Citizenship is a covenant that mandates living with goodwill and in peace among your neighbours. In no way does it entitle you to attack places of worship or threaten your fellow citizens in the streets because it’s what your grandfather might have done at another time in another land. Attacking a Hindu temple or synagogue, whether the perpetrators were born here or abroad, is unacceptable in Canada, as is using the country as a base to try to launch terrorist attacks in the United States.
To this day, the vast majority of people who immigrate to Canada are peaceful, and it is wrong to tar entire groups with the same brushstrokes. Also true is that throughout history, there are the violent, radical few who terrify and bully the many.
On Remembrance Day, thousands of Canadians gathered at the cenotaphs to commemorate over 100,000 of our soldiers who died in Canada’s wars, chief among them the struggle that stopped Adolf Hitler during the Second World War. They did not die so that feral antisemites could raise Nazi salutes in Montreal and call for a “final solution.”
Those who did remember on Nov. 11 exemplify the vast, ignored backbone of Canada. Their ancestors came from around the world, and they dutifully go to work, obey the law, and raise families in a country where all can recognize each other as Canadian, or aspire to do so.
Some of our leaders, who espouse multiculturalism as the only pillar of Canadian society, have failed to distinguish between welcoming new people and allowing radicals to remake its culture and politics entirely. Canada may be a constitutionally multicultural country, but that comes with no ironclad policy directives.
Multiculturalism need be no more than a bargain that nobody should be asked to abandon their ancestral language, religion, or holiday, but that your vendettas should be forgotten and that you will abide by the customs and values of Canada. There are ways to enforce this essential distinction.
It was suggested in The Hub that a Canadian values test for new immigrants is sorely needed right now, and it is. One question that belongs on that test is, “Is it acceptable to attack a community’s house of worship?” They could answer “no” and lie, it’s true, but if the answer is affirmative, then they ought to be shown the door with no further questions.
Those already here who violate the multicultural covenant should be sternly punished, not coddled by politicians like Mélanie Joly, who subordinates Canadian foreign policy to the “demographics” of her riding. If some feel that they can raise a Nazi salute in Canada, it is time to accept that simply holding the passport does not mean somebody embodies Canadian values.
In 2017, sections of Bill C-24, which allowed for the revocation of citizenship for people convicted of terrorism-related offences, were repealed. Reintroducing and passing those measures would send a strong message now in 2024.
Many wounds have been inflicted upon Canada over the past few years, and these are but a few ways of healing them.
However, Canadians are right to expect their government to set an example by having the bravery and stomach to lead the healing of these wounds, which will involve making an example of the rot festering within them.
If those in power right now will not do this, then Canada needs new leadership.
National Post