Have you ever noticed there is so much angst around accepting refugees and migrant citizens from around the world unless it’s because of our participation in a war or to assist our closest ally, America?

The twentieth century set the framework for the rationalizing of our actions. Prior to WWI immigration from the non white world was discouraged with immigration laws or discriminatory head taxes.

There were exceptions however going back before there was a Canada 1776 is a prime example. Three thousand Black Loyalists were given sanctuary north of the boarder. In later years thousands more loyalists made there way north.

The twentieth century saw a change in policy. Many peoples from Eastern Europe escaping persecution began arriving. People from Ukraine, Russia, and so on. Believe it or not we as a country did not embrace these immigrants with the same enthusiasm as Western Europeans. Sadly Asians were the brunt of racism and fear. The racists coined phrase “Beware of the yellow peril “spread across the Western World including BC.

So what changed the dynamic that brought a more accepting view? Was it a change of heart? A willingness to do the right thing? The answer in most cases is “A guilty conscience”

See, colonial imperialism began to wain however there were plenty of conflicts to come. Now in addition to military wars, warfare included political ideology as well. There were interventions in Africa, the Middle East, in Asia from Cambodia to Vietnam. There were failed uprisings backed by the west in Hungary and other nations attempting regime change.

Vietnam the Boat People, those from Chile and a half dozen other places and now Afghanistan will see those who assisted our forces become eligible to gain entry to Canada. We also assisted America by taking those who helped Americans
It should be noted our governments have engineered a multicultural society in spite of decades of resistance.

For those opposed to minority immigration and refugees, these communities have done well and contributed to the advancement of Canadian values. If you are wondering why we have so many refugees, it’s because our neighbor American lost the wars in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. We also have to come to grips with the fact the west has lost in Afghanistan as well.

This is not an article written wearing rose colored glasses. Our history pages are littered with bloodshed, starvation, injustice, colonialism, cultural genocide racism and outright discrimination.

The difference is there are more of us who prefer catering to our better angels. People are waking up from their diet of spoon fed reality and the demand for justice and change is turning the page.

Look at it this way history is not being rewritten instead the truth is being told. How strong is Canada? Strong enough to become a multicultural nation in spite of ourselves.

The Steele Report
Fred Steele