It was a perfect metaphor for this great country of ours: Canada Day at Waterton Lakes National Park (please note correct name, thank you), and there was (seemingly) every nationality represented. Let's see: There were Syrians, Chinese, Irish, Americans, Gauls, and a smattering of some of us third-generation Canadians (would that make us Generation III?).
I think there were a few Quebecers, too, but I'm not sure how to classify them.
The only un-Canadian thing about the day was the park entrance fee: It was on the house—another term for "free." Usually it's here a tax, there a tax, everywhere a tax, tax, tax, so it sort of throws off my Canadian metaphor.
I'm all for immigration and the more the merrier. I understand from one of my favourite sources that Canada is the fourth-least densely populated country in the world. (Maurice, that means there is a lot of room for each man and his dog). I think geography and economics would allow plenty for "permanent visitors." May I suggest quietly that there should be "controlled immigration"—and that would solve a lot of our growing problems.
By the way, controlled immigration has little to do with where they come from, and everything to do with where they go.
Allowing the big centres (read: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary) to get fatter and fatter, while the smaller towns and villages waste away to nothing, is a prime example. Also, there are literally hundreds of jobs going unfilled throughout Canada for lack of qualified (and willing workers). Apart form the obvious results of butchering babies for the past forty years (and thus wiping a potential workforce), we are mishandling our immigrants, many who could fill those positions.
I'm thinking you're not thinking what I'm thinking. Let me explain (after all, it's my column, you know!): Allowing more immigrants into Canada, with a number of discretionary strings attached, would also help other nations of the world. Too many of the cities are over-crowded and too many of their citizens are under-achieving—with little or no hope for future progress.
My suggestion would be for a specific government portfolio of Economics and Immigration. (I want less government, too, so some other ministry would have to be down-sized.) That jurisdiction would be given over to channelling immigrants into all the far-flung corners of each province and territory. They would work with local, civic governments to encourage settlement, acculturalization, and prospects.
Distributing immigrants throughout the prairies, for example--and I cite the prairies because I have chosen to live here--would fill empty houses and schools, would meet many employment needs by filling and creating jobs, and would generate a robust economic cycle through these people becoming taxpayers, homeowners, consumers, and investors.
In Alberta alone, there are far too many towns slowly dying for want of people. The Canadian Way is to have about two kids, shop over the Internet, and live as close to a major city as possible. There is also that growing trend called "homeschooling" that can no longer be ignored. I do not stand in judgement of such a lifestyle, but I still think I'm free to pass along my observations. Some choices—homeschooling, for example—I strongly support.
The mess that our friends to the south of us have on their hands is very, very disturbing. I am speaking of the "illegals" (a shortened term for illegal immigrants). How and when they deal with it is beyond me. I do have an angle on that problem, but it may be a little irrelevant to a Canadian readership. Or at least at this point in our history.
If you know your prairie history, you'll be aware that my plan has precedence, sometime in the late 1870's-1890's. Certain ethnic groups were settled in various parts of our land, and, to my best knowledge, it worked well. The above scheme is not without pitfalls, but none so great that we should stand by and watch the economic paralysis impede us further.
The point is, it is our country and we should know what's good (and what's not) for this wonderful nation. I see controlled immigration as a win-win situation.
I also see a free pass into our national parks as another one.
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