E-mail on immigrants: Roosevelt =/= Laurier

[The Bread Guy]

Four times this week, I've received this e-mail with the attached photo:

1907 PHOTO This one needs to circulate
I think this is one email that needs to be forwarded until every Canadian with a computer receives it.
The year is 1907, one hundred and 3+ years ago.
READ PRINT UNDER PICTURE!

  Wilfrid Laurier ideas on Immigrants and being an Canadian in 1907.

'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes a Canadian and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet a Canadian, and nothing but a Canadian.

There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is a Canadian, but something else also, isn't a Canadian at all. We have room for but one flag, the Canadian flag. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language. And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the Canadian people.'

Wilfrid Laurier 1907

Every Canadian citizen needs to read this!

KEEP THIS MOVING

Just thought you'd want to know before passing it along, though, that this is word-for-word (except for "Canadian" instead of "American") from a letter to the editor Teddy Roosevelt wrote in 1919 - copy of that letter here (PDF).  Also, check out the attached photo - the guy standing up speaking to the crowd looks more like this

than the chap on Canada's $5 bill

More here:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/troosevelt.asp

Feel free to discuss the sentiment, by all means, but it doesn't appear likely Wilfred Laurier said/wrote what he's claimed to have said/written in this e-mail making the rounds.

 

[Monsoon]

Seems a bit beyond credibility to suggest that Canada's premier francophone Prime Minister would advocate language assimilation. It's always so transparent when American chain emails are "Canadianized".

 

[Gramps]

When in doubt check out Snopes.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/troosevelt.asp

 

[spear]

It's a sad fact though that most immigrants here are only looking for a new life and opportunity, while their true loyalty are still belongs to their motherlands.  Myself would honestly understand it but the worst immigrants are those who tend to purely use canada not only to spread violence, but also as their hiding place, and yet sending money outside the country to finance some known terrorrist groups, instead of helping their love ones left behind their country of origin.

This country is taking too much refugees too, and its bad.  As a canadian citizen taxpayer, i think its unfair to keep as many refugees here that can't even find some proper jobs to help us contribute in this country.

 

[CougarKing]

Seems a bit beyond credibility to suggest that Canada's premier francophone Prime Minister would advocate language assimilation. It's always so transparent when American chain emails are "Canadianized".

Reminds me of a similar e-mail spread around that was originally about the US Supreme Court, poorly shifted to the Canadian context, and discussed in another thread.

Could it be that all these e-mails can also be coming from the same source?

 

[jollyjacktar]

I do get similar emails from time to time and I find them bloody annoying and downright offensive more often than not.  If there is a source out there of this spam I hope it can be "encouraged" to peddle it's wares elsewhere.

 

[Bass ackwards]

As a former bugler, I had three different people send me one titled: "What every Canadian should know - the origin of 'Taps'"
It then went on to explain in great detail how that strictly American bugle call came to be. It never did explain why everyone in Canada needs to know this...

I get a lot of these "Canadianized" American emails from well-meaning friends and relatives.
What I'm curious to know is if a Canadian -particularly a conservative-leaning one- ever came up with something deemed profound enough that somebody down there "Americanized" it and sent it around the net...

 

[PPCLI Guy]

It's a sad fact though that most immigrants here are only looking for a new life and opportunity, while their true loyalty are still belongs to their motherlands.  Myself would honestly understand it but the worst immigrants are those who tend to purely use canada not only to spread violence, but also as their hiding place, and yet sending money outside the country to finance some known terrorrist groups, instead of helping their love ones left behind their country of origin.

This country is taking too much refugees too, and its bad.  As a canadian citizen taxpayer, i think its unfair to keep as many refugees here that can't even find some proper jobs to help us contribute in this country.

Absolutely - and the test of "Canadian-ness" should be one's ability to communicate in either of the two official languages - or at the very least use spell check.  :

Dave
An Immigrant

 

[57Chevy]

that can't even find some proper jobs to help us contribute in this country.

I don't think so. I see very many immigrants accepting those jobs that most canadian born citizens
would never even think of doing. And it seems to me that they turn that low down rotten job into a little gold mine.....and pay lots of taxes. In a few of the local corner stores that I frequent, I see the
chinese guy with his wife and child from 0700hrs untill 2300hrs day in day out. Would you do that?

 

[spear]

I don't think so. I see very many immigrants accepting those jobs that most canadian born citizens
would never even think of doing. And it seems to me that they turn that low down rotten job into a little gold mine.....and pay lots of taxes. In a few of the local corner stores that I frequent, I see the
chinese guy with his wife and child from 0700hrs untill 2300hrs day in day out. Would you do that?

Im talking about the refugees on that part, pls read it again.

 

[57Chevy]

Im talking about the refugees on that part, pls read it again.

I did read it. It so happens that those refugees are the ones accepting the jobs that very few
Canadians would do. Sure, our great nation helps them with a good footing, but not so long after
you see them out there working.
See more on refugees here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/facts/aid.asp

 

[Dennis Ruhl]

I don't think so. I see very many immigrants accepting those jobs that most canadian born citizens
would never even think of doing.

These jobs should simply pay more or not exist.  The main point of immigration is to keep the cost of labour down. 

The other point is to overcome our inability to reproduce and fund social services for our old people.  And then they bring their parents and grandparents who need quadruple bypasses.

Canada is not a heavily industrialized country.  Our wealth comes largely from export of primary resources, many of these depleting.  I am not a fan of more people for the sake of more people.

 

[CougarKing]

The other point is to overcome our inability to reproduce and fund social services for our old people.  And then they bring their parents and grandparents who need quadruple bypasses.

Not initially. It takes years and years to go through the immigration process. People who start at the very beginning often do so as a temporary foreign worker on a limited visa (or other visa categories), who has to work through a number of years to become a permanent resident/landed immigrant. And even then it is not easy to apply for the work visa or other temporary status in the first place, before coming to Canada.

Once one becomes a landed immigrant, one is eligible to apply for Canadian citizenship after 3 years of living as a landed immigrant. This is also providing the said landed immigrant does not make any major violations of the Criminal Code of Canada. And even when one has applied at the end of their 3rd year, there is also the processing time before one gets their citizenship test date, which varies between several months to more than a year, IIRC.

It is only when the said immigrant is finally a citizen that they can apply to bring their relatives over. And even then, there are medical standards that they would have to meet.

More about family sponsorship:

CIC Canada link

Frequently asked questions:
Sponsoring your family
Spouses, partners and dependent children
What family members may come with me to Canada when I immigrate?
The family members that can come with you to Canada when you become a permanent resident include:

•your spouse or common-law partner
•your dependent child or your spouse or common-law partner’s dependent child and
•a dependent child of a dependent child.
Your parents, grandparents and other family members are not eligible to come to Canada with you. However, you can apply to sponsor them to come to Canada after you immigrate here.

 

[spear]

Our wealth comes largely from export of primary resources, many of these depleting.  I am not a fan of more people for the sake of more people.

Canada needed manpower to run her economy, and defend her territory.  I guess we could say that since her land mass and other territories are too big for a 30 million population.  She needed abled bodies.

 

[spear]

I did read it. It so happens that those refugees are the ones accepting the jobs that very few
Canadians would do. Sure, our great nation helps them with a good footing, but not so long after
you see them out there working.
See more on refugees here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/facts/aid.asp

I guess they got no choice, they have to contribute.  We already have so many refugees here, i guess the government should go slow on accepting them for now til they figure it out the supply and demand of our economy so that we wont fall to hardship living and too many taxes to pay.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

I guess they got no choice, they have to contribute.  We already have so many refugees here, i guess the government should go slow on accepting them for now til they figure it out the supply and demand of our economy so that we wont fall to hardship living and too many taxes to pay.

I am confused.  Your profile states that you are posting from Manila and that you were once in "ROTC".  How exactly are you qualified to offer an opinion on Canadian immigration policy?

 

[Dennis Ruhl]

Canada needed manpower to run her economy, and defend her territory.  I guess we could say that since her land mass and other territories are too big for a 30 million population.  She needed abled bodies.

Canada is 200 miles wide and 3000 miles long with a sprinking of islands in an otherwise inhospitable climate  for 1000 miles further north.  The part of the country that is inhabitable is heavily populated.  As for needing a body mass for defence, I look around and see no potentially hostile neighbors.

What would happen with a smaller population?  It would be better utilized and a lot less service sector jobs would exist and those that do would probably pay much better.

 

[spear]

I am confused.  Your profile states that you are posting from Manila and that you were once in "ROTC".  How exactly are you qualified to offer an opinion on Canadian immigration policy?

There might be some mistake, i didnt know if i got hacked or simply i forgot where i am when i opened my account.  Anyway, my apologies regardless...  Changed profile location to "toronto".  No need for me to prove to you though where i actually live, just request to run my IP if you want for verification.  I've been here since 1994 as a landed immigrant.

 

[spear]

Canada is 200 miles wide and 3000 miles long with a sprinking of islands in an otherwise inhospitable climate  for 1000 miles further north.  The part of the country that is inhabitable is heavily populated.  As for needing a body mass for defence, I look around and see no potentially hostile neighbors.

What would happen with a smaller population?  It would be better utilized and a lot less service sector jobs would exist and those that do would probably pay much better.

Isn't during the cold war, the government of canada seen some potential threat across the north pole from Russia (USSR then)? 

I strongly agree that a smaller population is easier to handle than having some over population that a country could handle.  But i guess, it's hard to avoid this in our case as more foreign investors are pouring into canada, and thus needed some workforce, manpower.