X is for Xenophobia

There was an intriguing article in our local Vancouver Sun on December 26th written by Ethan Baron. It is entitled "Xenophobes beware, more immigrants are coming!" Well, I had no idea what a "xenophobe" was so I just had to continue reading.

Xenophobia: an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange. (from Wikipedia)

Gee, if you're a xenophobe, I suggest you would be more comfortable NOT living in Canada right now. That is, unless you'd like to move to the BC Stikine region, which according to the 2008/09 Stats Canada report, had only one foreign invader. Or you could move to the Central Coast, which had only three. However, be prepared to live amongst the First Nations who make up the majority of the population in those two areas. Hmm...

Baron's article is really tongue-in-cheek and goes on to describe how many of which races and cultures have immigrated to Canada since 1997, and particularly in 2009. I especially enjoyed the last part of his opinion piece:

I know, I know, you racist and xenophobes have it tough, sitting powerless while these different-looking, funny-talking foreigners pour into B.C. by the tens of thousands every year.
But take comfort, you have a champion in Ottawa! Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government on Thursday announced they're cutting $53 million from a $393-million annual budget for helping immigrants integrate into Canadian society and the economy.
That'll teach 'em.

Right! Now Canada will become not only a bilingual country in which French is spoken in only 2 of the 10 provinces and 3 territories but also a country in which neighbours can't communicate with each other because of simple language barriers. I wonder how that will help our society and economy. Thanks Mr. Harper. But more importantly, thanks Mr. Pierre Trudeau, who turned Canada into a multi-cultural country and then before he died said, "Oops!"