Early this month, a nasty community controversy put the quiet municipality of St. Albert on the national media map. A husband and wife owning a local business wrote a letter to St. Albert’s Municipal Council opposing a proposed Habitat for Humanity project in St. Albert. The letter, reprinted in the St. Albert Gazette, is available online at http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20100403/SAG0904/304039974/-1/SAG09/higher-earning-families-part-of-st-alberts-appeals.
The couple objected to the perceived community impact of the Habitat for Humanity proposal. They expressed fears that an upscale, affluent community like St. Albert would suffer increased crime and higher local taxes due to the influx of less affluent people. The authors observed that the children of these poor families would not fit into the earthly paradise that is St. Albert.
The letter upset a lot of folks. According to one of the authors, even his mother found letter’s tone and content offensive. The blogosphere erupted into a predictable firestorm of condemnation of the letter and its’ authors. There were even calls for a boycott of the couple’s business. The writers’ few defenders fell back on the stale old “anti-political correctness” rant.
Yet while the contents of the letter are offensive, the letter itself is commendable on three counts. It raises an issue lurking unacknowledged in affluent Canadian communities from coast to coast- community diversity. Do we want our communities to reflect Canada’s economic and social spectrum, or do we want to live beside folks who look, smell, and live like us? If we are as egalitarian as we profess to be, why are developers across Canada- including St. Albert- marketing upscale new communities with an appeal to “exclusivity and privilege”?
We need housing for the economically disadvantaged, the physically and mentally challenged, and individuals re-integrating into society. Yet such housing inevitably triggers nasty NIMBY eruptions. Though its’ content was malodorous, the St. Albert letter surfaced community diversity as a valid community issue.
The letter to Council also presented the issue in a responsible manner. There was not a backhanded, anonymous, on-line campaign fuelling community anger. Instead, the authors wrote and signed a public letter to the people elected to make decisions on their behalf.
The letter’s authors, when confronted with a firestorm of anger and criticism, had the grace to publicly recant and apologize. In doing so, they showed more maturity than some of their critics.
Community diversity is an issue requiring respectful discussion. The question is: Are economically and socially- segregated communities consistent with our community value structure? That controversial letter to St. Albert Council contains a powerful lesson. One can fundamentally disagree with the letter’s content- and I do- but we can’t duck the issue it raises.
Showing posts with label community diversity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community diversity. Show all posts
Monday, April 12, 2010
Friday, November 13, 2009
Strength Through Diversity
Nature teaches us simple yet powerful life lessons. These lessons are so potent that their implications apply to the broad spectrum of human existence.
Yesterday I received a chain e-mail that reminded me of one of nature’s lessons. This little gem was one of the thinly disguised anti-immigrant rants currently floating around cyberspace like bad breath.
Some Canadians fear that “the others” – immigrants to Canada- are overwhelming and changing Canadian society. It appears that those immigrants who are non-Caucasian and non-Christian are of special concern. The writers of these messages appear deeply troubled by the fear that Canada may become a multi-ethnic, multi-faith society.
Yet anyone who has lived close to Nature will tell you that she performs poorly in monocultures and thrives in diversity. In plant and animal communities, genetic diversity is the best possible insurance against catastrophe.
It is no different in human communities. Diversity gives societies and cultures a richness and strength that builds enduring civilizations.
In today’s world, that community diversity is inevitable. Spend some time in a shopping center and take note of the multiracial young couples you observe. Many of today’s young people do not see racial or religious differences as impediments to relationships. This cross-cultural intermingling is the bridge across which tomorrow’s Canadian identity will pass.
Yet there are good reasons for frustration with the outcomes of recent Canadian immigration policies, for those policies have not always worked in our best national interests. It is important to review what has historically worked and what has not worked in terms of immigrant absorption into Canadian society.
One of the best examples of successful immigration absorption was the immigrant settlement of western Canada at the dawn of the 20th century- the western Canadian pioneers. Many thousands of new Canadians from all over the world came together to fulfill old dreams and build new lives. Today, the success of that experiment is obvious across western Canada.
Contrast that success with the sprawling urban immigrant ghettos in our major cities that often trap new Canadians in social and economic isolation. The walls separating these immigrants from mainstream Canadian society are hard to scale. Sadly, many of their own leaders have strong interests in preserving the status quo.
There is a huge social and economic benefit to ending that status quo. We need immigrants, for Canada urgently requires labor for its depleting work force. The economic and social diversity we will gain from these new Canadians will add huge value to our social and economic bottom line.
All Canadians, no matter their age or faith or culture, have an interest in breaking down the walls of separation and harvesting that social diversity. Let’s hit the “Delete” button on those toxic emails and then “Send” the hand of friendship to new immigrants- wherever they may come from.
Yesterday I received a chain e-mail that reminded me of one of nature’s lessons. This little gem was one of the thinly disguised anti-immigrant rants currently floating around cyberspace like bad breath.
Some Canadians fear that “the others” – immigrants to Canada- are overwhelming and changing Canadian society. It appears that those immigrants who are non-Caucasian and non-Christian are of special concern. The writers of these messages appear deeply troubled by the fear that Canada may become a multi-ethnic, multi-faith society.
Yet anyone who has lived close to Nature will tell you that she performs poorly in monocultures and thrives in diversity. In plant and animal communities, genetic diversity is the best possible insurance against catastrophe.
It is no different in human communities. Diversity gives societies and cultures a richness and strength that builds enduring civilizations.
In today’s world, that community diversity is inevitable. Spend some time in a shopping center and take note of the multiracial young couples you observe. Many of today’s young people do not see racial or religious differences as impediments to relationships. This cross-cultural intermingling is the bridge across which tomorrow’s Canadian identity will pass.
Yet there are good reasons for frustration with the outcomes of recent Canadian immigration policies, for those policies have not always worked in our best national interests. It is important to review what has historically worked and what has not worked in terms of immigrant absorption into Canadian society.
One of the best examples of successful immigration absorption was the immigrant settlement of western Canada at the dawn of the 20th century- the western Canadian pioneers. Many thousands of new Canadians from all over the world came together to fulfill old dreams and build new lives. Today, the success of that experiment is obvious across western Canada.
Contrast that success with the sprawling urban immigrant ghettos in our major cities that often trap new Canadians in social and economic isolation. The walls separating these immigrants from mainstream Canadian society are hard to scale. Sadly, many of their own leaders have strong interests in preserving the status quo.
There is a huge social and economic benefit to ending that status quo. We need immigrants, for Canada urgently requires labor for its depleting work force. The economic and social diversity we will gain from these new Canadians will add huge value to our social and economic bottom line.
All Canadians, no matter their age or faith or culture, have an interest in breaking down the walls of separation and harvesting that social diversity. Let’s hit the “Delete” button on those toxic emails and then “Send” the hand of friendship to new immigrants- wherever they may come from.
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