'Canadians only' policy for Mississauga

[aluc]

'Canadians only' policy for Mississauga
Must be Canadian to serve Mississauga
Give up country of origin, urges mayor


http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1145483415751&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home
Apr. 20, 2006. 05:31 AM
MIKE FUNSTON
STAFF REPORTER

Mississauga has rejected an appeal by a landed immigrant to allow residents without Canadian citizenship to serve on municipal committees and boards.

The request to general committee yesterday by Rudy Czekalla, who has been in Canada since 1978 but has not obtained citizenship, sparked a patriotic outburst from Mayor Hazel McCallion and several councillors, including three former landed immigrants.

Czekalla appeared as a delegation to comment on a review of the city's policy on appointments to boards and committees by corporate services commissioner Brenda Breault, who recommended the citizenship requirement be retained.

Interestingly, Breault's report noted that current policy doesn't require a criminal record check of citizen appointees. She recommended that be changed and councillors agreed. Final approval is needed by Mississauga Council next week to make it official.

Immigrants are welcomed to Canada and encouraged to become citizens, McCallion said. "That piece of paper (citizenship document) is the most valuable piece of paper in the world."

McCallion asked Czekalla why he hasn't become a Canadian. He replied that his former country (Germany), doesn't allow dual citizenship, unlike many other countries.

"The citizenship of your (former) country is more precious to you than the one you're living in. That really bothers me," McCallion said.

"That (citizenship document) is the most valuable piece of paper in the world."

Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion

Mississauga's policy doesn't contravene the Ontario Human Rights Code or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and has been formally in place since 1991, according to Breault's report.

Czekalla countered that just because it is past practice and doesn't contravene the law doesn't make it good policy.

"Mississauga is Canada's sixth largest city and one of the most culturally diverse. It only makes sense that public policy reflect the growing cosmopolitan reality," Czekalla said.

He noted that Toronto allows landed immigrants to serve on the committees of adjustment and property standards.

"Participatory government is at the root of this country's democratic system and inclusive participation is at the core of its spirit," Czekalla said.

Councillors Maja Prentice, Katie Mahoney and Pat Saito were all former landed immigrants who became Canadian citizens and support the present policy.

Councillor Nando Iannicca said it's wrong to treat Canada as a "buffet table, taking all the rights and privileges and good things," while maintaining allegiance to another country.

Paula De Coito, who works for a non-profit Mississauga-based agency that specializes in diversity management — helping organizations better reflect their community — said the city should allow landed immigrants to serve on committees and boards.

De Coito said, "That particular regulation is extremely strict, considering the diversity in Peel. We have so many immigrants here."




God bless "hurricane" Hazel.  If we only had a mayor like herself in Toronto........ a mayor who displays some common sense and integrity. No wonder she has held office for so long. She should have entered federal politics a long time ago.

 

[pbi]

Hazel is one tough old girl. When I was a young teenager, she was the mayor of the former town of Streetsville (since swallowed up by Mississauga) She fought hard against annexation by Mississauga, but once she was overruled, she got on board and became Mayor of Mississauga too. She has been a very successful mayor for years, and presides over the most fiscally sound major city in Canada, unlike the fiscal nightmare to the east of the Peel/York county line, known as the City of Toronto. I support her decision.

Cheers

 

[misfit]

Hazel was voted #2 Mayor...IN THE WORLD last year! Her common sense and steely resolve is awesome, and I'm happy to have her as Mayor. I agree with her comments.

Sure, Mississauga is culturally diverse. Actually, that's probably an understatement. If you spend a day there, you will have a hard time finding people that have NOT immigrated there.  However, I don't see how that would change any rules for immigration status, or allowing non-citizens on public committees. That's a privilege to Canadians.

On another note, I hate hearing about landed immigrants "demanding" citizenship. I'm sure you've seen this on the news:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4581998,00.html

It may be slightly off topic and it is in the US, but it happens in Canada too (on a smaller scale). Even in smaller cities like Halifax, I used to see Palestinian rallies marching down the street. The theme was, "We have the RIGHT to live here as citizens and the Canadian government better give money to Palestinians in the West Bank."

 

[monika]

I don't know why this would even be an issue. Back in the olden days when I was a school girl :warstory: a similar situation came up. It was 1978 and there was some election for various school board positions. It was discovered one of the candidate's did not have CAD citizenship, so he was not allowed to run.

Canadian citizenship is easy enough to obtain, after a mere three years. There are many ways to participate in one's community, but for elected office or board positions, you should have CAD citizenship - to me it's a no brainer. My parents came here 40+ years ago with 3 kids and a dream; that meant getting citizenship. Mind you it was an easy decision for them since they had no citizenship at the time.

 

[ArmyRick]

I wish she was our prime minister !!! Rock on, Hurricane Hazel !!!

 

[geo]

well.... my Mum, bless her sould was born in the UK and arrived in Canada on a Cdn troopship at the end of a war. While she did her duty for the country in another one, she maintained her Brit citzenship and carried a Brit passport. Then the big day came and she wasn't allowed to vote in an election. She figured out what needed to be done, she did it and carried on.

Time for these other guys to figure out what has to be done and get the paperwork taken care of.

 

[pbi]

IMHO this has nothing, repeat nothing, to do with "multi-culturalism", "diversity", "exclusivity", etc. Simply because you hold Canadian citizenship does not, in any way, require you to give up your culture, religion, social affiliation, primary language at home, or anythng else that defines ethnicity or culture. My wife's family here in Canada enjoy a strong Portuguese culture, but all are Canadian citizens and proud of it, and lead productive lives. People who wave "diversity" around in this case are just trying to push the PC button.

This is, IMHO, actually about people who want to have their cake and eat it too. Want to play in the political arena (and make no mistake-those municipal committes are part of  that arena), then pay your dues and become a citizen.

Cheers

 

[Fishbone Jones]

IMHO this has nothing, repeat nothing, to do with "multi-culturalism", "diversity", "exclusivity", etc. Simply because you hold Canadian citizenship does not, in any way, require you to give up your culture, religion, social affiliation, primary language at home, or anythng else that defines ethnicity or culture. My wife's family here in Canada enjoy a strong Portuguese culture, but all are Canadian citizens and proud of it, and lead productive lives. People who wave "diversity" around in this case are just trying to push the PC button.

This is, IMHO, actually about people who want to have their cake and eat it too. Want to play in the political arena (and make no mistake-those municipal committes are part of  that arena), then pay your dues and become a citizen.

Cheers

Like the ones I deal with daily, that have been here for thirty years and use their thirteen year old granddaughter as an interpreter, because they can't speak english.

 

[ARMY ISSUE]

Why is it that every ones favorite country to go to is Canada but once they get here they don't want to take on the Canadian Citizenship? After WWII finished for the Netherlands my Grandfather Looked around and said "hey, we are going to Canada" Hit the ground here and worked like a man who was still running from a war to make a home for his family. We had a debt to pay the Canadians, and the foolish political BS is kick in the ass. Thanks to Hurricane Hazel For laying the smack down. No mistaking my family tree for anything but Dutch. (Wooden shoes, wooden head, wouldn' listen.) If you want to drive take the wheel, the backseat crap has gotta go.
Cheers
 

 

[FormerHorseGuard]

i like the fact these people move to Canada to live and respect the fact they want a say, but before they can say what they want to say  they should become Canadian, it is not being racist or anything, I cannot go to another country and have my say unless I become one of them. I lived in the USA for 5 years, I could not voice my concerns or wishes about politics or join town boards because I could not vote, no vote no joining. it was simple. if i wanted to say  my choice I had to become a US person.
Want to say more in Canada and not a Canadian, become one a Canadian , it is not hard to do

 

[ArmyRick]

I read Rachel marsden article in the Toronto Sun yesterday and it was a good read. Check it out.

 

[a_majoor]

Elector Qualification (Council)
Section 17 of the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 Qualification of Electors

17.  (1)  Repealed:  2002, c. 17, Sched. D, s. 5 (1).

Qualifications

      (2)  A person is entitled to be an elector at an election held in a local municipality if, on voting day, he or she,

        (a)    resides in the local municipality or is the owner or tenant of land there, or the spouse of such owner or tenant;

        (b)    is a Canadian citizen;

        (c)    is at least 18 years old; and

        (d)    is not prohibited from voting under subsection (3) or otherwise by law.  2002, c. 17, Sched. D, s. 5 (2); 2005, c. 5, s. 46 (1).

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/DBLaws/Statutes/English/96m32_e.htm#BK26

 

[Armymatters]

Like the ones I deal with daily, that have been here for thirty years and use their thirteen year old granddaughter as an interpreter, because they can't speak english.

It is acutally quite difficult to learn a new language after you are about 12 years old. The reason is you brain is early on wired so that you can absorb new languages quickly (so that infants can pickup on learning language), and the processes for using and understanding language is early on allocated to the left hemisphere (as demostrated by the difficulties for adults with aphasia's). The left hemisphere is more suited for language development and usage. However, as you get older, past 12 years old, your brain slowly becomes dewired for quick learning of languages, and any new languages is stored not in the specialized left hemisphere of the brain, but in both hemispheres, which makes language acquisition and usage difficult. This is seen in one particular case of a "wild child", namely, the case of Genie. She was victim of lifelong child abuse, and was found in the 1970's strapped to a potty chair and wearing diapers. She appeared to be entirely without any language. It was an ideal (albeit horrifying) opportunity for language specialists to test the theory of Critical Period hypothesis (which makes the statement that after about 12 years of age, if no language is learned before then, it could never be learned in a normal and fully functional sense). The end result of these tests in where despite the fact that Genie was placed in a nuturing enviroment and encouraged to learn language was that she was unable to completely acquire any language.

There are rare cases (the so called wonder childern) in which people are able to quickly and easily aquire new languages with complete ease. But in the vast majority of cases, it is very difficult to absorb any new languages fluently beyond the age of 14. And as you get older, it slowly impossible.

Nice bit of knowledge from the developmental psychology course I took recently.

 

[clasper]

But in the vast majority of cases, it is very difficult to absorb any new languages fluently beyond the age of 14. And as you get older, it slowly impossible.

Nice bit of knowledge from the developmental psychology course I took recently.

It is definitely more difficult to learn new languages as an adult, but it is definitely not impossible.  I personally know hundreds have people who have learned a second (or third, or fourth) language as an adult, and there are millions more out there.  If you have been living in a country for 20 years and haven't learned the language, it is because you choose not to, not because you are unable to.

 

[CougarKing]

Horse Guard,

quote
Want to say more in Canada and not a Canadian, become one a Canadian , it is not hard to do

Sorry to have sound like a know-it-all, but it is NOT easy to become a Canadian. Immigrants who are still overseas have to get PERMANENT RESIDENCY status, which itself is HARD to get- whether through work sponsorship or provincial sponsorship. There are also immigrants who can get permanent residency status if they have money to invest, which entitles them to the investor immigrant status.

It is only after they get that status, come to Canada and LIVE in Canada for 3 years continuously that they can take the citizenship test in either French or English and finally become a citizen.

Here's the details:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.html

Therefore it is a misconception when some Americans say it is much easier to immigrate to Canada than the United States, in spite of America's own ongoing immigration debate as of this writing.

 

[clasper]

it is NOT easy to become a Canadian.

Actually, compared to other western countries, it is quite easy to obtain Canadian citizenship- only 3 years of residency.  I lived in the US for over 3 years, and still wasn't even in a position to get a green card (which is a necessary first step before obtaining citizenship several years later).  I live in France right now, and here it requires 6 years residency (and quelle surprise- a whole lot of bureaucracy) to obtain citizenship.  It's actually faster to get your French citizenship by doing a 5-year tour in the FFL.

For someone who is in a position to run for city council in Mississauga, obtaining Canadian citizenship is a trivial matter- a bit of paperwork, a test, and a ceremony.  Personally I find it quite insulting that someone who refuses to do this still demands the opportunity to run the show.

 

[CougarKing]

Getting that initial permanent residency first is still hard in most Western countries, once you're an immigrant- in the American case, with a greencard- you're pretty much home free and it's just a waiting game until you qualify for citizenship

 

[Hot Lips]

It is definitely more difficult to learn new languages as an adult, but it is definitely not impossible.  I personally know hundreds have people who have learned a second (or third, or fourth) language as an adult, and there are millions more out there.  If you have been living in a country for 20 years and haven't learned the language, it is because you choose not to, not because you are unable to.

I agree with Clasper...perhaps the individual in the study mentioned above had mental health issues associated with abuse which prevented her to learn...you never know...there are always other variables and theories.

I have a girlfriend whose ancestry is Lebanese...her father was an NHL hockey player...he was a proud Canadian and so was his family.  My girlfriend recounts that her grandparents were more than grateful to be in Canada...they spoke English (and they came in their 20s so they were able to learn a new language) when they were outside of their home, they dressed and acted Canadian and were proud to do so.  They never gave up their culture, they continued to practice that in their home, while adding Canadian traditions along with theirs. 

Another point... regarding the learning of another language after 12 years of age...why is there second language training in the CF...if it is not common to be able to learn a new language at this time because my understanding is that recruits would be greater than the age of 12??

My two cents

HL

EDIT: Fixed quote box.

 

[larry Strong]

Why would they want to get Citizenship, when every right that we have as citizens is given to you, the minute you step foot on Canadian soil!

 

[JBP]

Why is it that every ones favorite country to go to is Canada but once they get here they don't want to take on the Canadian Citizenship? After WWII finished for the Netherlands my Grandfather Looked around and said "hey, we are going to Canada" Hit the ground here and worked like a man who was still running from a war to make a home for his family. We had a debt to pay the Canadians, and the foolish political BS is kick in the ***. Thanks to Hurricane Hazel For laying the smack down. No mistaking my family tree for anything but Dutch. (Wooden shoes, wooden head, wouldn' listen.) If you want to drive take the wheel, the backseat crap has gotta go.
Cheers
 

Oh c'mon! Your sweet talkin' the Dutch! What's that other saying they have??? "If you ain't Dutch, you ain't much!".... 

I have a buddy whose whole family are a bunch of rich Dutch people.... Good people mind you!