Racism in Canada

[rish888]

Aboriginal people did not create the country of Canada,

No, but Canada was created on the ruins of the Aboriginal nations. (and p.s. before you say that there was never any "Aboriginal nations" I encourage you to look up the difference between a nation and a country.)

 

[rish888]

consider that it is to your benefits as new comers to overlook this preexisting culture, as this way you can avoid feeling the discomfort of contributing to its downward turn. I mention this only because it saddens me that my personal heritage seems to be fading, while those of you who are rushing to stand over it do it a dismiss it mistakenly, seeming not to know or care about it.

ffs.

You're more than welcome to return to Ireland/Scotland. (just a random guess but you're probably some middle-aged WASP male.) I guarantee that you'll find your culture alive and well there.

I encourage you to check out this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration

I'd also suggest you read some of Ibn Khaldun's works. He was a 14th century Arab sociologist and his perspective on "Assadiyah" (the growth of a nation and the evolution of society) is quite interesting. ​

 

[rish888]

and in fact there is evidence that a sudden reduction in population (sudden in demographic terms) increases individual wealth, as the wealth of the outgoing generation concentrates in fewer hands, so they are able to put it to use making more money.

Just a teeny tiny problem with that line of argumentation: If there were no people, the economy would get all messed up. What you're saying may work in the oil rich Persian gulf states that are smaller than PEI, but in an economy as diversified as Canada's, your proposal would significantly reduce the economic output, and I don't need to explain what happens when a country ends up with a crappy per capita GDP.

 

[permafrost_can]

My apologies if my post interrupts the discussion that is going on ( @rish8888 hats off to you, you are entirely on point).

I just want to share my two cents. I have lived in BC and MB, and spent time both in big cities and small rural towns. Yes, there is racism in Canada. The majority of Canadians and Canadian residents are not racist or otherwise prejudiced (or at least they hide it very well).

I've faced open racism very few times, always by people who were obviously ignorant and in some cases also uneducated. It's more frequent in small and/or rural areas, where people are used to everyone being like them and are completely shocked to see someone different. And it can range from people discretely walking away or moving to a different seat, to weird questions like "oh, people from (your country) are/do (some bizarre, misinformed stereotype), right?", to openly harassing me - luckily this last one is very rare. The good thing is that quite often, other people will come to your defense if the latter happens. As for the former one, when people try to avoid you... well, what can you do, eh?

 

[EmmEmm]

There is racism in the States, some towns are more racist than others. However, in Canada, racism is something that's not town wide.. you will find racism in groups like office groups, school parents groups etc but the best thing is that you will find enough people from your culture.

No person is less than the other !!

 

[Eriman]

Well, unfortunately I dealt with this problem.

 

[thegentleman]

Well, unfortunately I dealt with this problem.

Sorry to hear that... are you willing to explain?

 

[fr72]

I have experienced no racism in Canada or US (incl southern states) in real life. The internet is a different story

 

[hamgha]

racism can be implicit too (passed over for promotion, assumptions etc...)

 

[cansha]

I have experienced no racism in Canada or US (incl southern states) in real life. The internet is a different story

I would say good for you. But racism is just not a story on Internet. If your statement is meant to be an argument racism doesn't exist because you did not face it and it is just Internet stories; it is akin to saying - I ate 3 meals today; world hunger is a story on Internet.

 

[fr72]

I would say good for you. But racism is just not a story on Internet. If your statement is meant to be an argument racism doesn't exist because you did not face it and it is just Internet stories; it is akin to saying - I ate 3 meals today; world hunger is a story on Internet.

What I wrote was - I have faced a lot of racism on the internet.

The English phrase "is a different story" means: "to refer to a situation, usually a bad one, which exists in one set of circumstances when you have mentioned that it does not exist in another set of circumstances." Its not a literal 'story'.

 

[thegentleman]

I must admit that since I first created this thread and have lived and worked and gained more experience in Canada and the world, my views have changed alot on this matter. Now I just view things from an individualistic level. I have met and worked with so many amazing Canadians and made so many wonderful friends that I've realized if one casts a broad brush on any situation or people, that is not a fair outlook to have. Is there racism in Canada, sure. Is Canada a racist society, absolutely not. Even the experiences that I've viewed as negative were probably not aimed at the color of skin but off of that individuals perception of their environment and the world. We all have our biases no matter where we are from and what skin color we are. The most important thing is that we learn to live with one another with love, kindness and forgiveness. We're all living on a blue rock spinning in a void of darkness being held up by only God knows what after all. Enjoy your lives my fellow Canadians, it is short and wondrous.

 

[vvarma]

In an effort to give honest and factual information about life in Canada, I wanted to start this thread. Simply put, has anyone experienced any racial issues while in Canada. In stores, in restaurants, during parade celebration... whatever your experience, feature it here.

Just saw your post, and would love to add my personal experience from previous 4 years: Substantially lived in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver.
TORONTO: One minor incident on a weekend evening walk in downtown core - there was a small group of mischievous teenagers who started poking fun at me. I ignored them completely as if I was unaware and kept walking. That was the end of it, I did not hear anything racial though. But still I was nervous!
MONTREAL: No Incidents. However, as many already know - if Quebecers find out you don't talk French, you are meted with a certain cold attitude. Eventually I got used to that. It sucks...but don't think that is ever gonna change! In any case, that has no connection to racism.
VANCOUVER: No Incidents.

I am a person of color, and to my experience people actually showered me more respect - which was a pleasant surprise. That being said, sadly racism does exist for sure, especially post pandemic times. But then which major country doesn't have it? Just looking at the sorry state of my home country and I can immediately see the difference. Peace.

 

[GandiBaat]

I have been in Canada since 2017. There is no systemic racism. I lived in Greater Vancouver region and Vancouver Island. There are still oddballs whose actions are .... weird to say the least. Here are few incidences I have seen. I will file them under discrimination and misunderstanding and less than real racism though.

1. In downtown Vancouver, I was called by N-word on sky train station by a weirdo and was asked to go back to Africa.. I am not ethnic African but I do have brown complexion as I am south asian. Also, in downtown Vancouver, sometimes it is hard to know if a person is a bigot or just high. We have a lot of unfortunate drug addicts in downtown vancouver.

2. On Vancouver Island, I had a lot of difficulty in finding accommodation. Initially, I filed it under less than 1% availability of rental units on many parts of Vancouver Island region. Later I heard from other folks that there is a somewhat discrimination against dark skinned folks. So once when I was denied rental for a unit posted just 30 minutes before I replied to ad, next day I called from a different phone and let my wife ask for an appointment..... The unit was still available. I had left my contact with the other party. Weird. Why did they said no to us? I dont know why. It could be any combination of things. We are a couple with kid. We were non-locals on the island. Could be a previous experience with Indians. Could be 100 different things.

3. My wife used to work in a mall as a customer service for a telecom shop in an ethnic Iranian majority area. The prices of plans are usually fixed. There is not much as a sales person you can do. Still various ethnicity ask for sales person of their own ethnicity to sell them a connection. Its weird. My wife often used to hear : "Do you have an Iranian person to deal with me?". At first we thought it was a language barrier but then she noticed that it was not that because most of these folks had very good grasp at English. Anyhoo! Our landlord was an ethnic Iranian, so one day I pushed to boat a little bit further and asked him about it. His words and I quote "Iranians especially women feel that non-Iranians are out there to fleece them! Thats why they prefer to deal with Persian speaking folks.".

4. On the similar lines, my wife now works (she will be leaving job by April 1st, she got student visa and admission in a masters program) as a support personnel for a major BC telecom company. Huge number of times she got this request --Almost ALWAYS ONLY from fellow ethnic south asian. "Can you connect me to a REAL Canadian customer support representative"!. She asked if this is her or its a trend among her work mates. Its a trend. Internally these folks are called bargain/rebate/concession hunters. They usually try really hard to seek some concession or the other. Apparently they believe that certain ethnicities are more generous.