For a long time when the word Canada was mentioned it conjured up images of a paradise. A bigger version of Switzerland. A vast country with a small population. A welfare state with plenty of jobs and a place with very good future for children. The Prairies where wheat, barley and other crops grow in abundance. The beautiful Savannah is the largest track of native grassland. The legendary Canadian Mounties on their horses added to the image of a nation at peace with itself. The only thing that tainted this rosy picture was the killing of baby seals for their skin. Canada seemed to quietly carry on as a peaceful nation with no enemies.
However, we need to understand how the country came into existence to fully comprehend the enigma of the place. Between 1534 and 1542 Jacques Cartier made two voyages to north America and claimed the land for King Francis 1 of France. The original inhabitants of Canada were the Indian tribes also known as First Nations People. Like in the US, the Indian tribes were mercilessly subjugated and their land usurped. For all its liberal policies, the Indian tribes still face discrimination in Canada.
Over the centuries there have been many attempts to erase the culture and ethnicity of the indigenous people. From 1870 the children of Indian tribes were forcibly separated from their parents and sent to Catholic schools. The idea was to eradicate the native culture. It was cultural genocide. The children were malnourished and sexually abused.
In the 1700's France and Britain staged wars for the control of North America. In 1759 the British defeated the French. By 1776 the Dutch, German, British, Scandinavians and Jewish people as well as thousands of freed slaves settled in Canada. The descendants of these mainly European people are the modern day Canadians. Canada is divided by English speaking mainly Protestant Christians and French speaking Catholics. On July 1, 1867 Canada became an independent country including British Columbia. Between 1881-1886 Canada built a railway connecting Eastern Canada to
British Columbia. It was built mainly by Chinese labour along with Ukrainians, Poles, German, Swedish, French and Norwegians. In the 1900s millions of British and Americans moved to Canada.
Sikhs have had a presence in Canada since the 1900s. Many of the first Sikhs who settled in British Columbia were ex soldiers of the British army. They suffered discrimination and Canadian governments brought in many restrictions to stop Sikhs from migrating to Canada. Today there are around 800,000 Sikhs in Canada, the highest number outside India. Ontario has the biggest number of Sikhs totaling 300,435 followed by British Columbia which has around 290,870. They make up 2.1% of the population.
At the heart of difficulties that Canada is facing under Justin Trudeau is the ideology of left wing liberalism. The Canadian Charter of Rights bestows the right to an individual to do what he or she likes. Writing in the Atlantic about woke Liberalism, American David Brooks said: “The state has no right to impinge on a citizen’s individual freedom of choice, provided that the person isn’t harming anyone else. This Liberal orthodoxy of the present Canadian government has created a huge issue in the de-criminalisation of Euthanasia. What was started as an option for the terminally ill has now spread to disabled people. It is this left wing Liberalism of Justin Trudeau that has made Canada a playground for gang violence. In all, around 874 people were murdered in Canada in 2022. Trudeau has been obliged to bring up the Punjab issue with PM Modi and the fallout between the two countries has reached a stage where it remains to be seen which country blinks first. Embattled Trudeau has a lot on his plate. Canadians urgently need a new leader.
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