Immigrants with Amnesia

by: Rachel Avery and Dan Kellar

"No one is illegal, Canada is illegal!"
-No One Is Illegal - Vancouver/Coast Salish

As the Harper government continues to hold 492 Tamil refugees in detention on unfounded, racially-based suspicions, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews continues to make clear the racist, anti-immigrant motivations of his department and this Conservative administration. Over the past week, four men have been arrested and three of them charged as part of a 2-year investigation entitled "Project Samosa". Because of their ethnicity they have been demonised in government rhetoric, and presented as guilty before they have been able to face trial. This troubling discourse has been supported and furthered by mainstream media and public commentary. We must continue to counter such narratives and challenge the xenophobia they encourage.
In an article in Friday's Globe and Mail, "Ottawa urges immigrant communities to report suspicious behaviour", reporter Steven Chase wastes no time in presenting and defending the latest batch of racist remarks from Minister Toews. The Harper government has issued an appeal "to Canadians - and immigrants in particular - to monitor and report suspicious or extremist activity" in response to what they describe as a rising threat of 'homegrown terrorism'. This targeting of immigrant communities is very troubling; it is not a way to tell these communities that they are "part of us" as is suggested in Chase's article. If this was Minister Toews's intention, he would not have singled out any communities. In doing so, he is implicitly telling those communities mentioned that they are "other", that they are not part of what he views to be "Canadian" society. Furthermore, he is supporting xenophobia in singling out racialised communities as being potential sources of terrorism. And it is indeed a racialised assessment that is being put forward; singled out in Chase's article are South Asian, Somalian and others from countries with large Muslim populations. When Toews refers to the need for "assistance from ethnic communities", one must doubt that Toews is referring to communities of immigrants from, for instance, Scotland, Germany, or Finland in this appeal to immigrants to report suspicious or extremist activity.

Simply that the suspects arrested last week in connection with an alleged terror plot are so prominently identified as being of South Asian heritage is indicative of the racism at play. That their heritage is used as reason for Toews to appeal to "immigrants in particular" holds several assumptions. Along with Toews's reference to Canadian Somalis, this suggests that Toews's understanding of 'immigrant' is one of 'non-white'; he essentially equates the two terms. This shows both ignorance and amnesia; there are many recent immigrants who are of caucasian heritage, and indeed all those of caucasian heritage in Canada immigrated here at some point in the last few centuries. It also suggests that Toews perceives those, to use his examples, of South Asian or Somali heritage as being recent immigrants. While some may be, others' families may have been here for generations. In his message to the country, then, Toews is promoting racist anti-immigrant sentiments and an ignorance of history.

Professor Martin Rudner, interviewed for Chase's article, even suggests that Toews, by noting help from a predominantly Muslim  community, has "avoided demonizing these groups". Rudner continues to say that ?part of the minister?s message is that we can count on the Muslims to work with us,? furthering the separation of Muslim individuals (who have in his comments been homogenised to a single entity) from the notably undefined "us", which represents the non-Muslim, caucasian majority in this "multicultural" country.

Rudner also charges that (non-white) "radicals" are often employed in the fields of medicine, engineering, and computer science.  This seems to be troubling to him; he explains, "these people become highly competent on the technical side but begin to question Western society on the values side." Apparently the values of Western society are not to be questioned by people who come from a non-Western culture.  With the recent crackdown on dissent to the austerity measures of the G20, we have to ask: is it alright for anyone to actively question the values of western culture?     

These most recent cases fit in with the larger xenophobic base of the Canadian government's policies and programs.  The "other" is to be feared, whether it be their colour of skin, their religion, or the shape and shade of their ideological flag. How does this fit into a "multicultural" society? Quite simply, it does not. It fits into a racist, colonial program that has characterised the Canadian government since its inception. Trying to disguise this racism by alleging that Toews's appeal to immigrants is a gesture of inclusion is insulting. The stigmatising rhetoric of 'homegrown terrorism', 'Jihad generation', and the assumptions that the suspects were 'inspired by al Qaeda', without evidence being offered, must be recognised and challenged. In this case, the men who have been charged must be presumed innocent until found guilty. Unfortunately, the racism at play in government, media, and public discourse is not allowing for that. Furthermore, this case is encouraging white supremacy and xenophobia Islamophobia, and by both inaccurately racialising the understanding of 'immigrants' and forgetting this state's history of viscious colonialism - one filled with unfulfilled immigration agreements and broken treaties.

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friendly neighbourhood anarchist, rad dad, land defence enthusiast, decolonial digger, radio pirate, indy journalist, systems geographer. noline9wr.ca chippewassolidarity.org