Canada club!
Out of context: Reply #19
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- imakedesign0
Racism is an ideological and political concept that considers that some are higher on developmental and intelligence scale than others -- it is an offshoot of the class system and has been developed to explain, theorize and legitimize the colonial and later imperialist project. It legitimizes the conquering, controlling and exploitation of one country by another, of one people by another, of one race by another.
Capitalism was built -- and the original capitalist fortunes were amassed -- through a policy of systemic racism – in the Americas on outright genocide against the Indians* and the slave trade. Africa was devastated, with its youngest and fittest young men and women dragged off to the “new world” to cut sugar and plant cotton on the plantations.
Slavery also existed in Canada with some local churches having their own slaves.As an integral part of the imperialist system, racism is also alive in Canada, to which my parents brought me as a migrant from England when I was five years old.
My adopted country, Canada, may be a land of immigrants but it is not a country open to just any migrants and refugees. The waves of migration have corresponded to the economic, political and ideological needs of the capitalist system in Canada -- relatively open when the system is in expansion or in a period of growth and repressive and closed when in crisis, as it is at the moment.
During the expansion period of the 18th and 19th centuries, original immigrants came from Western Europe -- England and France, the two major colonial powers who fought for control of Canada. They also came from other countries such as British-controlled Ireland, as well as Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, etc. This was primarily a wave of “white” migrants. It was then enlarged to include Eastern Europe. Many Ukrainians were brought in to open up the farm lands of western Canada, for example. There was a massive influx of European immigrants during the post-WWII period when Canada’s capitalist economy was expanding rapidly.
During the Cold War, the door was open to Hungarians and other East Europeans, as long as they demonstrated they were clearly anti-Communist. Again these were primarily white migrants.
Many countries never allow migrants to settle and become citizens. This is a way of maintaining a relatively powerless work force who live under the threat of being sent back. Canada seems to be an exception since it is a land of immigrants -- a huge territory that was settled by migrants. And with a low birth rate today, it still needs the migrants to sustain its economy. So Canada seems to provide more options for the migrant worker. If you fulfill certain criteria (and jump through enough hoops) there is a possibility you can apply for landed immigrant status and eventually become a citizen -- opening the door to bringing over your family. This is the carrot Canada dangles to ensure it gets some of the world’s best and brightest migrants.