Canada has a long history of welcoming with open arms immigrants and refugees.
The first Canadians, our First Nations people, helped early immigrants survive the harsh Canadian winters and guided early explorers across our beautiful country.
My father and mother were welcomed with open arms after the Second World War. Coming from a communist country my father was not welcome in the U.S.
I am heartened by the way, in contrast to our neighbours to the south, we are opening our doors to families that have been devastated by war and displaced.
A letter last week suggested we take care of our own first.
As a country that welcomes over 250,000 immigrants every year and indeed is a country of immigrants, I suggest we are taking care of our own.
Nothing is different: we are once again welcoming people from a war-torn country. And the suggestion that those welcoming the refugees haven’t “bothered to work near as hard to help” locals is patently wrong.
I see the key players involved in these groups. They are the same people who set up the good food box program, volunteered in the food bank, set up breakfast programs, spent Christmas day serving a free dinner to locals, volunteered for ESL services etc.
We are looking after our own; we know that these refugees are our own because Canada is a country that embraces the vulnerable of the world, who settle in and enrich the multi-cultural Canadian landscape.
Vivian Morris
