DaveLovesDee

Whatever peoples reasons for leaving their original country, I personally think those who make little or no attempt to integrate shouldn't have bothered leaving in the first place.

Would you be allowed to immigrate to Quebec if you don't speak French? Why should you be allowed to immigrate anywhere if you won't learn the local language.

bazzz

Given how remote Canada is from the rest of the world, I think it's great that so many people don't integrate. It's a lot cheaper to pop down to your local ethnic ghetto than to fly to Europe/Asia/etc. As far as I'm aware there's no pressure from the Canadian authorities for immigrants to learn English or French.

steve666

I know of several people who have immigrated to Quebec without speaking French. So yes, you would is the answer to your question.

RobinHood

If there was a Chinatown near me, in England, I'm sure I would visit quite a lot. In addition, the size of Canada means people don't live on top of each other and tensions are less likely to flare in an environment like that. I am really looking forward to moving over and making a new life for me and my family.

However I seriously wouldn't dare visit the "ghetto" areas of North Kirklees - and neither would you if you lived here.

dbd33

That is a very silly idea of Canada. People are not evenly distributed through the tundra one per ten square miles. Pretty much the entire population lives within 100 miles of the US border so the population density in the cities is the same as in cities elsewhere. People as bigoted as the writers of the Express exist in Canada as well as in the UK they just don't froth so publicly. That could be because Canada is more tolerant or because the people here are oppressed by the forces of political correctness - compared to the CBC the BBC does sound as if it's run by neo-conservatives.

People moving to Canada do not have to learn English or French because the country is deliberately multicultural. The ability to live in Canada in Cantonese, or whatever, is the core Canadian value.

I can't say I've previously heard of North Kirlees, google tells me it's near Huddersfield so, you're right, it's not somewhere I would choose to go.

JonboyE

There is much to what you say, but I think it goes further than just tolerance or PC. My wife is Japanese, and we lived together in the UK for 18 years. In all those years she felt like an outsider. People were mostly pleasant to her (though there were several sickening exceptions), but treated her as a foreigner first, and a person second.

Maybe it’s because we are almost all immigrants in Canada, but people approach each other in a very different manner. Mrs. JonboyE feels she is accepted for who she is, and not what she is. One friend explained to me that a person’s worth does not depend on what they look like or where they come from, but on what they contribute to society.

This is our experience. I accept that many First Nations will have very different views.

RobinHood

The tundra talk is pretty irrelevant (and "silly"). The habitable parts of Canada are much larger than the UK and contain half as many people. Even a strip of land 100 miles north of the US measuring from coast to coast is much bigger than the British Isles (and would take 2 weeks to drive east to west). The Atlantic Provinces combined are bigger than the UK and a great deal of their land is potentially habitable.

Yup, I've visited 3 Provinces over the last 3 years so I know what it's like where I'm going to live. Lots and lots of space - houses with acres and no rows (and rows) of terraced houses and council estates. I've no desire to live in an inner-city in Canada - so couldn't care less about their demographics. The towns in North Kirklees* are very densely populated so I'm looking to move away from that kind of environment (and actually be able to buy a decent sized house!).

I think most people are aware that CBC is as politically correct as the BBC (if not more so). Both broadcasters are becoming a bit laughable in an age when folks are able to get their news from alternative sources like the internet. In the same way the Mail, Express and the Guardian are becoming less and less relevant in the information age. The "tolerance police" and bigots are a global phenomenon - and I've come across both during my Canadian travels. When travelling I always leave the rose-tinted glasses at home next to my niavety cream

As for people not being required to know English or French when emigrating to Canada - well yes and no. Most (if not all) skilled workers wouldn't be accepted without expertise in at least one language, and family class applicants are encouraged to learn the lingo (so the Canadian government obviously think its important).

*North Kirklees = Batley, Birstall, Dewsbury, Mirfield & Heckmondwike. A modern model of diversity with its suicide bombers and its BNP councillors. You are right you wouldn't like it.

dbd33

Nothing is more relevant in this house than the Guardian.

RobinHood

startwin

[QUOTE=RobinHood;5180239]
As for people not being required to know English or French when emigrating to Canada - well yes and no. Most (if not all) skilled workers wouldn't be accepted without expertise in at least one language, and family class applicants are encouraged to learn the lingo (so the Canadian government obviously think its important).
QUOTE]

Many years ago when we emigrated to Canada, it was a requirement that we speak and write one of the official languages. Of course that was easy for us, being from England, but if French were the only official language, we'd have had to learn it before we got our visas. Somewhere along the way that requirement was dropped. This contributes a lot to the lack of integration and of course lack of communication. Which leads to frustration and a lack of understanding between ethnic groups. Lots of lacks, but I'm sure you get the drift.

RobinHood

...This contributes a lot to the lack of integration and of course lack of communication. Which leads to frustration and a lack of understanding between ethnic groups. Lots of lacks, but I'm sure you get the drift.

It certainly shows a lack of common sense from politicians.

dbd33

"Integration" is not the cultural ethos of Canada. This is the Multiculture, the Melting Pot is somewhere else.

daft batty

bedford uk, they wrote a book about it called "the melting pot" I was brought up in this dull as ditchwater town and never noticed it was a melting pot, so i suppose that just validates the nickname

dbd33

What I don't follow is, if you disagree so fundamentally with the politics of a country why do you want to move there? Canada is not suddenly going to be unwelcoming of the masses after you arrive.

If you want to move because you think the country has space for you to retreat into like some slow speaking version of the Montana Militia why do you think Canada should admit you? That doesn't sound as valuable to the country as an immigrant who doesn't speak English or French but who will pick potatoes.

dbd33

Bedford, of course, but also America.