Canada has long had a reputation in the world as a place of compassion, understanding and tolerance.
That has been reflected repeatedly, whether it has been the Canadian military playing the role of peacekeeper in places such as Cyprus starting in 1964, our troops providing humanitarian aid following Hurricane Hanna devastating Haiti in 2008, or opening our borders to refugees seeking to escape wars, famines and political persecution throughout the years.
That should not be a surprise when you consider everyone in this country can essentially trace their family roots to an immigrant from another land.
The Irish fled their homeland to escape a famine caused by disease in potatoes.
The Doukhobor’s came to escape persecution in Russia.
Draft dodgers came north to avoid being forced to join the American army and fight in Vietnam.
Countless others emigrated here because of oppression, lack of prospects and numerous other hardships they faced at home.
It is the story of a nation being built by wave after wave of immigrants, a story told in the Yorkton Western Development Museum where the theme is ‘Story of People’.
It has not always been easy. Mistakes have been made; the residential school system thrust upon First Nations people, the forced imprisonment of Japanese Canadians during the Second World War, and the Ukrainian Canadian internment which was part of the confinement of “enemy aliens” in Canada during and for two years after the end of World War I.
But we seemed to learn from those mistakes, our record becoming better in the last number of decades.
Or at least that seemed the case.
The present situation in Syria has made us wonder about our humanity.
Thousands are being displaced from their homes in a battle of religious fanaticism and political upheaval. Many are seeking to escape to something better, just as so many previous Canadian immigrants were.
But the spectre of ISIS hangs over all from the region.
The fear Canadians feel is certainly partly warranted. A look at the news headlines tells of the atrocities of ISIS, and in the midst of a federal campaign it is a fear which is sadly being played upon to garner votes.
The result is a disquieting backlash, not against ISIS terrorists, but against Muslims in general.
To think every Muslim is a terrorist is short-sighted at best.
Not every Irish Protestant or Catholic was a gun-toting, bomb building terrorist during the years of unrest in Northern Ireland.
Not everyone south of the Mason Dixon line in the United States is a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Not all Christians are part of the Ayran Nation even if it is a self-described White Christian Separatist religious organization.
No one is so naive as to think that of these aforementioned groups. We know better than to whitewash any particular religious or ethnic group as all being part of any extremist group.
Yet with the Syrian refugee situation there are many willing to set aside Canada’s proud humanitarian history by giving over to the fear that the newcomers might bring violence with them. While there is no iron clad guarantee against some criminal element arriving with the refugees, there has also been that risk with every immigrant ever arriving here. There have been war criminals and murderers making it into Canada. That is unfortunate, but not a reason to close our borders and live in a cocoon when we could be helping people in need.
