the hypocrisy of immigration, privilege and who gets to belong

I am so sick of the ignorance surrounding immigration in Canada.

I keep thinking about the people who immigrated to Canada from England in the 1970s. Some arrived with a job offer, had a relatively brief interview, settled here, built their lives and eventually became very successful, even wealthy.

And now some people who benefited from immigration are complaining about other people coming here.

Does anyone else see the irony?

Of course, not every immigrant had an easy journey. People arrived under different circumstances, and immigration rules have changed over the decades. But the point remains: many Canadians have an immigration story somewhere in their family history.

People came looking for work, opportunity, security and a better future for their children. They wanted a home, a job, an education and a chance to get ahead.

So did their neighbours. So did the people already living here.

And that brings me to something else that seems to get lost in this debate.

what about the people already here?

What about the Canadians who were born and raised here, went to school here, worked hard, paid taxes and did everything they were told would lead to a decent life?

What happened to their opportunities?

Housing has become unaffordable for so many. Rents consume much of people's income. Young people struggle to leave home. Workers cannot necessarily afford to live in the communities where they work. People are struggling to access education, find decent jobs and get the basic services they need.

Some people have worked their entire lives and still cannot afford a secure place to live.

And some of us are now facing homelessness.

Where is the outrage for them?

Population growth can increase demand for housing, jobs and public services when supply doesn't keep up. That is a legitimate issue to discuss. But immigration is not the only factor. Housing policy, insufficient construction of affordable homes, wages, public investment and political decisions all play a part.

We can have an honest conversation about immigration levels and the resources needed to support a growing population without blaming every problem on the people who arrive.

The question is why governments have failed to keep opportunity and basic necessities within reach for so many people.

and especially if you're brown

Let's talk about the double standard.

If you are brown, Indigenous or from another racialized community, you may find yourself having to defend your belonging in ways that other people never experience.

You might have been born here. Your parents might have been born here. Your family might have been part of this country's history for generations.

Yet someone can look at you and question whether you belong.

Meanwhile, someone whose family immigrated from England decades ago may be regarded as simply Canadian, with their family's own immigrant history long forgotten.

Why does one person's family history become part of Canada's story, while another person's becomes a reason to question their right to be here?

Why are some people treated as though they naturally belong, while others are expected to prove themselves?

And why does the colour of someone's skin still influence how their struggles, contributions and opportunities are viewed?

Indigenous peoples have their own distinct histories, rights and relationships to this land. Those histories cannot simply be folded into a general immigration debate. Recognition of that fact matters, too.

We should be able to discuss immigration, housing, employment, education and public services without turning people against one another because of their origins or appearance.

who benefits when we fight among ourselves?

Here is what troubles me most.

Ordinary people are competing for housing they cannot afford, jobs that may not pay enough to live on, and public services that are stretched thin.

People who were born here are struggling. Newcomers are struggling. Seniors are struggling. Families are struggling. People living with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness are struggling.

Instead of asking how we build a country where people can live with dignity, we end up arguing over which group deserves less.

That doesn't build more homes. It doesn't raise wages. It doesn't improve schools, create affordable education or provide the support people need.

It just creates more resentment.

And when that resentment turns into racial hatred, the consequences reach far beyond an argument on social media.

We can hold governments accountable for immigration policies. We can demand realistic population planning, affordable housing, fair employment practices and properly funded public services. We can ask difficult questions about the number of people coming here and whether our infrastructure can support that growth.

But we should also ask why so many people who already live in this wealthy country cannot afford the basics.

Those questions belong together.

opportunity should not be a privilege reserved for the lucky

Someone who immigrated to Canada in the 1970s deserved the opportunity to build a good life.

Someone who immigrates today deserves to be treated with dignity, too.

And the Canadian-born person working full-time who cannot afford rent deserves a future.

These things are not mutually exclusive.

We should not have to choose between welcoming people and looking after the people already here. We should be demanding a system that plans properly, distributes opportunities fairly and refuses to abandon people who are struggling.

If you got your opportunity, why would you want to deny everyone else the chance to have one?

If you found a home, why wouldn't you want other people to have a safe place to live?

If you benefited from education, employment and a stable community, why wouldn't you want those things to remain possible for the next generation?

And if you know what it means to be judged because of where you came from, why would you do that to somebody else?

The colour of your skin should never determine whose struggles matter, whose opportunities count or who gets to call Canada home.

I am tired of the ignorance. I am tired of the hypocrisy. And I am tired of watching ordinary people being encouraged to blame one another while the bigger questions about inequality, housing and opportunity go unanswered.

We need less hatred and more accountability.

We need fewer scapegoats and better solutions.

And we need to remember that behind every statistic, every immigration debate and every argument about who belongs are real human beings trying to make a life.

That should not be such a difficult thing to understand.

— Tina Winterlik

#Canada #Immigration #Racism #HousingCrisis #AffordableHousing #Homelessness #Inequality #HumanRights #SocialJustice #OpportunityForAll