Down with Colonialism, Imperialism, and Injustices against Immigrants!

Down with Colonialism, Imperialism, and Injustices against Immigrants!

Canadian history is tainted with several atrocities that were committed through colonialism, perpetuation, or imperialism and committing a myriad of injustices against the immigrants. From the early 19^th century to the early late 20^th century, the Canadian government carried massive injustice against the vulnerable people in the society and exploited them as they epitomized the source of capital that the country’s industry much needed. The laws legislations also got formulated in a manner that they propagated imperialist ideas but on the other hand, continued suppressing the indigenous groups and the immigrants in Canada. For instance, the Indian Act and its subsequent amendment prohibited various cultural activities of the Indians sought to socialize them, and pushed them to infertile areas to create settlers. Therefore, the above slogan perfectly aligns to the undertakings in History 204 as it captures the aspects of imperialism, colonization, and discriminatory immigration laws that dented the Canadian history. The following are the issues that the above slogan addresses.

First, it highlights the vices that characterized the colonization of the indigenous groups in Canada.  The Aboriginal First Nations, especially the native Indians, bore the brunt of Canadian government atrocities through forceful socialization. Before there was an attempt by the Canadian government to socialize these individuals into the Canadian culture, the government pushed the indigenous people out of their lands to create room for the settler farmers in Canada. In this regard, over 1200 acres of the indigenous people were given to the farmers who were settlers from various countries in Europe (Canadian Colonialism, 2019, 12). Such action did affect not only the economic condition of the indigenous groups in the affected area but also destroyed their cultural and societal aspects. Again, the Indian Act greatly affected the political, social, and economic tenets that the native Indian community is woven. It did not only affect the ordinary living of the native Indians but only opened a can for their exploitation and using the law as the justification of the acts.

Again, the state regulations of the First Nations played an important was generally meant to inculcate colonial aspects among the indigenous people. In 1945, the Indian Act outlawed the Potlatch and the Sundance. Such an aspect meant that the political structure of the native Indians got destroyed, and their social systems put on the periphery of oblivion. Consequently, the same act permitted the Canadian government to take away over half of the native Indian children away from their parents. The motive behind this process emanated from the colonial perceptions and misconceptions about the native Indians and their ability to take care of their children. The Canadian government believed that the only way to acculturate the native Indians is to impart various western values to the children at a tender age. The Sixties Scoop saw over 20,000 children from the Indigenous families taken away from their parents and placed under the custody of the Canadian government through Residential Schools. Consequently, the children were taken to the Residential Schools to teach them western and Canadian culture. Such forceful removal of a child from their parents is not only atrocious but also epitomized repressive and stereotypical colonial ideas that the Canadian government harbored towards the native Indians. Such colonial stereotypes that saw the Indians as ineffective in raising children and having unfit cultures are one of the motivations towards the above slogan.

On the other hand, the slogan challenges the aspects of imperialism that dominated the Canadian policies in the 20^th century. The 19^th and the 20^th century in Canada saw a robust development of industries that also involved the labor movements all over the country. However, such movements were thwarted by the government violently as they threatened the capitalist and the imperialists’ profits and ideologies. Again, to ensure a seamless and constant flow of human resources, the Canadian government enacted several laws and regulations that not only exploited the existing immigrants but also ensured that the immigrants were left with no option but to continue working even in toxic working environments. For instance, the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program of 1966 and the Nanny Recruitment programs only allowed selected types of people to gain employment in Canada. The Nanny Recruitment Program of the 1960s only permitted the recruitment of the British women as nannies then later shifted to the employment of other nannies from the Caribbean areas. Again, renowned imperialists such as Robert Dunsmuir thrived on the aspect of monopoly capitalism that saw its products dominate the Canadian markets while the working conditions continued deteriorating to a great extent. Such practices placed the benefits of the imperialists at the expense of improved social conditions of the employees. Most of these workers were immigrants and bore the brunt of imperialism through various vices in Canadian society. The immigrants lived in makeshift structures in the name of houses, and the working conditions were extremely toxic. Ironically, during such developments, the imperialists made enormous profits.

Finally, the slogan challenges the injustice that the Canadian government meted on the immigrants through the enactment of repressive laws. These exclusionary immigration policies ensured that the movement of the immigrations is curtailed or even restricted to a great extent. For example, the Immigration Act of 1869 barred individuals from other nations except those from England and Scotland. The motive behind the formulation and the subsequent enactment of the law was to ensure that the belief on the purity of the Canadian white identity is preserved. The immigrants from India, China, or any other people of color were prohibited. Again, the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 permitted the Canadian government to impose a tax on every Chinese immigrant before their immigration request gets approved. Those who unable to pay their tax promptly got slapped with debts. Similarly, the continuous Journey Regulation of 1908 worked in a manner that did not only impede the immigration of the Indians to Canada but also ensured that they effectively blocked all the avenues that the Indians could have used to enter Canada. On the other hand, the Japanese Internment that took place between 1942 to 1945 remains one of the most controversial aspects of Canadian history. Thus, the above slogan aims to call to an end of such atrocities, and it could have been relevant during such periods.

In conclusion, the injustices that Canada meted on the indigenous groups and the immigrants remain left a haunting and indelible mark in the minds of the victims and the generations that follow. Through colonization, the Canadian government brutally separated the native Indian children from their parents, pushed them to the Residential Schools in a bid to indoctrinate them to the Canadian way. The native Indians were also subject to deprivation and economic starvation as they got pushed off their ancestral lands to create room for the settlers. Again, the immigrants got exploit and used as tools to perpetuate and realize the imperial ideologies and goals championed by the capitalist. Legislations also got skewed in order to favor the repressive attitudes of the Canadian government towards the immigrants. Therefore, the above slogan perfectly aligns with the issues discussed herein.