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Today, on Canada Day, O Creator,
We offer You gratitude for Canada’s great beauty,
for the power and the majesty of its land and waters.
As descendants of settlers and newcomers
we recognize the Indigenous Peoples
who have long cared for these lands and waters.
Creator, we ask for your guidance
as we commit once again to truth-seeking, to self-reflection,
and to building just and mutual understanding
between ourselves and Indigenous Peoples.
July 1, Canada Day: From Another Perspective
Our hard-working Refugee Committee has had the privilege of welcoming and accompanying several individuals and families settle in Canada over the past 7 years. I invited 3 individuals to share the significance of becoming a Canadian Citizen. Their names are withheld for privacy reasons, but their stories are uplifting and instructive.
One woman from Eritrea came to Canada through Cairo, a second woman fled Ethiopia to Cairo and then on to Canada, the third a young man who immigrated from Thailand. We feel blessed to have been a part of their journey, and share their feelings this Canada Day.
-Sister Ann Marshall, csj
Image: Unsplash/Hermes Rivera
1. I have voted for the first time! Canada is very important to me because I believe it is the most peaceful country in the world. It is my country that gave me the freedom to speak and learn. Above all, I have received equality, honor, and respect from this blessed country. When I am in Canada, I feel much safer than in any other country.
I want to say a lot, but I do not know enough words to describe my country, Canada, and the people in Canada. God chose me to be a Canadian - who I could be. I love Canada and everything about Canada and Canadians!
Image: Unsplash/Lewis Parsons
2. Being a Canadian citizen to me is critical. Being a Canadian citizen means, being a person who has the freedom to travel in and outside the country with respect and safety, and always knowing that you would come back home at any time. As well as having access to more opportunities in the communities. For example, having the right to vote, and working in the parliament. In addition, speaking up for your rights against the government.
Image of Thailand: Unsplash/Panuson Norkaew
3. This is what I have been feeling about citizenship. There is a tiny hole in my chest whenever people ask me "Where are you from?", I always answered, "I am from Thailand." I also wanted to tell them that I'm not Thai but I am Burmese from Thailand. If I say it, it usually causes confusion, and I must explain to them why and how. So, I don't usually say it. Also, I am not really proud of myself for saying I am from Thailand because I am not a Thai citizen. I cannot really say I am Burma/Myanmar citizen either.
I was born in Thailand and raised in a refugee camp. My parents are from Burma/Myanmar, which makes us a Burmese family. As a Burmese child who did not legally become a Thai citizen according to Thai law even though, I was born in Thailand. Also, I did not have Burma/Myanmar citizenship because I was not born in Burma/Myanmar. Legally speaking, I do not have a country until this. Now, I can say I am a Burmese Canadian proudly. Becoming a Canadian citizen will fill the tiny hole in my chest next time I get asked. I think this is why it is important to me to be a Canadian Citizen.
She was only a young teen when she took refuge in Egypt, and an apprehensive older teen when she became a landed refugee in Canada. She came alone and doesn’t speak about her family. Her struggle to adjust to a strange culture, learn English, gain her grade 12 High School certificate, and find employment to pay her rent has been all consuming. The loss of family is often overwhelming; her trust in God is her source of hope. She has been supported during her journey by the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada and Toronto. This beautiful young and enthusiastic woman had one goal: becoming a Canadian Citizen.
Her dream came true on Valentine’s Day when she took the oath of allegiance along with 49 other enthusiastic and excited newcomers. Her excitement was infectious and her joy complete at least for that occasion. She now has her sights on becoming an airline hostess. Good luck Addis you deserve it.
-Sister Ann Marshall, csj
When I was an undergraduate student of history, I studied the bedrock institutions of our democratic governments in Canada, Europe, the United States and elsewhere. I had great hope in the creation of the United Nations and was young enough and untested enough to believe that they would last and although not perfect, they were strong enough to meet the challenges of days ahead.
Many years later, we are living through a seismic shift of populist nationalism – in the United States and in many European countries. Even here in Canada, we are not immune to the anti-immigrant rage. The conversations are changing and not in a way that is good. It may be the result that we think we are affluent enough that we can put up walls of protectionism closing doors, building walls and turning us against each other. This is disturbing because that is not the bedrock of our democratic countries. The challenges of our global world touch every country. We need leaders to take us into global co-operation. After all, the future of our one home (our planet) is at stake.
Probably rooted in fear, we may want to turn away because we do not know how to address any perceived ensuring threat. However, I want to say that we should host more conversations that inspire each other to be inclusive, and practice our active citizenship and celebrate our collective diverse cultures. Our very lives and our future depends on it. None of us should opt out!
Sister Joan Atkinson, CSJ
Office for Systemic Justice
Most of the pictures we see, or we have in our mind’s eye, concerning homeless people are images of men. A search of much of the literature reporting on homelessness show pictures of homeless men. Does this mean that more men than women experience homelessness? Or are we missing something because of the way we tend to count homelessness?
Abe Oudshoorn, an Assistant Professor at the school of Nursing at Western University notes in a Blog for the Homeless Hub, that women may experience homelessness in different ways. For instance, women are less likely to be visibly present at services for people experiencing homelessness. Some of reasons for this might be because women are more likely to have children in their care and are worried to have them apprehended, or because they want to avoid men who have harmed them, or have other safety concerns. So just counting numbers who use these services does not give us a real picture of homelessness in our city.
Other research looked at this question by tracking those who enter the emergency department in Pennsylvania. They screened 4,395 patients on housing and gender. These were people needing some kind of medical attention. They hoped to get a more realistic picture of the population who were homeless. Their findings indicated (limited as the study was), of those who were homeless, 7.4% were male, 6.8% were female, with 0.07% identifying as transgender.
This is only a small sample, but it raises some important questions for us. Where do the studies on homelessness include the experience of women, and could other data, seek better solutions to assist women who are living such a precarious life. They too need support.
Joan Atkinson, CSJ, Office for Systemic Justice, Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada
