It's a quite weekend on the board so I've posted this on the Off Topic Forum first and then felt many might want to read it on this forum that don't view the OT forum.

It says a lot of how the Canadian Society has been changed since the Second World War with the new mindset of immigrants (not all IMHO) that have entered our country. I have had experiences that have frustrated me as well. I think the point of the letter is this....If you want to live in Canada and want to partake in the Canadian way of life, which provides plenty of freedom to keep your own homeland's customs (don't forget we were all immigrants at one time or another) then you should be a Proud Canadian and nothing more. Live in Canada, where many lives were lost to keep our country strong, free and secure, then you respect our customs, even as you are permitted to implement and assimilate your own. Immigration adds a wonderful flavour to a country and adds to the braintrust available for the country to expand and prosper. Canada has enjoyed this development post WWII, but we must always remember those who fought so we could keep and develop this country to the level of world wide respect it has now. I am very proud to be Canadian. Everyone that lives here should also be feeling the same. With all of the debatable issues ongoing in the country they do not and must not ever take away from what this country is and represents. It is a country that accepts those who are intelligent and bring wealth, but it also cares and nurtures those who have lived lives no one should have to live. Our social security system may have its faults and many have abused it over time, but to me a child's chance to grow up in freedom, good health and prosper with a first class eduation system can never be downplayed by our nationals or newly landed immigrants and refugees. Every day I say a prayer that God will never change our land and will keep us protected. Some may think that corny...in these days I think it necessary. Please read this article and please wear your poppies. This Tuesday is Rememberance Day. Please remember to honour the moment of silence. If you cannot do it at your work...do it at home with your family. Do not think that becaue you are not born in this country that you should not or not feel compelled to respect those who offered the ultimate sacrifice so that you and your families can be enjoying a better life here. We are all brothers and sisters under the same flag. Be proud of your new homes and be proud of your heritage from where ever you have immigrated from. God Bless us all and our great land.

Mustangman

A Letter to the Editor

So many letter writers have explained how this land is made up of immigrants. May be we should turn to our history books and point out to people why today's Canadian is not willing to accept the new kind of immigrant any longer.

Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of Europe to come to Canada, people had to get off a ship and stand in a long line in Halifax and be documented. Some would even get down on their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning English a primary rule in their new Canadian households and some even changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate into one culture.

Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare, no labour laws to protect them. All they had were the skills, craftsmanship and desire they had brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. Canadians fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Ireland, France, China, Czechoslovakia, Scotland, England, Russia,

Sweden, Poland and so many other places. None of these first generation Canadians ever gave any thought about what country their parents
had come from. They were Canadians fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of Japan. They were defending the Freedom as one people. When we liberated France, no-one in those villages was looking for the Ukrainian-Canadian or the Swedish-Canadian or the Irish-Canadian. The people of France saw only Canadians.

And we carried one flag that represented our country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would have been a disgrace to their parents who had sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to be a Canadian. They stirred the melting pot into one red and white bowl.

And here we are in 2008 with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of rules, one that includes a Canadian passport and a guarantee of being faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being a Canadian is all about. Canadians have been very open-hearted and open- minded regarding immigrants, whether they were fleeing poverty, dictatorship, persecution, or whatever else makes us think of those aforementioned immigrants who truly did ADOPT our country, and our flag and our morals and our customs. And left their wars, hatred, and divisions behind. I believe that the immigrants who landed in Canada in the early 1900s deserve better than that for the toil, hard work and sacrifice those legally searching for a better life. I think they would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving foreign country flags, fighting
foreign battles on our soil, making Canadians change to suit their religions and cultures, and wanting to change our countries fabric by claiming discrimination when we do not give in to their demands.

Its about time we get real and stand up for our forefathers rights, we are CANADIAN Lest we forget it!!! I am a Native of this Country & proud of it!

NO MORE POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
NO MORE not saying CHRISTMAS in stores and our schools,
Seasonal Holiday be dammed!!!

I Want my Canada of birth BACK !!!

P. S. -- Please pass this on to everyone you know!!!
KEEP THIS LETTER MOVING!!

Hope this letter is read by millions of people all across Canada!!