JOHN TWIGG: And then there are the single-issue zealots, such as extremist environmentalists and various gender identities, who also can and do influence political outcomes.

Today we have a guest commentary from long-time political activist, John Twigg.  It came about after John Feldsted’s recent post entitled, “Diversity Wars” part #1 and #2 (CLICK HERE) .  As always, please take a moment to let us know your thoughts, by adding them to the Comments Section below.  Now, here’s John Twigg;

It probably would be prudent for me to say nothing about this very sensitive topic, namely multiculturalism and partisan electoral politics.  However, because the issue is so important (not merely in my own opinion, it's evident from the Feldsted column, the daily news [e.g. Danforth] and from many other indicators) ... I WILL add my say.

First, I respect and welcome the diverse cultures that have made new homes for themselves in Canada; over the decades I have been friends and friendly with people from many of them. But that said, it should be more obvious to more people, that ethnic and cultural factors are now too often more problematic than they should be to the common weal (ESL people are welcome to look up the meaning).


Unfortunately, there are many examples au courant, such as a handful of B.C. Legislature seats in Surrey that have a predominance of Indo-Canadian voters, now determining the issue of ride-share (in which B.C. now is noticeably retrograde).

Similarly, there is a crisis in Vancouver real estate that is widely seen to have been distorted by foreign investors, mainly from mainland China, and some reportedly involving criminal money-laundering, and which / whom now are the dominant voting bloc in Richmond (where English has disappeared from merchant signage, and the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) has been trod underfoot of mansions serving as illegal B & Bs, etc.).

Do you need more examples? I could go on, as probably could most readers, and yes, it IS a two-way street, such as the great positive contributions to the early B.C. by many non-anglophone foreigners, especially Chinese, Japanese and South Asians.

B.C.'s First Nations also deserve special recognition in the context, but their issues are diverse, intricate, complex and difficult to resolve with a few pen-strokes, but I will add this: I support the treaty negotiations process and believe it should be accelerated.  The problem is that the feds, under B.C.'s Terms of Union, are primarily responsible for paying that bill and regrettably they've long been unwilling to do so. Why? Partly because there are few seats in Parliament that pivot around First-Nation votes, and partly because the feds would rather spend money in riding's that CAN be bought.

I and many others could on at length about similar situations involving Jews, Muslims, Catholics, and yes also Anglo's whose investments in entities like the Hudson's Bay Company have controlled Canadian politics forever.

Should we consider the small clique of very wealthy, who buy and sell whole parties, also part of the multicultural problem? Maybe so, and if so, we could add the counter-balance of organized labour who also buy and sell political puppets.

And then there are the single-issue zealots, such as extremist environmentalists and various gender identities, who also can and do influence political outcomes. They may not be "cultural" in the minds of academics who see only ethnic and racial divides but they certainly do have sway in our politics.

So, what is to be done? Can we somehow learn to downplay multiculturalism now that that genie is out of the box? And if so, should we even try?

In my opinion part of the solution is for people of different ethnicities, cultures, and orientations etc. to better realize that they owe a debt to the larger community, provinces and nations; to try to act politically in ways that are more beneficial to the overall population, rather than to their own selves.

I heard that in the old days of Nova Scotia politics, that the job of local postmaster would change every time there was a change in government, and sadly not much has changed since then. The ethos is still, "Vote for me and I'll pay you back somehow with taxpayer dollars", and that applies everywhere to everyone but especially so among some minority immigrants coming from nations where "backsheesh" is endemic.

And then there are gender quotas in cabinets, and rainbow coalitions in caucuses. 

It is now "the Canadian way", which is not all bad, but largely things could be done better, if more effort was made to make moves that benefit the general public, rather than the cabal of minorities.