July 9: ‘I arrived in Canada in 2016 … yet I’ve never felt welcome.’ When does a new country feel like home to immigrants?
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Douglas Cornish
I arrived in Canada in 2016 and became a citizen last year. My experiences were positive, yet I’ve never felt welcome. The reason can be found in the same edition’s editorial, which rightfully laments that “we’ll build more housing, eventually.”
I live in a one-bedroom apartment in a wealthy Toronto neighbourhood, where people put signs on their lawns that say “no human is illegal” and “hate has no home here.” Yet those same homeowners go up in flames at any suggestion of building more houses. Unobstructed views of a beloved maple tree take precedence over my having a place to raise a family.
Not everything is bleak, however: A local homeowners group recently announced they were willing to accept four-storey buildings “close to highways.” So perhaps I’m welcome in Canada after all – just far away from them.
I. M. Starwell Toronto
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