Beyond the numbers. The Unsung heroes!

The reports released last week by Statistics Canada shows the intensification of multiculturalism in Canada and the rate at which Canada is absorbing immigrants. The figures show that almost 22 percent of Canadians report being or having been an immigrant or a permanent resident. The figure is close to the highest one achieved at 22.3 percent way back in 1921 and its up from 19.8 per cent in 2006. The agency estimated that immigrants could represent up to 30 percent of all Canadians by 2036.

In addition 37.5 percent of Canadians under the age of 15 have a parent who is foreign-born. Toronto has emerged as the most diverse area in Canada. In Toronto City 51.5 percent of the population is reported tobe visible minority. The numbers are even higher in the 905 and 416 belt. In Mississauga, visible minorities’ form 57.2 percent of the population and in Brampton the number goes even higher to 73.3 percent and the figure goes to 90 percent in places like Markham and Scarborough’s Agincourt.  Many immigrants have made a name for themselves and have truly justified the tag that Canada is known as “the land of diversity”.  Immigrants have had a larger role to perform in all sectors, be in political, economic or social. When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet were sworn in it was called a cabinet “that looks like Canada”.  The cabinet included an equal number of male and female ministers, the inclusion of two ministers with disabilities, two aboriginal ministers, and Canada’s first Muslim minister.  Visible minorities find a good representation in provincial legislatures, city council, and school boards too. In Toronto City Council, 5 of the 45 members are from the visible minority, a good 11 percent; that may appear far below when compared with the percentage of visible minorities in Canada as highlighted by Statistics Canada, but it does reflect the class of integration that Canada has been able to tender and that the immigrants have been able to manage.  It would be difficult for the world to appreciate the contribution by the immigrants in Canada’s politics, because neither Elections Canada, nor the office of the house of common keeps data on the ethnic breakdown of members, but we all know they all have been there, starting from Ujjal Dosanjh to now Jagmeet Singh who seems poised to play even a bigger role.  Mark Saunders as the first black police chief of Toronto adds another feather in the cap of all immigrants. Amrik Singh Ahluwalia as the chair of Ontario’s Peel Police Services adds color and sense of pride for the community. And there are thousands of others who have made a mark and have got their due acknowledgement too. For that matter it would be even feasible to quantify the contribution of the immigrants in the expansion of Canada and maturity of democracy in the country.

However, there are others who have not hogged the limelight but have done wonders here in Canada and some for their country of origin and have rarely found a mention in the media. Some of them have done exceptional for the countries they hail from. One such recent endeavor speaks volumes of the diversity and the “connect back home”.  At a time when the policy makers and experts on pollution control have been grappling with the issue of managing straw in the farms in the area of Punjab and Haryana, help has come from the Indo-Canadians.

Punjabis settled here in GTA and Vancouver offered financial support to the farmers who are lending straw management equipment to small farmers without any cost. Most of the farmers are putting on fire the straw/stubble leading to extreme pollution as far as Delhi.  Two Samaritans Gurwinder Singh of Ahmadpur village near Sultanpur Lodhi and Amrik Singh Sandhu are providing the mulcher and mould board plough with his tractor free to the farmers who have less than five acres of land. Farmers only need to provide fuel for the tractor, and farmer also has the right to sell the bundles of straw to power plants. When the duo announced their offer on the Facebook, few NRIs contacted them and offered financial aid and with a request that small farmers should not be charged even for the fuel and Gurwinder and Amrik would be compensated for the same. The number of immigrants who have come forward to help their farmer brethren in India has now gone up to 25. This gesture has resulted in many other farmers in Punjab coming forward and joining the cause. The gesture by the expatriates is exemplary as the task at the ground is immense and the effect manifold in terms of curbing pollution. While the Haryana and Punjab governments have given up, stating that they don’t have enough resources to help the farmers and the option of burning the straw seemed to be only option with air quality set to suffer, a group of immigrants here in Canada who are lost amidst figures and numbers have risen to the occasion. The unsung heroes!

In an era where numbers are considered a yardstick for measuring performance, the yeoman act of few immigrants speaks volumes of their commitment to mankind, the will to make a difference in the life of others and to help the nation breathe fresh and clean air for years to come goes far beyond the accomplishment of any leadership. These unsung heroes are “that extra caring”, that no number would be able to state.