The Editor,
As Canada celebrated its 150th birthday on the weekend, thousands took part in citizenship ceremonies across the country.
Perhaps now is an appropriate time to reassess how we refer to Canadians who have chosen Canada to be their home. Specifically, rather than identifying them as just “Canadian,” we attach an onerous prefix: Indo-Canadian, Chinese-Canadian as Canadians, Filipino-Canadian, etc. While this dual label serves a purpose in identifying a person’s origin, it also erects a barrier and creates separation.
The citizenship process is intended to be a public declaration by an individual that they are, first and foremost, Canadian by renouncing their original citizenship, except for countries that allow dual citizenship. Even in dual citizenship cases, the person is not a hybrid citizen, they are still 100% Canadian.
When Canadians are referred to with prefixes, prominence is given to “Indo” or “Chinese” rather than to “Canadian.” In this regard, we have to give credit to our neighbours to the south. People there are referred as “American” and not as “Indo-American” or “Chinese-American.” If we wish to identify a person’s ethnicity, we can simply refer to them as “Canadian of Indian origin” or “Canadian of Chinese origin.”
After all, Canadians of European decent aren’t referred to as “Euro-Canadians.”
Perhaps it is time for politicians, the media and all of us to simply call people what they are: Canadian.
And thank you, Canada, for continuing to be a welcoming country to people all over the world.
Vasantha Aruliah,
Port Coquitlam
