Either sa国际传媒 is a beacon of democracy and freedom, or it isn鈥檛. And since we know that it is, then the federal government absolutely reserves the right to tell immigrants in no uncertain terms how things are done in this democracy, and what sort of practices, which might have been acceptable in the old country, are taboo here.
Kudos to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney for sticking to his guns and ensuring that the federal guide for would-be immigrants uses strong language to let those who want to move to sa国际传媒 know the customs that are alien to democracy and won鈥檛 be tolerated.
The booklet is entitled Welcome to sa国际传媒: What You Should Know. And what you, if you want to move here, should know is that 鈥渂arbaric cultural practices鈥� are not tolerated here. These include female circumcision and honour killings.
Under the heading 鈥淓quality of women and men,鈥� the guide states: 鈥渟a国际传媒鈥檚 openness and generosity do not extend to barbaric cultural practices that tolerate spousal abuse, honour killings, female genital mutilation, forced marriage or other gender-based violence. Those guilty of these crimes are severely punished under sa国际传媒鈥檚 criminal laws.鈥�
The issue is referred to again in the section entitled 鈥淔amily law,鈥� which states: 鈥淚n addition, female genital mutilation and honour-based crimes are considered barbarous in sa国际传媒 and are not tolerated.鈥�
The barbaric practices of forced marriage and polygamy are also elaborated upon.
Under the heading 鈥淧olice,鈥� the guide refers obliquely to another unwelcome cultural practice: 鈥淚t is a serious crime to try to bribe the police by offering money, gifts or services in exchange for special treatment.鈥�
The wording about gender-based crimes created a furor in March 2011 when it was used in Discover sa国际传媒, a new edition of the citizenship guide. At that time, Liberal MP Justin Trudeau objected to the word 鈥渂arbaric,鈥� saying that language in a government booklet should strive for 鈥渞esponsible neutrality.鈥� He later apologized and clarified his remarks, saying he got tangled in 鈥渟emantic weeds鈥� and that the cultural practices the guide highlighted were indeed barbaric and heinous.
This time around, NDP MP and immigration critic Jinny Sims objects to the guide鈥檚 mention of barbaric cultural practices because they might 鈥渟tigmatize some cultures.鈥�
I鈥檓 not sure why it鈥檚 assumed that criticism of certain practices implies a blanket condemnation of the entire culture. But any culture that inflicts such oppressive practices on its female members deserves to be told by the free world that those practices are reprehensible and should be outlawed. There鈥檚 zero reason to pussyfoot around when it comes to speaking out against atrocities.
It doesn鈥檛 mean the entire culture is reprehensible.
Otherwise, one could say that since hockey is a rite of Canadian culture, then the fact that there are fights in hockey means Canadian culture is defined solely by brawls on ice.
It鈥檚 interesting how women鈥檚 equality takes a back seat to concerns over multicultural offence in these cases.
When she frets about cultures being stigmatized, Sims leaves the impression that the basic human rights of women in those cultures are less important than the need to avoid hurting the feelings of members of those cultures who engage in these human-rights violations. That鈥檚 such a cop-out because it sacrifices those women, whose rights are being trampled, on the altar of western political correctness. That鈥檚 not a fate they ever deserve after all they鈥檝e suffered in their home countries.
Besides, what are we afraid of 鈥� that people from these cultures will be so offended by our stance that they won鈥檛 come to sa国际传媒? If they are so wedded to these brutal practices that they intend to continue carrying them out when they get to sa国际传媒, it鈥檚 no great loss if they change their minds about immigrating.
