A Critique of 'Canada's Elections and Political Meaninglessness'

Recently, an article by Ramin Jahanbegloo, a philosophy professor in Canada, titled 'Canada's Elections and Political Meaninglessness' was published on Radio Farda's website. Mohammad Rezaei Nia, a Canadian citizen currently pursuing a postdoctoral degree in mechanical engineering in Canada, has written a critique of this article as follows: The process of obtaining citizenship from the Canadian government is a long and convoluted one. It is entirely possible for an immigrant to have lived in Canada for 10 years and still not have received citizenship. This lengthy and sometimes tedious process can create the illusion among immigrants that citizenship is a reward for all their efforts; as if they have entered the promised land and all conditions should be prepared for their comfort and peace. What is easily forgotten is the philosophy that has led Canada (and similar countries) to accept immigrants: the need for skilled labor. Skilled labor does not only contribute to the economic wheel and economic progress; it brings its own culture, has social concerns, demands new needs, and overall transforms society. How successful Canada has been in anticipating and managing these needs, interests, and concerns is a lengthy story that is not the focus of this writing. The question here is how familiar these skilled immigrants are with this aspect of their role and the related responsibilities, and whether they pursue them. Do these skilled immigrants engage in society, feel a sense of belonging, show sensitivity to the interests and conditions of this country, or do they merely complain, without accepting responsibility, that the social, political, or economic conditions are not as they expected? Today's and tomorrow's Canada will not be built by 'white people,' but by 'us, the colored immigrants,' with our level of social responsibility, our sensitivity to civil institutions, and our pursuit of the rights of Canadian citizens (including both new and old immigrants and Indigenous Canadians). Specifically, the future of Iranians residing in Canada will also be shaped more than anything by questions such as: How much social responsibility exists? How much participation in grassroots organizations (at the national level) and volunteer work is taking place? How many social and political publications are released nationally, and to what extent do these publications concern the interests of Canadian citizens in general? Is 'Canadian identity' accepted on par with 'Iranian identity,' or is 'Canadian identity' always evaluated at a distance and not on the same level as 'Iranian identity'? And finally, to what extent is the barrier between 'us' and 'them' removed? Historically, the Canadian government had not distinguished between new immigrants and older citizens until the C-24 bill; even a term to differentiate these two groups of immigrants did not exist in Canadian political literature until a few weeks ago when Stephen Harper used the term 'Old-Stock Canadians' in his political debate. A brief search on the internet reveals the widespread reaction of Canadian citizens to both cases. This itself is more than anything evidence of how incorrect and far from reality the notion of racial polarization in Canada is. Let me recount my personal experience in the current elections. My doctoral studies were completed in the city of Kelowna, a small city in the eastern part of British Columbia in western Canada. This city is located in a relatively large conservative area of Canada, which includes most of the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and the eastern part of British Columbia, and is not unlike the Bible Belt in the United States. As expected (and confirmed by the results of the recent elections), the Conservative Party leaves little chance for the other parties (the victory of the NDP in the provincial elections in Alberta was specifically influenced by economic downturn and competition among three different conservative parties). The history of electing a Conservative representative in the city of Kelowna (Kelowna-Lake Country riding) has been continuous for about half a century. In this election cycle, an immigrant family, with exemplary seriousness and diligence, began political volunteer activities to create inter-party cooperation and succeeded in persuading the Green and Liberal parties to collaborate. I personally attended the annual meeting of the Green Party and witnessed how and under what tense conditions this cooperation was approved. The approval of this collaboration and the paving of future steps in the Green Party assembly was actually achieved with the votes of 'three immigrants.' The result of this family's efforts was ultimately the victory of a Liberal representative in this riding after half a century. If you refer to the election results, a small red dot has emerged in the vast blue area of the Conservative Party in eastern British Columbia. This small dot is the product of the voluntary efforts of a handful of immigrants, immigrants who, far from despair and useless complaints, entered the competition and accepted the intense tensions of political play and ultimately brought about 'change,' a change that can improve the lives of all Canadian citizens. In this context, the Liberal Party of Canada won in the parliamentary elections of this country, and two Iranian-Canadians were elected to the Canadian Parliament.