What are the challenges and opportunities facing societies
Sergio Marchi
Minister of Environment, Canada


Good morning.
It is a great pleasure to be with you today as you begin an historic congress which can have ramifications for the future of us all.
You know, shortly before making my journey to Milan -- back here to the land of my ancestors -- I took my children for a walk in the fabled Laurentian mountains of Canada to look at the changing colours of the leaves. The green leaves of Summer had begun to disappear and the bright yellows and reds of Autumn had started to dot the hillside with a palette of colour.
But, on that Canadian Autumn day -- what took my attention were the great flocks of geese gathering to begin their migration. We waved good-bye to these great migrants of the sky, and I knew those geese would soon pass huge cities on their journey, pass through storm and hunters’ shot and slide past borders and checkpoints with a wingwave.
I told my children they were leaving just ahead of the returning snow and ice and because this environment could no longer nurture them.
Generations of Italians have been like those wild geese. Leaving an environment that would not or could not sustain them.
My parents were in that great wave of migration, and that is part of the perspective I would like to bring you today. I’m a Canadian. A Canadian by adoption.
I want to tell you about the wants, the needs, the hurts and above all the joy from a personal perspective. But I also bring you a perspective as a cabinet minister in Canada -- a nation built and maintained -- in good part -- by immigration.
Both these perspectives might be of interest as you -- both here at the Metropolis Conference and here in Italy where the process of becoming an immigrant receiving nation -- as opposed to an immigrant producing nation --has already begun. Italy is completing a great circle of history.
Immigration can bring an incredible loneliness, and it can also bring an incredible happiness and unimaginable success.
Immigrants know too well the sacrifices involved.
A late night anguished telephone call from "back home" is difficult to deal with. No longer can you walk down the village street to offer solace or comfort because you are now three airports and several time zones away from your old home.
Immigration can be a lonely leap into the darkness of the unknown.
That’s an immigrant’s perspective.
But as a citizen of Canada, I would suggest you might look at the lessons Canada has learned over the years and take note of what worked in our favour and what caused my country some problems and grief.
Immigration doesn’t always have to be a learn-as-you-go policy-making experience.
We need to share information and expertise, and we need to set common goals.
That is why the Government of Canada is so supportive of the Metropolis Project.
Everyone who has worked so hard to make this project, and this conference such a success should be commended.
Our work and the research that flows from it, will give us some of the important tools we will need to confront the challenges ahead.
We will answer some puzzling questions and perhaps equally important, it will identify questions which haven’t even been asked.
For me, there are three almost self-evident truths which define migration around our globe:

• It’s clear migration seldom begins as a positive initiative.
• It’s clear migration has become an almost exclusively urban movement.
• And it’s abundantly clear migration is an international phenomenon that goes begging for international solutions.

The despair factor of migration is far too often illustrated by television footage of hungry children and war-weary parents.
Right now, out of the nearly 125 million people on the move world-wide, about 27 million are refugees.
Which means there are roughly the same number of refugees in the world as there are residents in Canada.
There are many reasons fuelling this desire to migrate: You move because you have to, you leave because you need to find that dream of a better life for your family --or even simply to get food for an empty stomach.
In far too many parts of the world, people are being brutalised simply because of who their parents are or for their religious affiliation.
My second ‘self-evident truth’ is of course one of the main reasons we are gathered here: Cities. Urban centres are the key destination points for most migrants.
We are all too aware that migration is a predominantly urban phenomenon. Immigrants are flowing into Toronto, into Sydney, into Washington, into Milan.
In Canada, almost 30% of all immigrants to Canada settle in Toronto alone, while Vancouver receives 18 per cent and Montreal 10 per cent. That ‘s almost 60 per cent of all immigration to Canada in just three cities.
Comparable statistics apply to countries around the globe. This makes sense: cities are the primary areas of commerce.
As a result of this concentration of immigrants, the face of cities across the world is radically changing. This is certainly true of cities in my country. The UN recently recognized, for instance, that Toronto is the most ethnically diverse city in the world.
The influx of new people, new ideas and new cultures has had an overall positive effect on Canada’s cities.
Toronto has become an international centre for business, education and the arts. There are over 2,000 so-called ethnic restaurants in Toronto and the city was just named by a U.S. magazine as the No. One international city in which to live and work.
Southern British Columbia is undergoing an economic renaissance thanks to the large inject of capital which Asian immigrants are bringing to the region. When you look at the Vancouver city-scape you’re struck by the sheer number of construction cranes at work.
But, of course, urban pressures are not all positive. The environmental footprint of the world’s cities is often deep and harsh as compared to the lighter footprint of our towns and villages.
The time may well be here when immigration policy should act as a traffic warden -- using incentives instead of whistles and flashing lights -- to direct newcomers away from the centres of intense urban pressure.
The last self-evident truth concerns the international aspects of migration. This must be stressed time and time again to our respective governments.
The days are long gone when any country had the luxury of pretending it could go it alone in international affairs. You can no longer pretend that what happens in far off corners of the world doesn’t affect you. It does.
In the 1920s a Canadian diplomat at the League of Nations suggested that Canada was a "fireproof house, far away from flammable materials".
He was arguing against Canadian involvement in European affairs, suggesting that what happened in Paris or Berlin was of no interest to Quebec City or Ottawa.
The events of the 1930s and 40s showed how false this was. And the fact that today Canada has peacekeepers sprinkled around the globe just underscores the fact that our world is simply one big tent -- and it is not fireproof.
We need only look to the flames of Bosnia and the barbed wire of Cyprus for confirmation.
Travel that used to take weeks now takes days -- travel that used to take days now takes a few hours.
This has brought incredible opportunities to us all. It has also brought considerable challenges.
The mass migration of people is one of the most critical issues facing the international community today. And, it is an issue which will have sweeping and profound repercussions on public policy for generations to come.
All industrialized nations are feeling the pressure of this massive movement of people. Western Europe is now a primary global immigration focus. Several European countries -- such as Germany -- are currently receiving more legal and illegal migrants than the combined flow to traditional immigrant-receiving countries like Canada and Australia.
Western Europe plays the dual role as both a magnet for migration and "transit" zone for irregular migration to North America.
It is clear that these trends will continue to gather force over the next decade. Emigration pressures from old and new Third World sources are growing rather than decreasing.
Population growth is continuing unabated in many parts of the developing world. It is expected that within the next thirty years, for instance, the population of Nigeria alone may be more than that of Western and Northern Europe combined.
Let me stress again -- none of us have the luxury of formulating independent responsive immigration policies anymore The social and political environment is changing too fast for that.
Together --we need to anticipate the problems of the future and prepare for them today with policies and methodologies that interlock like paving stones.
The world needs to hold hands on this issue because often immigrants are fuelled by desperation and are prepared to take any risk.
They cram themselves into squalid tanker ships. They hide in cargo containers. They risk their lives -- and far too often the risk ends in tragedy.
Smugglers who traffic in shattered dreams and lost souls feed like carrion birds on this desperate tide of humanity.
We can’t allow this to continue unchecked.
We should never allow the criminal few to distort the world’s vision of the honest many.
Our world and its people are in motion like a mighty river, swollen in flood. Dams don’t stop it, dikes only leak. However-- well anchored bridges can be the answer.
Canada has almost two centuries of building bridges for newcomers.
In Canada, over the march of our history, we know what works when it comes to immigration -- and perhaps even more important to your discussions, we know what doesn’t work. For us it has been a process of continuing experiment and education that continues to this very day.
At the core of Canada’s immigration experience are four central forces at play:

1. Integration
2. jobs and economic opportunities,
3. cultural insecurities,
4. political expression.

Integration

We have learned that simply jettisoning newcomers into a new community with a handshake and a few kind words is a recipe for estrangement, family breakdown, social costs and unemployment. It doesn’t work well.
Instead, we know that by putting money and effort into settlement at the front end of the process the savings at the backend in health, emotional stability, productivity and jobs is almost incalculable.
When my father brought our family to Canada, language training was not available -- and I can tell you his transition into the tool and die industry would have been much easier with language training.
Canada’s spends about $25O-million each year on the early integration of immigrants --and even this may not be enough. This includes training in such important skills as language, employment assistance and basic orientation to the new community.
Our settlement programs should not be seen as a handout but rather a hand up for the newly arrived.
The ultimate integration policy is a progressive citizenship policy. Newcomers to Canada can become citizens within three years -- a much shorter period than in many European countries. Not too long ago Canada had a five year waiting period, but we concluded a shorter time frame was to everyone’s advantage.
Over 85 per cent of our newcomers become citizens, which helps them quickly become active, participating members of Canadian society.
If there is any advice I can offer in this area, it is to suggest is that we should always, always push for full entry and participation in society.
By doing so, you help avoid making the newcomer an orbiting satellite that is forever at the outer limits of your society.
Both the immigrant and the receiving country profit immeasurably by a system which helps avoid stratification and making the newcomer an outsider. By failing to do so a nation runs the risk of unleashing social demons.

Jobs and the Economic Opportunities

We know that economic fears of the immigrant over starting a new life are often matched by those born in the receiving country about losing their job to the newcomer.
If myths and fears are left unanswered they can lead to a bubbling brew of racism, focused anger and economic malaise.
We strive mightily to replace the myth with reality.
Business immigrants to Canada, for example, invested about $2 billion in my country last year. The independent/skilled class of immigrants helped Canada quickly fill jobs needing special skills for the new economy. Quite often those jobs would have gone unfilled but for skilled immigrants with the necessary training and aptitude.
In Canada, I can point to a classic example of positive immigration and settlement. Thousands upon thousands of the so-called Vietnamese boat people came to Canada -- often with only the clothes on their back..
They braved hostile seas, pirates -- violence and fear most of can only imagine --and landed in a country with a climate nothing like the homeland they left behind.
Did they survive? Absolutely. Not only did the survive but they prospered and in doing so helped their adopted country prosper as well!
A 10-year study of about 1,500 people --independent of government --showed less dependence on welfare, more jobs created, more businesses begun --than by a comparable group of native-born Canadians. One in four now own a business and nine out of 10 became Canadian citizens.
It is clear that by selecting immigrants who fit into our growing economic needs we found that -- usually -- they make as much if not more money and pay as much if not more taxes than the average citizen who was born in Canada.
Immigration policy must be fluid and aware of the skills and tools necessary to make a successful landing in the new country and in the new economy.
Our Canadian immigration policies changed as we took into consideration the global economy, the changing domestic marketplace as well as the individuals language skills and experience.

Newcomers come to Canada by a wide variety of government-sanctioned pathways -- student visas, family class, independent class, business immigrants, refugees and visitors.
For instance, the most recent data I have seen indicates the business class of immigrant to Canada has increased by 15 per cent.
They bring us an expertise in international trade that is a ready-made bridge to the world in terms of customs, language and geography.
Right now there are Canadian business people of Italian heritage fanning out across Italy doing business in your language with a knowledge of your customs, striking deals that will mean economic benefits for both our nations.

And, at the same time, helps us beat our competition.

Immigrants -- despite some rabid mythmaking by those who would return to 19th century thinking -- have shown through the sweep of Canadian history that they create jobs, fill job gaps, create consumer demands and bring wealth to our economy.

Cultural Insecurities

The challenge of cultural insecurity by the receiving nations can quickly lead to dangerous attitudes. In fact, these attitudes can be more threatening - and harmful in the long-term -- than the traditional economic insecurities which met the new arrival. If left unchecked and unanswered these cultural insecurities can permeate our business world, our sporting events and even the way children play in the school yard!
No longer do immigrants look ‘just like us’, nor do they eat the same foods or believe in the same God.
When I was Minister of Immigration, I would often encounter people who would ask me about recent arrivals: "Are they Canadian?" in a similar sense, the debate in this country over the selection of a new miss Italy echoed questions and a refrain we hear in Canada.
People want to know who is the majority and who is the minority?
That fear of the unknown, that dread of the different, that insecurity that tries to build walls around those with different languages, dress, customs or religion must be addressed. It must be addressed in our cities, but also our villages, our towns, our nations and our globe.
I believe -- without reservation --that multiculturalism is one answer to those doubts, fears and dreads. That’s why Canada has worked hard to build a multicultural society with the underpinnings based on tolerance and respect.
It goes without saying that any such policy -- especially a policy that advocates a change in the way people think -- is not without critics.
Of course, to the critics of multiculturalism, the questions need to be asked: "Where would we be today without such a policy of multiculturalism?
"Where would we be in terms of race relations? In terms of conducting business around the globe?"
I think the answer is obvious.
But despite the criticism, despite the worries Canada has seen major progress in the acceptance of multiculturalism. Our government polling shows most Canadians --72 per cent -- believe multiculturalism enriches Canada. And more than 60 per cent believe multicultural policies help foreign trade and international relations.
The last Canadian census recorded 150 languages spoken within our country.
We have found new cultures bring new perspectives and new ideas and a fresh dynamic to our country.
Canadians understand that multiculturalisrn goes well beyond songs and dances from foreign lands. It’s very basis is tolerance and mutual understanding.
This is a policy that has been part of our national government since 1971 and it has become a living, breathing part of our national life. So much so, that multiculturalism is now the official policy of many provincial and municipal governments!
Canada is now a treasure storehouse of cultures. These riches are a key to foreign policy objectives, as well as a fundamental advantage as we penetrate new markets and form new trade alliances.
Multiculturalism does open doors. After all, I am a Canadian cabinet Minister, born in Argentina to Italian parents, capable of speaking to Italians in their native tongue.
There are -- even as we meet here today -- second and third generation Hungarian-Canadians and Polish-Canadians in Europe doing business, largely because they speak a language that is neither of our official languages and they understand a culture that is not Canadian. The economic transactions they make today will benefit both countries -- and those transactions were nurtured by Canada’s belief in multiculturalism. To me, it is clear, multiculturalisrn is the wave of the future, and it is a policy in which we need to invest in even more. is policy that fits like hand into a glove with immigration policy.
But is also far, far more -- it is a connection to our world. And, I certainly don’t have to tell this audience that our world is no longer a collection of exotic, faraway lands. Our world gets smaller by the hour. Also, it has to be said, those country’s that foster and nurture multiculturalism get bigger in terms of shrinking world. The dividends multiculturalism can pay to everyone are incredible: Peace, understanding, mutual respect.

Political Expression

Today, Canada’s House of Parliament can be described as multicultural. From where I sit, I can talk to Members whose origins were in Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and South America. And every last one of them is an Of course it wasn’t always that way. The traditional rnakeup of Canada’s House of Commons has been a split between those of English and those of French heritage.
No longer is that the case. As the world changed, as the country changed --so did we. At this moment, the largest grouping after those of English and French heritage are the Italians. Those of us whose ancestors came from the Mediterranean are a vital -- and you may be surprised to hear this -- and a boisterous, argumentative component of Canada’s democratic process.
Traditionally politics is the hardest butternut on the tree for immigrants to crack. But let me suggest to you that it is essential to the immigrant’s success --as well as an investment in the nation’s future.
Understandably, involvement in the political system is something that’s not usually too high on an immigrant’s list of things to do. They have to deal with the more immediate problems of shelter, food and education for their families.
But after those essentials are under control it is through political expression ---working for candidates, becoming a candidate -- that an immigrant can signify that he or she has truly arrived. Why? Because now they are part of the system and are helping make it work.
But of course, for the newcomer, getting elected can bring its own set of problems. The struggle certainly isn’t over.
Because success as a politician can also marginalize the newcomer. I can remember talking to a prospective voter during the last election and he told me he wanted to vote for my party but she couldn’t vote for me.
"You’ll only represent the Italians," he told me. So, you see, you can also be marginalized in politics.
By the way, the man did vote for me --I think. But only after I explained quietly but at some length that my goal was to represent the Asian community, the English community, the African community -- the entire constituency which included the Italian neighbourhoods.
The last thing an immigrant politician -- or the community -- he or she represents wants to be, is a token or a cultural nod to ethnicity. He can’t let the political party send him or her only to ethnic rallies, Italian coffee shops or cultural centres.
Politics is not the place to train a ‘series B’ player. The newcomer has to join the first rank. They must be a ‘series A’ player. Only when that happens will the country be seen as playing in the big leagues.

Conclusion

So when you put it all together does an immigration policy work for Canada? Our history of growth and acceptance of newcomers since even before the Second World War is proof of its success.
But, of course I’m biased, partisan and a staunchly proud Canadian --so don’t ask me. But maybe you could ask the United Nations who -- for two years running -- has said Canada is the best country in the world to live.
That my parents made the most of their opportunities after two other countries failed them is not just their success. That their son was elected as a member of parliament and appointed minister of the process that brought them to Canada isn’t just his success. In Canada, we sometimes forget this storyline.
It is Canada’s success. It is all a testimony to the story which is Canada. In Canada you can share the benefits and the burdens. You can become part of an ever widening circle of opportunity.
If there is one thought that I would leave with you, it is this: In part, Canada has succeeded because of Immigrants not in spite of Immigrants.
Opponents of immigration may call immigrants losers and rejects. They say they couldn’t make it at home so they drifted on to another land to try their luck.
Let me tell you, in Canada it was those so-called losers, those so-called rejects --who have helped us build a nation.
It wasn’t losers who broke sod on the Canadian Prairie. It wasn’t losers who built our subways and our skyscrapers.
It wasn’t rejects whose paintings grace our national art gallery and won international awards in science and medicine.
Canada chose to make room for immigrants and in doing so made the nation a better, stronger society.
The World should make room for immigrants -- and when we do --the world will be a better and healthier place than we have ever known.

Thank you.