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CHECK OUT OAKVILLE'S LOUDEST DEMO VEHICLE, THE “PQRPLE POUNDER” (Continued from page 15) Richard, a brewmaster. had been chosen to work with the Upper Canada Brewing Company, That, coupled with the recession-hit econ- omy of England which, according to Rench, was much worse than Canada's, prompted the family to pull up stakes and set out for a new land. Family adopts Canada as their new homeland MOTOROLA Af6%6nLPiNE SEN TREK Nenty-eight years before MISSISSAUGA, ONT. uc 4P9 897-5997 " .llllllrilEtlrrlilBllltItlililllItlrtittI tll) PIONEER‘ MITSUBISHI father had done the same thing. At that time, he had left Trinidad and taken his family to England where he believed greater opportunities for his children existed. Rench eventu- ally became a chemist with the brewing company where her British husband-to-be worked. As landed immigrants, the Rench family came into Canada through Niagara Falls. N.Y. and had to wait I'HE OAKVILLE BEAVER Citizenship not taken for granted “I don't know what the man i doingbutithinkhehasabusines of his own." he ended. Visitors from the community told them about their struggles to become Canadian citizens. In one instance. an Iranian "ran away" hum his country when the govern- ment "wanted him to publish good things about it." said one student. "He had to stay four years in the Persian Gulf because he didn't have "I was really stunned when the Highland piper piped all the digni- taries in," she said. "I really didn't expect it." Well. how does Canada stack up, (Continued trom page 15) "Canadians have more rights and privileges than those in other coun- tries," they concluded. "They have better education and living bene- fits." three years before applying for their citizenship papers. Then, in March, they attended a hearing in Toronto where their papers were reviewed and where they were grilled on the history, geography and government of Canada. "Even though we had text books, some of the questions the judge asked were quite difficult," said Rench. "When I later asked some people (Canadians) those same questions, they couldn't answer some of them." Rench, who became invovled in her son's school in England and who had taken early childhood training courses there, continued in the same vein in Canada. She found herself doing "full-time" volunteer work at W.H. Morden School which her children attended and eventually became an instructional assistant at EJ. James School. For weeks, she said EJ. James students had been gearing up for the Citizenship Court at their school. But the big day took even Rench by surprise. Thi ndim c man's Wm use. his dun om Oakvil :hool and hi TEACHING ASSISTANT ROCKFORD FOSGATE R6DEK m en he however. has a happy rding to the student. , became a registered ughter is graduating He Trafalgar High N2 inalle ob in a bur inn M116 nt " eh? Well, the Rench family is apparently so comfortable with their new home that they give the impression they've been here forev- She also asked them to think realistically about the future and its rapid economic changes, when large governments will be extinct and small business entrepreneurs - especially those dedicated to infor- mation management and services - will have the best chance to suc- ceed. For this, however, they will need excellent interpersonal and problem-solving skills, she said. Above all, she appealed to them To build strong and harmonious communities, Stewart urged stu- dents to do volunteer work in their free time. By becoming leaders, they can help keep their communi- ties on an even keel, something politicians and governments are unable to do. "For example, some minority groups prefer to fight each other when they should be uniting against a common enemy," she said. "And sometimes a weak community will suspect a stronger community that wants to help it." Unfortunately, the roots of this racism are so deep that it is often difficult to dig them out to examine their origins in some cases. They become entangled and unprecise. She said systemic racism thrives in stereotypes put forward by the media and advertising but it is also evident in the curricula of schools, in courts of law and in the work- place. Systemic racism can kill a student's academic potential and leave people in deadend careers. In her talk, Stewart focussed on patterns of racism rather than spe- cific instances of it, although she confessed her Trinidadian upbring- ing left her open to personal racist experiences at times. This pattern of racism that derides anyone who is "different" is known as "systemic racism" and stamping it out in Ontario is what Stewart's job is all about. Students told racism is hate propaganda This is doubly important in a country whose very fibre is is rapidly changing. In 2001, she said studies have shown that the Canadian workplace will no longer more women, natives, racial minori- ties and more disabled persons will be working. be composed largely of white, able- bodied males. Equity programs, already launched, will assure that By BARB JOY Oakville Beaver Staff ast Thursday was a special il day at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. It was a day for students to learn about equality. racism and self-esteem in an all-day conference with the theme: “Togethemess is Strength." The day began with an assembly in the auditorium where 725 stu- dents gathered to hear a keynote speaker, Anne Marie Stewart of the Ontario Anti-Racism Secretariat. Confessing she was a little intimidated by speaking in front of so many students, Stewart went on to say that such an assembly afford- ed her the best chance to reach so many young people at once. For it is this generation who carry the torch of anti-racism into the future. she said. She exhorted the students to fight racism at every turn by rejecting the hate propagan- da of the white supremacists groups and by refusing to tolerate racist jokes, name-calling. racial slurs and graffiti. MOSAIC OF CULTURE Stewart stressed the importance of recognizing the mosaic of cul- tures that make up Canada. To live comfortably together. she said dif- ferences must be respected and accepted much more than they are today. blacks." she said. "Hate propaganda demeans everybody and diminishes all of us. We fail our duty when we don't speak out or take action against it “I urge you to say 'no' to people like Philip Rushton who says blacks are naturally dumb. I want you to say 'no' to hate propaganda against groups such as the Jews and Other people think we're so set Anne-Marie Stewart of the Ontario Anti-Racism Secretariat spoke at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School. SYSTEMIC RACISM Rather, noting that the instiga is upset and setting aside some ti to talk about his concerns might a better way of resolving rac problems, he said. Another met is to seek help from parents, pri pal or chaplain. "You shouldn't walk away leave it alone; you should t action," he said. "People today are much m sensitive but racism is still obliterated and we have to keep fighting it." tled because we've been all over Ontario and visited Quebec and the east coast, something a lot of people who are born here don't do," she said. "l feel as though I'm on holi- days in Canada." Although Di Ianni confessed hit back on a couple of occasit when he confronted racism (agai himself) in his younger days, didn't really recommend it a: solution. "I can now look back on it wartime propaganda but at 17 was saying a lot about my parei and background that I didn't w to hear," he said. But the most devastating expe ence came about in a history cla when the 17-year-old Diubalt came across a text book carto taken from a British magazine p lished during World War II. showed knife-carrying Italia (Italy was on Germany's si sneaking up on a personified Fr with the words: Don't stab unl the victim's back is turned. Nor were some members of" police force exempt from intol, ance and racism. In one instance, said, a policeman asked his fath whose English was poor, ht. "someone like you" could afford be driving a new car. said Joe Diubaldo, principal of cor) tinuing education at the Halto Separate School Board, was sitti in on the class. He also noted h early experiences in discriminati and intolerance. He said that the were areas in Hamilton whe minorities were not allowed to li and that exclusion clauses we written into property deeds. Name-calling was common Italians were "WOPS" (Di Iann wrote it as "WHOPS") which, h explained, is derived from th Italian "guappo" meaning dapper meaning a good looking and well dressed person. 1 "However, it's not the word 5: much as the (hurtful) intention _ it," he said. (1 EARLY DISCRIMINATION to picture Ontario in 2001 as an open and inclusive society where all peoples are accepted and no dis- crimination remains. Even ethnic foods were not tol erated. Italians were derided a: "spaghetti eaters" and only oni restaurant in Hamilton served th dish at that time. (It was swampr% with customers.) "We can become a society where little children are valued regardless of their culture, color or race," she said. We can become a society that is enriched by its diversity." - ITALIAN 'S STORY Following the assembly, Grade II students attended workshops of their choice, featuring speakers or dramatic skits, all focussing on the theme. He was 14 when he and his par-i ems set foot in Canada, he said. At that time no English as a Secon Language program existed so h learned the new language the har way - by speaking and reading i in the classroom. In the workshop attended by this reporter, Angelo Di lanai, superin- tendent of program services with the Halton Roman Catholic School Board, told students about his expe- riences as an Italian immigrant growing up in Hamilton. He recalled one Christmas sea. son when students wrote snow greetings on the classroom wind dows in their own languages an the principal ordered them all o except those written in English. I "lt was not a welcoming situs tion," he said. "The worst thing wa the intolerance and lack of cultura understanding that prevailed." "The message was clear," April 1993