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Update: Hines has published an update about this Voice of the City submission on his own blog. For added context, we’ve added a relevant passage from that post below in italics. The rest of his original Voice submission follows.
“First of all, I wish to apologize to the Port Authority for potentially implying that it was they who were originally floating the idea of getting rid of the ethnic vendors in the market. I was only privy to hearsay from people in the know and the rumor that there was the intention to get rid of the ethnic vendors on the pretext that it was what the cruise ships wanted (they park their ships right up against the market). Who was behind that initiative was never disclosed during that meeting. —Sherwood Hines
A couple of years ago I was privy to a private consultation process (before it went to public consultations) whereby certain powers-that-be in control of the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market (and their supporters) floated the idea of getting rid of all the “ethnic” food vendors in the market–on the notion that cruise ship passengers come to Halifax to see (and purchase) “authentic Maritime culture”–and not to eat Ghanian peanut soup, Turkish borek or get some piping hot veggie samosas.
To say that we sat around the conference table a bit stunned at the idea, and its obvious racist/xenophobic overtones, would be an understatement.
I asked a colleague if they meant getting rid of everyone and leaving the space to the Mi’kmaq? (She kicked me under the table.)
But of course this is not what they meant. Did they mean Kraft Dinner and hot dogs then? (A favourite summer lunch down here.)
Preserving “authentic Maritime culture” is a term used a lot down here–both officially and unofficially–as the way to keep immigrants and come-from-aways out of the local economic, political and social power circles.
Now, the Farmers’ Market has come back with a new idea based on their “public” discussions and announced that all “ethnic” vendors will be moved off the busy main floor and relocated to the second floor before the busy summer season starts. They will be moved to where foot traffic is about 80 percent less than the main.
This will be the death knell for some–maybe most of the vendors. Which, I suppose, was the intent all along.
Three Halifax businesses have been fined in the last year for not serving blacks [Ed. customers of Bob’s Taxi and the Halifax Alehouse, employees of Leon’s]. (Wrap your head around that idea for a while…)
One of Canada’s national newspapers recently lamented the rampant racism that still exists throughout much of Nova Scotia. Government statistics note that 80 percent of new immigrants (and their money) leave the province within a year of arriving. [Ed. Hines has this backwards. The most recent stats say Nova Scotia has a 71 percent retention rate.]
It sometimes looks, smells, and walks like I moved to Georgia or Virginia when we came out here three years ago, but the days of a “whites only” province are numbered.
Either Nova Scotia realizes that immigrants and come-from-aways bring new money, global ideas, vibrant cultures, much needed jobs and new wealth creation for the province, or the province continues along its current path whereby it dies a slow and agonizing economic death.
That the decision to try and move the ethnic food vendors off the main floor of the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market has blatant undertones of racism is obvious to anyone who thinks about it for five minutes.
But there is also a second piece of chicken bone getting stuck in my throat about this whole issue.
At first I couldn’t put my hand on it, but then I realized what it was: the Halifax Port Authority (who is in charge of the Farmers’ Market) argues that the decision to move the non-white vendors upstairs comes out of “public consultations held in 2013″—implying as it does, that the process has been a fair and democratic one right from the beginning.
And that’s the bug-a-boo for me.
When “democratic process” is used to justify the marginalization of people. It’s the old “we are just doing what the people want” argument.
Which had me scrambling back to one of the most important books on democracy I have ever read: John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty, and his 19 Century examination of the dark side of democracy.
“The will of the people, practically means the will of the most numerous or the most active part of the people; the majority, or those who succeed in making themselves accepted as the majority; the people, consequently, may desire to oppress a part of their number; and precautions are as much needed against this as against any other abuse of power…this view of things…has had no difficulty in establishing itself; and in political speculations “the tyranny of the majority” is now generally included among the evils which society requires to be on its guard.
Society can and does execute its own mandates; and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with which it ought not meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many forms of political oppression…it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating more deeply into the details of life, enslaving the soul itself. Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of prevailing opinion and feeling; against the tendency of society to impose…its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those who dissent from them…there is a limit to the legitimate interference of collective opinion…and to find that limit, and maintain it against encroachment, it is indefensible to a good condition of human affairs, as protection against despotism.”
Bertrand Russell also wrote excessively on the fundamental notion that of the infinite desires of man, chief is the desire for power over the Other. Most especially when the Other is different—socially, economically, culturally.
“this impulse to power has two forms: explicit, in leaders; implicit, in their followers…the kind of mob the [leader] will desire is one given to emotion than to reflection, one filled with fears and consequent hatreds…that the best elements in human life are collective rather than individual…one of the advantages of democracy is that it makes the average citizen easier to deceive, since he regards the government as his government.”
That the Halifax Port Authority thinks itself vindicated in this situation merely because they held “public consultations” is thinly applied varnish to a pile of horse shit. It still smells like shit, and will continue to smell like horse shit, no matter how many applications they try to apply.
That they try to hide their marginalization of the Other behind the facade of a democratic process is a page right out of Stephen Harper’s playbook.
That it is a reactionary response to a globalizing process, whereby Canada and Nova Scotia will increasingly become a multicultural reality, is easy to understand. “White Canada” and those who want to maintain a white Canada are increasingly within the grasp of global historic powers that are far beyond their control.
We are in a century-long transition period whereby Canada (and the US) will move from being predominately white to being a multicultural flower garden.
We can begin to understand that we are all flowers in the same garden and work together to best till our collective soil, or, we can deteriorate into a poisonous, collective, reactionary white narcissism which ultimately leads to violence, authoritarianism and social collapse.
It’s still a democracy. It’s still our choice.
Related Stories
The Seaport Market’s inadvertent whitening
A response from the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market
This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2015.
The Seaport Farmers Market is one of the best things about Halifax, in LARGE PART due to the diversity and vibrancy of different cultures coming together to make something awesome. Our “Authentic Maritime Culture” is one that acknowledges that we’re a province of immigrants in a nation of immigrants.
Now they want to shove anyone who is serving anything other than fish and chips up to the top floor, out of sight out of mind. That includes all ethnic food, and basically, anyone who isn’t a white farmer or wine maker. It’s insulting not just to the people they’re shoving to the back of the bus, but to the locals who embrace diversity, and to visitors who wont get to see that there’s more to Nova Scotia than bumpkins and hicks.
Get it together, Halifax. This is embarrassing.
Sherwood – over 71 percent of immigrants stay after one year. Your statistic is incorrect. We have a very high retention rate.
On your main point, it is silly to “hide” the ethnic food purveyors. Nova Scotia is quickly becoming a haven for immigrants; that should be on display at the iconic Farmers’ Market.
If we want people to think “this is a place I may want to live/work/visit frequently” we are not going to get there by presenting a homogeneous, boring, fake tourism inspired “authenticity”. We are going to get there by being a sophisticated and diverse community that loves to showcase our cultural diversity. My Nova Scotia includes jerk chicken and Ghanian peanut soup. Maybe the food vendors should look to move back to the old Brewery Market, and we can accept that the market on the pier seems destined to become a craft market and soulless tourist destination.
We can’t blame all Bluenosers for this blatant act of racism. Many of us understand, that we are all originally immigrants. It is sad that some, especially those in positions of power, display a face the rest are to be portrayed with. I, very much, loved going to the Seaport Market, largely due to the large variety of available wares. Loved, being now, a past tense. I will not support hate, and/or racism. My family can be traced back to the 1750s in this province, and are to my knowledge, mostly white, but it’s always been my experience that colour is only skin deep, and you will find all across the spectrum an equal ratio of good, bad, racist, homophobic, sexist and stupid. I hope the stupid in power get the message.
So that means that the “ethnic” Cheelin Chinese food kitchen is being moved upstairs? The “ethnic” smoothie stall always has a black person working there so I guess its going to be moved upstairs. Food should be in a designated food area no matter the color of the cook.
Who are the certain “powers-that-be” behind this idiotic decision-making? It’s a nonsensical premise anyway, since the concept of a market means that “what people want” would be self-selecting — the businesses that serve what’s popular will succeed, and the ones people don’t want will disappear. This is just a cowardly and disgraceful display of xenophobia. Let’s hear who the racists are, and make them publicly defend their thinking.
Racism is NOT what is driving the changes at the market!! The Artisan vendors who were at the market two days or less were all forced to move upstairs last June. They have the same concerns as the food vendors, no traffic,no advertising, less visibility, elevators, loss of business, etc. Did anyone make a fuss about them being banished out of sight. They are mainly white.
What is at issue here is POOR MARKET MANAGEMENT right across the board. We want a vibrant mixed market with food vendors, artisans and farmers all coexisting together on the main floor. Just like markets around the world. The traffic from cross shopping will benefit all.
The market is a shadow of itself. The changes being rolled out as a result of the plan designed by an expensive American company are NOT working.
I am sad that these articles have been written without speaking to more people directly affected by the changes happening at the market. I spoke to one of the food vendors who told me that they were upset with the article and did not feel that the changes were racially motivated. Speak to all the food vendors! Speak to some of the artisans! Speak to the farmers!! Poor management is responsible.
Just more of The Coast’s typical sensationalism. I would research this further on your own before drawing any definite conclusions about what is true or not in this article. Racism is terrible and IF that’s what is at work here it should be stopped immediately…but the coast has a habit of embellishing and reporting incomplete facts, so all I’m saying is don’t simply accept this viewpoint as truth right away.
Why did you neglect to mention the “marginalization” of the artisans in your article? They were relocated to the mezzanine first. Perhaps the reasons for that move were not sensationalist enough to report!
…and what does Stephen Harper have to do with any of this? Why bring up Harper for any reason other than the author and the Coast hate him? Crappy useless article about a made up problem. Just imagine if there was a handicapped ethnic artisan involved. Being politically correct is like trying to pick a turd up by the clean end.
Seriously? This is bull shit. Only story here is about a management team so inept that they failed to realize they should avoid even the appearance of impropriety when it comes to racism. That’s enough to tell me it’s under terrible management!
Accusing a place like the Halifax Seaport Market of racism is bound to provoke a visceral, emotional reaction, in all of us, but our we now allowing our emotions to impede our ability to critically evaluate this situation? If the market was racist and the goal was to tuck these “ethnic” vendors away from tourists, would they be putting them in the same low traffic area where the artisans (the biggest draw for tourists) can now be found?
David Bower, while I appreciate your sentiment, the way to support these vendors is not to boycott the market, but to go more often, trek upstairs, and buy their goods.
The Halifax Seaport Market is run by Julie Chaisson who doesn’t know what she’s doing. The market is run by a bunch of bullies, and treat its vendor with tactics like, do this, go there, or get out. I can speak to it to anyone in the press about this first hand. For the port authority to take investors money and pre-pay a 25 year lease is criminal. Secondly, doing the math, getting that building for $4667.00 a month to lease for 25 years is and was the only thing the port authority wanted in the first place. This will not be a market in another year. The costs for the port and the market are not sustainable as the HSM is their main client and as a 2-3 day market, it’s not paying the bills, hence they will need to find another way to cover costs, and my prediction is it will turn into office space.
I spent 30 years living in Halifax and was very happy living there. For nine years i had the great fortune to be associated with the African Canadian community on a music project. It opened my eyes to the fact that racism is indeed an ingrained part of Nova Scotian life. Of course, many people start their perspective with ” I’m not racist BUT…” and truly believe it. I left town thinking that this seemed to be the way it is for visible minorities. I lived for a while in Georgia, which did nothing to change my mind. I now live in Toronto. Far be it for me to praise the city that elected Rob Ford, but I will say that, living in what is billed as the most multicultural city in the world, it appears that the best cure for racism is lots more races moving in. There is no pure maritime culture – everyone but aboriginals are from away. Get over it.
Its not racism, just a coincidence. Should have put coincidence in quotes. Anyway, shady shady…
I have lived in Nova Scotia all my life and was proud to say I was a Nova Scotian. To me the city of Halifax had such great potential to be a vibrant city that blended its history and furture. Sadly I can’t help but think despite any attempt it seems Halifax continues to remain inside its conservative bubble. The Art community lacks, which is sad because of all the talented people we have here. Not to mention how lucky we are to be the home of NSCAD with not only great history but oozes the creative juices that makes anything possible. The question is where are these artists now? Are they surviving here?
As for the Seaport Market, it’s embarrassing to think this city would limit people based on ethnicity. Halifax is a port city. We are supposed to be a neutral and inviting place for people to add the the cultural diversity we are so fortunate to have and experience.
Last year The city recently rebranded with a more modern, simplistic and bold feel. Is stifling the culture and becoming narrow minded part of the rebranding too? The art and film community suffers and so does the diversity that makes this city different. We worry about people seeking work outside of the province but really what opportunities are given if we all live in that same old box? Why would they want to stay?
When you get down it, the Halifax Seaport Market is an almost perfect microcosm of everything Maritimes.
Completely unaccountable quasi-civil service management driven by consultants from away under an appointed port board of political hacks fostering the very worst kind of ideas to support the most odious of constituents.
Perhaps we should fund the Halifax Seaport Market under the education act and invite students from around the world to study toxic nepotism in action.
That way, none of the leadership team loses their job and.. no wait.. like that’s ever going to happen anyway.
Too bad too – it had some of the best fresh meats and produce in the country. Hell, ever try the hot cart out front? All local and absolutely epic. But as I’ll never ‘color’ the place up again – I’m going to miss it all.
What a stupid article, and most of the comments here are equally stupid. It reeks terribly of cultural relativism. The only cultures worth preserving are the non-white ones! Anything “white” is boring and soulless! Maritime culture is trashy and cliched junk for tourists. It’s not REAL culture, that belongs to non-whites only!
Perhaps the management of the market are just bad instead of racist. Generally, people are more stupid than evil.
This Article Is not based FACT and nothing more than a person saying a bunch of big words that mean nothing. If anything IT HURTS THE LOCAL VENDORS! Shame on you Mr Hines! Dear Sir,You should take a walk up a flight of stairs before you speak so intently to hurt our local artisans and Chefs.And No you are not the voice of the City. Please stick to helping the Homeless and refrain from writing articles. Change can be hard to accept for some but It is necessary for the survival of entrepreneur’s. This Dribble is reason to NOT read THE COAST! So sad to see so many people rear their ugly heads and comment with out researching the facts first!
In retrospect Hines is saying Mic Mac Mall is racist by his logic. Dear Lord a food court on the top floor with electricity, Running clean water and seating for the public to eat. How Horrible!
Anyone know which are the three restaurants that were fined that they refer to in the article?
Main problem here is the elevation of mediocrity. The mediocre get elevated to the jobs!!!!
Once again, The Maritimes hurts the soul of The Maritimes. For an area that grew and prospered from migration and cultural influence, how quickly we forget. Look at our early history. For generations, what made Maritime culture great was the fact that individuals and groups brought their skills and culture to grow a diverse region. Today, all for not. Welcome to The Maritimes, when are you leaving?
Ooops for some reason I assumed it was restaurants- I think this is two of ’em:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-alehouse-fined-7k-for-denying-service-to-black-man-1.2663486?hc_location=ufi
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/halifax-taxi-company-driver-fined-for-racially-discriminating-against-customers-1.2270968?hc_location=ufi
Wow, I’m shocked to think that the market would forget it’s roots so quickly. The popularity of the market was developed slowly with a substantial contribution from multicultural foods. Market lovers should not stand by and let the Port alter the colorful makeup of its identity and value.
The market was a dumb and expensive idea from the get go, and I said so when the idea was in its infancy. A $10,000,000 middle class yuppie fantasy., although we spend money there every Saturday.
I’d advise the management to auction off the individual spaces and sort the wheat from the chaff. I would really,really like to see a market at Grand Parade every Saturday and Mayor Savage could walk around collecting the rent and meet the peasants and have the CAO and the boss of snow clearance in attendance. He could have a weekly 1 hour Question period instead of the 15 minute monthly bluster on Mainstreet. And he could have a dunk tank to raise the funds for his ‘STADIUM’. Or put him and Butts in stocks with rotten veggies and fruits available to angry taxpayers.
There are two other markets fairly close to seaport, both of which have more character and better management: Historic (Brewery) Market and Alderney Market. If even half the people that currently visit Seaport were to change their habits and instead go to either of those markets, the vendors that are displeased with any changes (regardless of the motivations) could jump ship from Seaport and still make a great living.
Is Cheelin moving – and the place that makes the dumplings on the corner? I didn’t hear that. Or are they moving all food vendors without a permanent place – does that include the lobster shack and Little Red Kitschen? If it’s just the ethnic vendors, then whoa – yeah. We need to be concerned. If it’s not – well then… I’m concerned we’ve moved this issue from the facts – little vendors are getting pushed into a less viable space – into something wildly hysterical.
I want Mary’s to be downstairs. I love Mary’s. And I like taking a platefull of her glorious oxtails and wandering around at the vendors – downstairs. I want all the vendors dispersed around. If I wanted to go to a food court, I wouldn’t go to the market. I’ve been going to Alderney Market more and more as these changes take place. It’s much friendlier and embraces the full market flavour.
To Historic (Brewery) Market we go!! Who’s with me?!
So wait a second… is he appealing to a universal moral standard of right and wrong? Is he actually admitting that the majority can be wrong and… immoral? Interesting. Usually the liberal says, “Democracy! Democracy!” And then when they don’t get their own way, they tell everybody else that they have to abide by THEIR standard, all the while they have no reasoning or appeal to universal morality. *smh*
With that said, “ethnic food” *is* Halifax food. We’re a melding pot of all sorts of people, and I absolutely love going to the market and getting various cuisines. Especially Indian. YUM! It’s a shame they’re moving them all to the 2nd floor.
Really? REALLY?! This reeks of discrimination and I would consider “immigrant” or “ethnic” food to be a massive part of NS and Canadian culture given our “supposed” pride in being a multicultural nation BUILT ON the influx of immigrants! #seaportmarket I’m ashamed of you. Just remember, the ONLY “native NS culture” we have is actually borne of the Mi’kmaq people and the rest of us are immigrants or born of immigrant families with varied ethnic backgrounds.
There is also a new market starting at the Forum the first Saturday in May. Maybe if the markets with an interesting mix of food and artisans thrive, someone at the Seaport will take notice. Did they ever ask the public about the mix of vendors? Everyone I talk to about it liked the way it was before.
The port’s stance on this issue is shocking and is deeply embarrassing to me as a Haligonian. We have the awful reputation of being less open-minded, worldly, and strategic than our counterparts in other Canadian provinces. This decision is an unfortunate reinforcement of that stereotype. I urge the Halifax Port Authority and management of the Seaport Farmer’s Market to reconsider and open the market to all.
Get a grip people! This story is very obviously sensationalistic horse shit/ irresponsible journalism. There are plenty of non-white people staying on the first floor and last time I was at the market there were at least 40 white people on the second floor. Is racism an issue in Nova Scotia? YES! A very big one, but this story is NOT a true example. False accusations of racism perpetuate the problem!
They are trying to build a FARMER’S market. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Think about it, instead of believing everything you read. Better yet, go talk to these six vendors at the market….most of them don’t believe it and are NOT happy with this article–it has HURT their business. They don’t want to move markets, they’re happy with the Seaport market!!
Having lived in Nova Scotia for 40 years as a visible minority, it is really difficult to make any logical sense of this plan. I think we have, as a community, worked hard for a long time to respect the dignity of others and their diversity. Interestingly, Nova Scotia continues to take many steps backwards. Kiran Pure
I’ve been to Halifax as a tourist recently. I visited this market and it was nice and all but, it strikes me that, if I’m visiting Halifax, I’m looking to experience and taste the things that make Halifax, Halifax… meaning, local traditional cuisine. I’m not exactly intrigued about hitting up the food market at the harbour and sampling some of the Turkish or Asian food that I could here in Toronto pretty much anywhere. It’s not even that I think that that kind of food is *lesser*, it’s just not what I’d expect at a tourist attraction.
After all, if it’s all the same multicultural experience everywhere you go, what’s the point of even going?
>“Either Nova Scotia realizes that immigrants and come-from-aways bring new money, global ideas, vibrant cultures, much needed jobs and new wealth creation for the province, or the province continues along its current path whereby it dies a slow and agonizing economic death,” he wrote in The Coast.African communities experience racism for the first time in their lives and feel criticized because of their parenting practices.
1. Guess what, that’s how White People feel when we visit other countries and, you know, some people there treat us as outsiders and likely would even more so, were we to not just be tourists, but immigrate there. White people are not any more xenophobic or insular than others. And, you’re not special either.
2. “criticized because of their parenting practices”… uh, if NOVA SCOTIANS are speaking up about your parenting practices, there’s probably actually a valid criticism being communicated because NS is full of the nicest people.
/rant
As a permanent vendor at the Market, I am greatly discouraged that the Coast would choose to publish these articles claiming race had anything to do with implementing the next phase of Market development. I’m also saddened that so many people assume that the false accusations contained in the articles are true. Just because something is published in a newspaper does not mean it’s true — and in this case, these are charges trumped-up by two disgruntled vendors that have no basis in fact. One important point the article fails to point out is that food prepared off-site and brought into the market (which is the case with the day-vendors who will be relocated to the mezzanine) are limited by the Health Department to a special three-consecutive-day-a-week permit. (This does not apply to baked goods, only to perishable types of food). In other words, perishable food brought into a market can only be served for three consecutive days. The two disgruntled vendors fall into this category — day vendors with three-day permits. The Port’s long-term goal is to produce a sustainable, 7-day-a-week market — which includes building a permanent “island” on the main floor with commercial-grade sinks, electricity, drainage, etc. so food can be prepared on-site by year-round, seven-day-a-week vendors. Race has nothing to do with the Port’s decision to move forward with that vision of a sustainable, 7-day-a-week operation, and I personally will be happy to see the construction completed and permanent food vendors in place there. Please, no tomatoes. Just trying to shed some light on an unfortunate misunderstanding and encourage Market customers to take claims of racism at the Seaport Market with a grain of salt. Thank you. Off my soap box now. –Dave Belt, Seafoam Lavender Farm
Second comment (specifically regarding the posting by Mr. Sherwood Hines). Prior to operational control of the Market being assumed by the Halifax Port Authority, I was a member of the “transitional” Board of Directors. I can state uncategorically that no such meeting alleged by Mr. Hines ever took place involving the BOD in the two years prior to transition to the Port. In fact, I’m glad the Coast published his picture, because I’ve never seen this individual in my entire life. I have no idea who he is, nor what meeting he was “privy to.” It certainly was not an official Board meeting, that I can state with 100% certainty. I’d be very interested in having him produce facts (date, location, names of attendees) instead of just making claims like this.
What a surprise you’d censor my other comments.
Cowardly Lefty rag
Excerpt from Sherwood Hines blog post yesterday.
Sounds like someone is scared to get sued for libel….
“First of all, I wish to apologize to the Port Authority for potentially implying that it was they who were originally floating the idea of getting rid of the ethnic vendors in the market. I was only privy to hearsay from people in the know and the rumor that there was the intention to get rid of the ethnic vendors”
https://sisyphusblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/15/i-will-still-be-at-the-market-this-saturday-morning/
That’s a pretty far cry from…
“A couple of years ago I was privy to a private consultation process (before it went to public consultations) whereby certain powers-that-be in control of the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market (and their supporters) floated the idea of getting rid of all the “ethnic” food vendors in the market”.
“To say that we sat around the conference table a bit stunned at the idea, and its obvious racist/xenophobic overtones”
The name of his blog is “Sisyphus”. Isn’t that the name of the Greek God who was so deceitful that he was doomed to push a rock up hill for all of eternity.
Yup….that sounds about right!
Shame on you The Coast and bigger shame on you Sherwood Hines!!!
This is typical human behavior and something that you should have anticipated. When one social group starts to rise above an established group, there’s conflict. Note the L.A. riots when Asians began to have more wealth and African-Americans were threatened. It’s the same thing here. The ethnic venders work harder, sell a better product and sell at a lower cost. They’re getting all of the business. So the established people run them out of town. This is universal behavior and you should have anticipated this. You should also predict that if the “ethnics” get together and try to open a competing place, the locals will convince the government to stop it for “health concerns.” Either that, or they’ll do what happened to the fellow who tried to open a restaurant in a business zone: they just never processed his permit application. He was waiting for two years and hadn’t gotten it the last time I checked. The only way that the CFAs are going to survive is by forming their own groups and helping each other out separately from the established population. They can call it “Ethnicville.” (just kidding about the name). I’m not kidding about the practice. That’s the way that foreign immigrants succeed in a new land. They build their ethnic businesses to serve their own ethnicity. Then they accrue wealth and get their children educated. Then the children come back and improve the lives of their expats. Then the next generation is integrated. That’s the way it’s always worked. you’re trying to jump the ethnic pecking order process by a few generations. And I know how unfair that process is as well. I’m CFA and I know what it’s like to be discriminated against here in the Maritimes. You can’t change human nature, but you can anticipate it and thwart it. You can’t fight it (unless you want to lose). Work with it.
Question – you corrected Hines’ comment about the percent of immigrants staying by referring to a provincial govt release that says “2,661 newcomers settled in the province.” including 717 people under the nominee program. I can assume the latter number includes immigrants to Canada from other countries —but does the former number therefore include internal “immigrants” (using “newcomers” makes me suspicious) from other provinces? if so, how many are boomeranging homesick Maritimers? I’ll bet the retention rate of nostalgic middle-aged maritimers who’ve spent their lives elsewhere is nearly 100% — and decimation of Alberta’s energy sector will bolster this number in the coming months.