"David
itchel!

a second
opinion

WHAT?’S the first ques-
tion you ask somecne
new? In British
Columbia it isn’t neces-
sarily, “How do you
do?” or “What do you
do for a living?” It’s
more likely to be

“Where are you from?”

We live in one of the few
places in the world where it’s
assumed that people are from
someplace else. Why? Because
British Columbians are gen-
erally newcomers.

In fact, it’s uncommon
and something of a social
oddity to meet someone who
is actually from here. With
the exception of aboriginal
British Columbians and
members of a few pionecring
families, it’s rare to come
across a neighbor, colleague
or friend whose family has
roots in B.C. extending back
in time more than a genera-
tion, or two at the most.

In a nation of immigrants,
our province is especially
marked. by recent growth and
an influx of new blood, new
wealth, new energy. British
Columbia is a place where
people continue to come to
get away from unsatisfied .
lives in the rest of the coun-
try and the rest of the world.

They come from else-
where to escape and start
anew. And like converts to a
new cause or religion, they
are often more ardent in their
local patriotism and pride of

~ place than the few longtime
settlers who seem to have
been here forever.
_ Immigration has always.
been a highly charged politi-
cal issue in B.C, Qver the
years, we've sometimes been
concerned about our ability
as a country, a province and
as a community to absorb the

Got a camplaint
about the press?

.». et the Press Council Keow

Formed at the initiative of the
newspaper publishers in British
Columbia, we are a non-judicial
teview board which hears
unzesalved complaints about the
press.

The Pres Ce ancil seeks to ensure
fainezeves: curacy and
prc.rsitey q.asliry journalism while
proveting the ttce flow of
information.

B.C. Press Council

Box 5414

Victoria, B.C. VBR 654
Tel: (604) 595-2571
Fax: (604) 595-2573

waves of new citizens who
approach our shores. Where
will they live? Where will they
work? How will they change
our privileged corner of the
world?

Yet most of us were immi-
grants at onc time or another,
And it would be unseemly for
us to want to kick away the
ladder now that we've arrived
and found our place.
Wouldn't it?

At the same time, we’re
very conscious that this very
special picce of real estate
known as British Columbia
could be ruined if we grow to
the point where we're chok-
ing on growth.

We don’t want to become
another Los Angeles, heaven
forbid. And withouz controls
on immigration, we could
lose our ability to manage
growth. As a result, we have

( 7avionmoriv

SEAVICE 81D,

an ongoing and typically
Canadian debate about who
should control immigration.

Should it be the tederal or
provincial governments? 1, for
one, would add a new wrin-
kle in that tiresome old
debate: how about local gov-
ernments?

Surely an argument can be
made that if our municipali-
ties are going to effectively
plan and implement the
future growth of our commu-
nities, they should have a say
on immigration policy as
well.

Immigration is neither
good nor bad; it is simply a
fact of life. And it has shaped
the character of our province,
which continues to change
with the thousands upon
thousands of newcomers who
settle in our province each
and every year,

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The North Shore Disability Resource Centre
would like to thank the following Municipalities for
their support of our Summer Program '96.

Corporation of the City of North Vancouver

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Corporation of the District of North Vancouver ‘2,300
Corporation of the District of West Vancouver ‘1,400

Z1415i5J

There was a time when
British Columbia had a repu-
tation for being primarily
British.

However, it’s interesting
to note that up until almost a
century ago the single largest
ethnic group in B.C. were
native Indians. But by the
turn of the 20th century
most settlers in our province
identified their family origins
as British.

This trend peaked in the
1920s, when almost three
quarters of British
Columbians came from the
British Isles. However, that
percentage has steadily
declined ever since.

Fully fenced sauthtacing backyard with gardens,
detached sing!e garage. Close to schools,

Friday, October 4, 1996 ~ North Shore News - 7

Today the number of
British Columbians who are
of British origin represent
about 40% of the province's
population. In second place
are the mixed category of
“Other Europeans” amount-
ing to about 28%. Next are
Asians — Chinese, Japanese,
South East Asians, East
Indians — all totalled
equalling about 20% of
British Columbians.

Native Indians today
account for fess than 4% of
the province’s population.
And only about 3% say they
are of French origin.

Where did the British go
in British Columbia?

Nowhere really. They’re still
by far the largest single ethnic
group, but no longer a
majority. And if historical
trends in immigration persist,
our province will continue to
grow asa culturally diverse
society — but we'll always be
“British” Columbia.

1 believe we're a richer
and more vibrant place
because of the wide variety of
ethnic groups who have set-
tled here, And as the old rock
n’ roll song asked: “Wouldn't
it be a real drag if we were all
the same?”

~— The North Shore News
believes strongly in freeaom of
speech and the right of all sides
in a debave to be heard. The
columnists published in the
News present differing points
of view, but those views are not
necessarily those of the newspa-
per itself.

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