My name is Isaac Munnalall and I am a high school student in Surrey.
I have a great interest in current events that are affecting Canada – particularly issues concerning immigration, multiculturalism and integration.
Canada is proud of its diversity, but in some places in the Lower Mainland, it is anything but diverse. I am concerned about a trend that I call “ethnic pooling.” This is when a single ethnic group “floods” into and dominates a particular geographical area.
My mom is half Indian and my dad full, so I guess that makes me three-fourths. However, I was born in this country and I am feeling that young people are losing their sense of what it means to be “Canadian.”
Our family loves all people as is reflected in our group of friends, but I really feel that in order for Canada be a strong nation, we need to rethink our immigration policies. I am not suggesting that we implement the heavy-handed European assimilation policies, but I do think that the government needs to wake up and follow the trajectory of our current path.
We pride ourselves on being a mosaic, but the down side of a mosaic is that if the pieces are not well bonded, it becomes fragile. Come on Canada. Let’s not lose our identity in our attempt to be hospitable. There are other ways of growing our population.
Isaac Munnalall
Grade 10