WELCOMING COMMUNITIES
INTRODUCTION
For a period of 43 years, Pier 21 stood as a massive gateway into Canada (www.pier21.ca). It is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and existed as the reception facility and primary point of entry that welcomed and processed visitors and hopeful citizens to this country. When it opened in 1928, the world travelled overseas by ship. But Pier 21 was more than just a disembarkation point. It was created as a modern facility welcoming some 130,000 people a year. These included the dispossessed, evacuee children, war brides, displaced persons, refugees and new immigrants. During the war years, some 500,000 military personnel passed through its gates. Within Pier 21, visitors discovered Immigration Services, the Red Cross, Customs, Health and Welfare, Agriculture, a waiting room, dining room, canteen, nursery, hospital, kitchen, dormitories and on-site clerics to minister to the spiritual needs of those hoping to become new Canadians. Over the span of time, some one million people were welcomed to Canada when they arrived at Pier 21. The facility shut its doors permanently in 1971 when ocean travel was overtaken by that of the airplane.
Nonetheless, Pier 21, now a museum, exists as a symbol of welcome to those who wished to come to Canada and join in its life. This country has officially created institutions and policies to help ease the transition from recent immigrant to new Canadian. It can be argued that immigration has been the lifeblood of this country and that we still rely heavily on the continual influx of those who wish to settle here from other countries around the world.
As you and your students read through the stories on the Pier 21 Web site, you will discover that most of the newcomers’ experiences in Halifax were positive. One new immigrant even recalls the Pier 21 staff greeting his children with presents upon their arrival. Certainly, coming into this large facility was disorienting for many and there were misunderstandings and confusion often due to language barriers. Even some items such as sausages were confiscated by authorities. The reminiscences generally recount a feeling of acceptance and excitement around the first days of a new and better life. Acceptance was given and barriers were lifted. Now, after passing through Pier 21, it was up to each of the families and individuals to make of Canadian life what they would.
In hindsight, Pier 21 is an institution that laid the groundwork for policies and institutions that we enjoy today. Policies that embrace diversity and multiculturalism and spurn racism. Thus began a pattern that created conditions that led successive governments to enact the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Multiculturalism Act. Without them and Pier 21, Canada would never have won its deserved reputation as a welcoming home to peoples of the world.
The following is one example of a story of a newcomer who
passed through the gates of Pier 21:
Antonio Saez Jiménez
Immigrant
Ship: Americo Vespuccio
Country: Spain
Date of Entry: September 30, 1958
No society is perfect, however, and exploitation of the less fortunate has and does take place (see stories on Pier 21 Web site, evacuee children.) Just as some of the evacuee children who came during the Second World War were considered by some to be cheap labour, discrimination and racism have not disappeared from our society.
The emphasis in the lesson plan will be the acceptance of others from many different cultures and how to encourage their integration into Canadian society. The lesson plan will also touch on issues of diversity and multiculturalism and how they strengthen the Canadian fabric.
The target audience for this resource will be Intermediate (Grades 7-9). Rubrics, assessment, evaluation tools and the appropriate curriculum links are provided on the Web site in downloadable format (www.teachmag.com/welcomingcommunities).
