Un-melt
Pixabay Canada isn’t really a melting-pot. When I first arrived in Toronto in the 60s I discovered that the church I attended was right in the middle of an Italian neighbourhood. As the years passed the Italian immigrants who had first settled in the area became more prosperous. They began to move north—as a community. Then the neighbourhood became West Indian. All through the city communities within a community were the norm. Not surprising! When my grandparents and great-grands immigrated to Canada they all settled in the Ottawa Valley around Pembroke, principally in a community then known as Germanicus (they, and all their neighbours, were from Germany). “Next door,” in another enclave, lived the Irish. And never the twain were to meet! Immigrants tend to huddle together. They usually share a common language and common cultural norms. They often share common religious beliefs. After a few generations, “melting” actually happens. But every new crop of immigrants begins the “un-me...