Saturday, November 20, 2010

Wilfrid Laurier and Immigration

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2010

QUOTE OF THE DAY

We do not anticipate, and we do not want, that any individuals should forget the land of their origin or their ancestors. Let them look to the past, but let them also look to the future; let them look to the land of their ancestors, but let them also look to the land of their children.

- Sir Wilfrid Laurier
Quoted in the Toronto Globe, September 2, 1905
Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the 7th Prime Minister of Canada, was born on November 20, 1841. Laurier was born in St. Lin, Canada East (now Quebec) and he was our first prime minister of French ancestry. He held office from 1896 until 1911, the longest unbroken tenure of any Canadian prime minister.

It was Laurier’s government that opened the Canadian West to newcomers.  Clifford Sifton, the Minister of the Interior, was the man Laurier made responsible for immigration. Sifton’s “Open Door “ policy encouraged immigrants to settle in the West. The above “Quote of the Day” is Laurier’s answer to the complex question of immigration and identity.


LAS VEGAS, HERE I COME!

Hey Sixteeners, this is just a note to let you know that I will be leaving on Sunday for four days in Las Vegas including a bus excursion to the Grand Canyon. I will report to you soon from Vegas and I hope to post some interesting photos on this website. So follow along as I head to that playground for grownups. This will be my first visit to Las Vegas since 1994 and there have been many changes there since then. It should be fun.














Basketball

The Toronto Raptors are on a bit of a roll. They won their second game in a row last night by defeating the Houston Rockets at the Air Canada Centre. The score was 106-96 for Toronto. The way this season has been going, a two-game winning streak is something to celebrate, something to build on for the Raps.

- Joanne

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