Jul 7
Ethnic Relations II: Carole Bell and Markham's Racial Tensions
In 1995, Carole Bell, then-Deputy Mayor of Markham, made comments about the Chinese community that cause a disturbing turbulence in the Town which rippled across Greater Toronto and the international Chinese community.
With the increase in immigration from South and Southeast Asia, retail concepts that reflect the needs and wants of the Asian community became increasingly popular. She stated that many of the new retail developments in Markham catered only to the Chinese community, and many of the stores which only carried Chinese store signage.
In the meeting in York Regional Council in Newmarket, Bell made the following remarks:
The growing concentration of Chinese in Markham was causing long time residents, the "backbone" of the community to feel unwelcome.Everything is going Chinese. This is a racial monopoly [...]. We have citizens demanding we pass by-laws prohibiting signage in a language we can't read [...] at Chinese malls whose developers are focusing on one group, giving the impression [...] that non-Chinese basically weren't welcome [...]. The growing concentration of ethnic groups is causing social conflict.
The statements that were made at the Regional Council meeting was just a tip of the iceberg that was to follow. As the public outcry began to take place in the Town, Bell refused to take back her words and further had this to say in an open letter to the editor in the Markham Economist & Sun:
When dozens of individuals who are the backbone of Markham say they are moving away, as dozens of other neighbors and friends have, then we have a problem that must be addressed [...]. We once had one of the finest communities in North America with enviable business parks and the top corporations in the land. Now all we get are theme malls to serve people way beyond our borders [...]. We need to strive for harmony not monopoly.
This is my feeble attempt to collect the quotes that Bell spoke of. I have a lot to say, but I'm having trouble to find out how to best communicate them.
Bell: The Good Things (or "Dings"):
Let's start with the good. I give her credit for being forthright about the her and her constituent's concerns, it's never better to just shy away from our problems due to, what it seems to be these days, an excess of political correctness. I'm sure she's not the only resident who felt concerned-- apprehensive even-- about the rapid migration of Chinese migrants to the area. I think that it's great that we're at least talking about it, rather than having these issues built up.
The Sign[s]- Ace of Base:
I'm going to start by talking about the issue of exclusively Chinese signs on store frontages. First, I agree with her that having signs in Chinese does damper and indirectly exclude other ethnicities from feeling welcome into the area. If I to enter my community to suddenly to only find, say, Italian writing for example, I too may feel partly snubbed and alienated.
However, at the same time, I have the mentality where "why should I care?" If these businesses are dumb enough to only cater to Chinese people, well then that's their fucking loss. They clearly are neglecting a much larger market of customers and it is these businesses that will eventually suffer. So yeah, power to the bilingual signs and power to the people (...all people).
Politicians don't "ring" well without accountability:
There are a lot of contradictions on what she's stated. She denies that her remarks were racially motivated and that all she was doing was voicing the opinions of her constituents. Shea adds that we shouldn't, as she calls it, "shoot the messenger." I must say she has squeezed out the last drop of integrity that's left in her. It is one thing to make remarks about a particular community, and it is another to not accept responsibility for her words-- claiming that it was from her constituents.
Fine, politicians may act as a voice for constituents and sometimes may not reflect the politician's views, however, in the "Multicultural Markham, 10 years on" article in the Star on Canada Day, she says:
I don't live in Markham anymore. I am not going to comment on the diversity in Markham.Obviously, she feels the same way as her irate constituents. So we should not "shoot the messenger", but "shoot the guilty."
Cheers to the lack of accountability. Here here. Her latest comment really leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, like sip of warm beer.
"Monopoly": Don't speak English, don't collect $200.
It was a different time ten years ago, I will admit that there was at the time an ever-increasing Chinese population in the community-- almost seeming like it wasn't going to end. However, I want to be clear that not now and not ever will Markham be "monopolised" to a Chinese town. Her "everything's going Chinese" remark clearly displays her xenophobic views about the Chinese community. It almost sounds as she thinks that we're an army of Chinese immigrants that are ready to penetrate and conquer Markham. It's like it should be plastered on headline news "Beware, the Chinese people are coming! They're going to get their tanks and crush this place! Ahhh!"
I want to affirm that Markham has never been catered only to Chinese people. In 2005, ten years after the controversy, the Chinese still only account for just under 30% of Markham's population according to Statistics Canada. Sure, the Chinese may be the largest ethnic group in the town, but where I live, in the heart of the "ethnic enclave," is home to people of all ethnic groups: Indians, Sri Lankans, Jamaicans, Latin Americans, Eastern Europeans, and people from the Caribbean-- or better known today as Canada's largest immigrant groups. So to say that we as Chinese people huddle exclusively together is ignorant and offends our community. Markham is town of immigrants--that in fact is true. The Chinese demographic is simply one of those immigrant group components.
Economic Development Depression:
Let's switch gears to economic development. In 1995, we apparently have "enviable business parks." Now in 2005, we talk about how unsustainable they've become, so definitely, they're not something to be bragging about.
I'm digressing again. Bell seems to suggest that business parks have greatly contributed to the Markham economy (and rightly so), but ethnic malls do not. However, believe it or not, Chinese people are also generators of economic development. Several notes to observe:
- Chinese people are tax-paying citizens (30% to be exact), you know, the people who paid for whiners like Bell.
- Customers at Asian-themed malls earn money, and then spend money at these malls- money that that then benefits the local community. More money means more jobs, more jobs means more taxes, more taxes mean more money again for whiners like Bell.
So what seems to be the problem? I don't see how these developments deter economic growth.
More on the economic development forefront-- no, better yet, economic discouragement. She thinks that Markham has Asian-themed Malls that "serve way beyond our borders." Since when did we only want to create development that only serves our "borders"? Come to think of it, wouldn't it be better than store owners reach a broader range of customers from across the region, so maybe be able to capture more money in the town? Remember my spiel about "more money for whiners like Bell"? That applies here too.
Sure people might point the gun at the increased traffic that may occur-- which is true-- Pacific Mall for example is a traffic nightmare. But we need to realize that traffic is caused by the lack of transport alternatives, not because of Asian-themed malls.
Good Bye "High-Tech Capital"?
Tying into the previous topic, what Bell seems to be suggesting is that we should scale down all our developments to serve the only local community or the "borders," as you will. Perhaps this due to the "small-town syndrome" that plagues many of the peripheral towns of large urban centres (I completely loathe this). In our car-oriented environment, it is certainly common for someone to be living in one community and work and shop in another. So what's the problem of interregional developments? From what I understand, she feels that we should scale down operations at IBM, Motorola, HP and ATI because obviously we should only limit jobs to those only who live in the "borders." Right.
Thank the lord that she's not our mayor, because if she was, not only will there be no Chinese people living here, there will be, well, no one.
Ethnic Enclaves and "Social Conflict":
Bell suggested that the concentration of ethnic groups cause social conflict. However, in Canada, the concentration of ethnic groups is nothing new as evident in many communities in the GTA. A large population of Italians live in Woodbridge, Jewish in Forest Hill and Thornhill, South Asians in Brampton, the Greeks on the Danforth. So to target the Chinese community and to denounce them as perpetrators of "social conflict" is unwarranted and unfair. All these neighbourhoods are vibrant, functional, and contribute to society and the economy. She seems to lack the understanding that immigrants often have the feeling of "homesickness" and may want to possess something or be in a place that strikes familiarity to them. Canada is undeniably a diverse and generally accepting country, but settling here from a foreign country still does not come easy (I will touch on this topic later).
Now in 2005, there are definitely more peaceful times in the Town of Markham, and definitely not the "redneck capital of Canada" as what articles suggested. People, to what I feel, seem to get along with one another and I feel that the town has achieved that "cultural mosaic" here we should be truly proud of.
In my next installment, I want to touch on the issue of my life as Asian here in Markham and my views on the larger community and the future.
Related Reading:
If you happen to be at the Markham Village library (Main Street Markham & Highway 7), take a look at the media clippings section. There were among almost a hundred articles in the Toronto Star, Economist & Sun and local papers across the GTA that covered this story. All interested should check it out.
- Knowing the neighbours [thestar.com]
- Subtle flavour in Vaughan [thestar.com]
- An economy unto itself [thestar.com]
- A little piece of the Punjab [thestar.com]
- Where the plaza is just like 'home' [thestar.com]
- Faith, family, gefilte fish and Friday nights [thestar.com]
Comment me your thoughts; I may be biased, as I am Chinese. I'd love to hear from you.
Comments (7)
1
sh!ma
1. Asian men are hot. (that includes sexy matt)
2. Yes, money spent in any way or form is good, but imagine all the Italians in the city only spent money in little Italy. Or all the Greeks only spent money on the Danford? I can see how that could be a problem.
3. I totally agree with her about the signage issue. Did we all forget our Canadian History lessons about the Charter of the French Language, Bill 101. I'm just saying.. if the French can't even ban the use of English or other language signage (Bill 86, 1993), I don't see how the Chinese (as well as other groups) should be allowed to have exclusive foreign signs. Yes, it's their loss, but man that must be illegal. So what if they are tax payers, it just doesn't ring well with me. I can see dual signage but if you only have Chinese characters, that's not right.
4. All in all, not saying that what she is doing is right, but you could imagine years ago when other groups, like the Irish and the Jews, came to Canada they were discriminated against as well. It?s so long ago, we seem to forget, and think ooh the poor Chinese, or the poor Persians (lol) always getting discriminated against. I think, in time people will be more accepting of other cultures and, they?ll FINALLY stop fingerprinting middle easterns at the borders. ARGH. lol
Good article. : )
2
bev
firstly, i like the reference to ace of base :)
secondly, you might want to put a link up to Bugmenot.com (http://www.bugmenot.com/view.php?url=thestar.com) because thestar.com now requires registration to view the articles.
third, i like how "York University sociology professor Paul Anisef" was mentioned in the Knowing the neighbours. I was gonna take his class. YORK REPRESENT!!!
now for the topic at hand. I can see some of her points, being a "non-FOB"and Chinese-illiterate person who remembers the days before Pacific Mall came into existence. And before my neighbourhood became pretty much completely inhabited with "mainland China" Chinese and the sort. It's disconcerting when immigrants make NO effort to at least adjust themselves to a different country, but I think this Carole Bell woman is taking it a bit far and I agree with you on your points. I am also somewhat conflicted by this issue because many of the quotes of hers anger me (as a Chinese person) but I also get angry with all the Chinese malls being built and people who make no effort to be "Canadian" (as a "CBC" or "banana" even). I haven't read ALL the articles but from the ones you quoted, it makes it seem like Chinese people, PERIOD, are the problem... like she's creating a dichotomy of "the evil Chinese people, wrecking Markham" and those who aren't Chinese...regardless of the fact that there are some longtime residents or the "backbone", as she says, who happen to be Chinese. It just gives off a feeling that Markham would be better off with all White people (which I'm sure she's referring to when she refers to long time residents and the "backbone"). Bleh.
BTW, I was googling her name to find a pic of her so I could say "DAYUM, DA BITCH IS UGLAY" (haha) but instead, I found that your blog is the first result when googling her.
3
Lykken
Okay, I've been wanting to say it out for a while now.: I'm not against saying this so if you don't like it or you agree with me, doesn't matter. A lot of you probably support the idea of a growing Chinese community inMarkham. On the other hand there is probably a small handful of those people out there who resent it. I refer to those people who are growing pissed off with the number of Chinese-plazas, Chinese-owned stores and business, malls, etc.
I, however, would side with Carole Bell on this issue of 'ethnic tensions' in Markham. It's wrong to discriminate but only the thing is, I don't support the idea of these Chinese communities that are being built up north of Steeles Ave. It's my opinion that Markham should have just stayed the way it was as a predominately- WHITE community. If that had happened then none of this would be happening. Call me a racist white supremacist if you want but that's my opinion. And since Toronto is swelling with a diverse population, thats where the Chinese-Canadian communities should belong. They should be banded from being built up in any suburban areas (i.e Markham) that are rightfully predominately-White. Then we all would be happy..
4
Matt
Lykken:
I'm glad that you voiced your opinion. The intent of this post is to facilitate a forum for people to discuss this issue because indeed it is a controversial, multi-dimensional concern. I commend you for having the courage to break away from our Canadian habits of being consistently politically correct, and saying what you believe in. There are simply less and less outlets for such discussions nowadays. Also, I love talking about ethnic and cultural relations, partly because of my academic background of in urban planning.
That being said, I'll discuss your comments.
I agree that there has been a large volume of stores of what people define as "Chinese businesses" and I can understand that those who aren't Chinese may feel somewhat alienated in parts of our community. (I want to emphasize the pronoun "our.") We should understand that the Chinese community has grown significantly in the past few years, many of which are first generation Canadians-- therefore one might feel attached to one's traditional customs, goods and services, etc.
At the same time, as the Chinese community continues to evolve and adapt in relation to Canadian society, Asian-themed businesses and shopping centres realizing, and are evolving, to serve a larger demographic. One might discover that Pacific Mall, for example, is increasing its customer demographic base. Marketing efforts, for instance, can be witnessed in areas such as advertisements at Finch Station, and in the mall advertisements itself.
I'm curious at exactly what is the problem of Chinese businesses? I could understand that there may be some businesses that seem somewhat sketchy and unwelcoming--to even me, the Chinese folk. However, generally, what exactly are people pissed off about? The Asian-invasion phenomenon? Fear of takeover? What is it? Because if that's what it is, then let me assure you that we make up a very very marginal proportion of the town and of the country.
As a Chinese-Canadian, I certainly love it when people of other backgrounds want to learn about our Chinese culture. I believe that my ideals are fairly representative of the Chinese community-- we're intrigued when people of other backgrounds can say phrases in Chinese (given that it's not in a mocking tone), for example.
At the same time, I enjoy experiencing other cultures (i.e. their customs, their food, etc) as well. If you're ever interested in learning about the Chinese culture, I would be delighted to take you around, and experience some of the great things about the culture, and at the same time, I'd like to know yours.
Beverley and Shima have a point that some people make no attempt to interact with other cultures, and yes, "Chinese commerce" is not helping to aid that issue-- I admit that Carole Bell, is not entirely incorrect in her statements. But I believe that most Chinese-Canadians are highly grateful for the privilege of living in this country. Most people (like me) are thankful and appreciate our cultural history and traditions, but also look forward what's ahead as Chinese-Canadian citizens.
Moving foward, I also have a concern about this statement:
It's my opinion that Markham should have just stayed the way it was as a predominately- WHITE community.
I think what you have is a "Not In My Backyard" state of mind. You support multiculturalism, as long as it's not in my community. In my opinion, this is borderline xenophobia.
Toronto is indeed a diverse community, and believe it or not, so is Markham.
I seem to have trouble undesrtanding your concept that Chinese communities should belong in a "diverse community" that you define exclusively in City of Toronto (i.e. South of Steeles) because there is definitely a problem of logistics with your suggestion.
Let me put it this way: Every community was histocailly a "white" community (I will get to Native peoples in a minute), including the communities of the old City of Toronto, North York, Scarborough, and Etobicoke. If we were to apply your belief that Canadian communities, as like Markham, "should remain predominately white" to reflect the historical settlers, then pretty much the entire non-Caucasian population would have no where to live. Are you catching my drift? Where are we going to live? Are we going to set quotas, to ensure "white dominance"? Are we going to set the other Chinese in remote areas of the country like placing people in reserves? I apologize for my sarcasm, but I'm curious on how you want to implement your belief.
Lastly, I'm going to conclude by voicing my concerns about your concluding remarks. Let me quote you:
They [I assume Chinese communities] should be banded [do you mean 'banned'?] from being built up in any suburban areas that are rightfully predominately-White.
There are again racial undertones in this statement. Nevertheless, I will respond. The point I want to make is that there is a question of rights at play here. What exactly is "rightfully" white? Is it the fact that Europeans were here before the Chinese, and thus have the "right" to a monocultural community? If that is the logic, we as Canadians have a lot of apologizing to do to our Native populations. If I read my history text properly, they were the original settlers of this great land.
Lastly, in the quote "Then we would all be happy," who are "we" in your statement?
There is no easy answer to this long debate. However, hopefully magically, we (as in the community) can strike some sort of harmony. Personally, the best solution for resentment to other races (not to say that that's what you're implying) is to learn and understand from them. Fear for the unknown is something humans all experience-- that's why I suggest we experience and learn.
Feel free to write back, or email me at: matthew.lee AT rogers DOT com.
5
radmila
I find this discussion (as always) interesting.
When an exclusive community gains economic power, they use it.
I'll cite an experience that a family member of mine had in Meaford, Ontario when he acquired land there in the '90's.
Being an immigrant with an accent and looking like a "spic" as he was often called by residents. Openly told that his presence was not wanted in the community and eventually driven out 10 hard years later to a 2 million dollar loss.
He paid taxes as well...
I guess what I'm trying to say is that when a community works to be exclusive...white or not, Anglo or not, they work to make sure that the unwanted cannot be successful in that community.
I've heard stories of businesses being driven out of plazas and malls through not being allowed to re-new a lease, or rents raised so high that long standing businesses have to leave. This is the M.O. of exclusive communities whose members will purchase a mall or plaza and then proceed to drive out the businesses that do not reflect their own community.
It's how it's done.
Ethnic business owners (I assume) learned this from their own experiences.
Personally, I don't like to see too much of any one nationality monopolizing an area. It breeds contempt and the exclustion of others as well a sense of entitlement to do so because they have the support of their larger community.
6
Vanessa
Thanks for raising this topic Matt and linking it to the required reading. This is an issue I have "felt" ever since I moved to Markham. I was never aware of Bell and the history behind the development of P-mall and Market Village. Thank you for providing the background before providing your opinion.
I have lived in a number of cities: Montreal, Gatineau, Mississauga, Markham, Cambridge, Wasaga Beach and Waterloo. And in my experience, probably because I am a CBC, I never felt comfortable in any of these cities.
Québec passed Bill 101 which permitted only the French language on all commercial signs. If Québec was required to pass this Bill, I don't see how Markham can be permitted to post these all Chinese-character signs. Never mind the anglophone population, I can't read them! Driving around Markham makes me feel foreign and it intimidates me. I am hesitant to step into a Chinese restaurant unless I am accompanied by my parents or I know the servers inside cater to English-speaking customers. I think I'm getting off topic but I cannot help but to feel judged harshly by the Chinese community. I lent my cell to an old Chinese man once, I tried to communicate with him in broken Mandarin and Cantonese only to have him criticize my poor conversing skills. Ouch.
But I agree with you, you cannot develop/zone based on race. And I can't see this type of "planning" ever making it.
What is wrong with easing the transition for immigrants? The immigration process is life altering and stressful. If anything, we are enriching the Canadian community and identity. I think the Anglos have taken their comfort for granted and are just reacting to the change they are seeing in the community. Communities can never stay as they were, they evolve and develop like everything around them. It would be unrealistic and economically unsound to repress development and population growth.
7
Tom
This issue is really so yesterday. Canada is a small country (with only 34m people) and this kind of "ethnic tension" just confirms the saying "narrow streets breed narrow minds".
People like Carole Bell or other average Canadian whites should travel more around the world to cure of their sense of superiority (or inferiority when it comes to the US). Canada is just another declining western economy and will very soon become rather obsolete. You had better start getting used to the presence of foreigners who are richer and more educated that you are.
