Immigration is part of the solution

Immigration ‘part of the solution,’ say community leaders condemning local demonstrations against newcomers

News conference held outside city hall follows several local incidents of hate.

Nov. 14, 2024                            1 min read

YWCA CEO Medora Uppal called for solidarity and the denouncement of hate in Hamilton at a news conference outside city hall Thursday.
Cathie Coward The Hamilton Spectator

By Kate McCullough Reporter

Local community leaders are condemning recent anti-immigration demonstrations in the city and combatting misinformation about newcomers in Hamilton.

“Immigrants are welcome here,” Terri Bedminster, executive director of Refuge: Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health, said at a news conference Thursday morning organized by Hamilton Immigration Partnership Council.

Rashed Afif, who came to Canada as a refugee, is now the head of Wesley, one of the country’s largest resettlement agencies for newcomers. He spoke at a Nov. 14 news conference condemning recent anti-immigration demonstrations in Hamilton.

The news conference comes amid a rise in hate across North America, including in Hamilton.

Last weekend, masked demonstrators clad in black were photographed carrying a banner demanding “mass deportations now” outside of Jackson Square. There have also been at least two reports of flyers espousing white supremacy being distributed downtown.

It’s not new, said YWCA CEO Medora Uppal, but political and economic circumstances have emboldened those who hold anti-immigration sentiments.

“It has been underground and under the surface, but they are appearing visible and you can expect that they might do more,” she said.

Economic struggles paired with high levels of immigration are contributing to growing anti-immigration sentiment, a narrative reinforced by politicians worldwide, including U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.

But “one is not the cause of the other,” Uppal said.

“It’s easy to scapegoat people,” she said, adding that immigrants have throughout history been victimized.

Hamilton must stand up against attempts to sow fear in the city, leaders said.

“The truth is what connects us,” Uppal said. “We know the value of immigrants.”

Immigrants account for 26 per cent of Hamilton’s population, and contribute to many sectors, including health care, manufacturing and food services, HIPC says.

They’re the “lifeblood” of the residential construction industry, West End Home Builders’ Association said in a statement, accounting for a significant portion of the labour force.

Nearly half of working newcomers in Hamilton have a university degree, almost twice as many as among Canadian-born residents, HIPC said.

Nationwide, immigration is needed to offset low birth rates.

The federal government recently announced a plan to reduce immigration rates, as well as new international students and temporary foreign workers, policies that contribute to the anti-immigration rhetoric, leaders say.

Rashed Afif, who came to Canada as a refugee, heads up Wesley, one of the country’s largest resettlement agencies for newcomers. He spoke at a Nov. 14 news conference condemning recent anti-immigration demonstrations in Hamilton.
Kate McCullough The Hamilton Spectator

People who are vulnerable are “easily targeted,” said Wesley CEO Rashed Afif, who came to Canada as a refugee.

Afif noted it’s important to remember that most Hamiltonians and Canadians are either immigrants or the children of immigrants.

“Immigration is not the problem, it is part of the solution,” he said.

Kate McCullough is a reporter for the Hamilton Spectator, covering education. Reach her at kmccullough@torstar.ca.