There are times when community pride really takes hold.
The rallying to the Yorkton Terriers when they won the Royal Bank Cup in 2014.
The large crowd attending Remembrance Day ceremonies each Nov. 11.
And then there was a simple presentation made to the most recent regular meeting of Yorkton Council which should have people feeling good about our city.
A group of interested individuals has formed a steering committee to establish a network for those interested in helping new arrivals, particularly those who are fleeing war and terror in the Middle East, but also those from elsewhere who have been displaced by war or persecuted for who they are.
That is something which might seem so logical for us to do as Canadians, but it has been a contentious issue of late.
Canada is of course a country built very much on immigration.
鈥淲hen you adopted the new community logo and motto, Where Good Things Happen, it was the result of research and discussions about the essence of Yorkton. During that process, Yorkton was identified as a gathering place for centuries. It was a traditional gathering place for First Nations peoples, and over the last century and a quarter, has become a gathering place for dozens of other groups: the Doukhobor people fleeing persecution in Europe, Ukrainian people seeking a better life, German people who came here by way of聽 Nebraska, Scottish settlers, English settlers who founded Yorkton itself, Hungarians who settled south of us, the Welsh people of the Bangor area who came by way of Patagonia, Icelandic people to the east and west, Chinese people, Vietnamese refugees when their world was embroiled in war, and more recently people from the Philippines, from 麻豆视频 Asia, from the African continent and 麻豆视频 Africa,鈥� group spokesperson Dick DeRyk told Council.
Yes Yorkton as a city, and Canada by extension, is very much a place where most families have immigrated over the last 150 years.
So you would expect we鈥檇 welcome the displaced and the prosecuted with open arms as so many of us have common stories in our not so distant past.
But of course Canada has stumbled in terms of the treatment of people in the past.
We are still dealing with the reprehensible treatment of First Nations people through the residential school system.
We interned young men of Eastern European descent during the First World War, something that touches locally given the Ukrainian background of many.
Then repeated that travesty in the Second World War by sending Japanese Canadians to what were basically prisoner of war camps.
And let us not forget it was 1939 when 907 Jewish refugees aboard the German transatlantic liner St. Louis were seeking sanctuary from Nazi Germany. Canada refused to take them in and the ship sailed back to Europe, where 254 would later die in concentration camps.
But we are supposed to learn from history, and generally Canada has.
An example; Mainstream Vietnamese communities began arriving in Canada in the middle 1970s following the end of the Vietnam War. Over one million refugees fled the war-ravaged countries of Vietnam.
Between 1975 and 1976, Canada admitted 5,608 Vietnamese immigrants. Due to the public outcry, in 1979, Canadian government decided that the number of 鈥淏oat People鈥� brought to Canada should be dependent on public support. In July 1979, it introduced a matching formula: the government will sponsor one refugee for each one sponsored privately. Churches, corporations or groups of five or more adult Canadian citizens were eligible to sponsor refugees directly.
By 1985, 110,000 Vietnamese refugees had settled in Canada.
And now Syrian people have lost their homes and future amid the bombs and bullets in their country, and Canada is stepping up to help. New Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to settle 25,000 Syrian refugees, the first already in-country. His personal meeting of the first arrivals has helped re-establish Canada鈥檚 international reputation as a leader in terms of humanitarian aid.
Now the new group in our city is working on making sure our city opens its collective heart to those in need, which seems an all so logical thing to do at this time of year and its message of goodwill to all.
鈥淲e are asking you to help us make sure that Yorkton is added to that map of welcoming communities with open hearts,鈥� DeRyk told Council.
鈥淎 declaration by our City Council that Yorkton welcomes new arrivals who have had to flee their homes and countries will be a morale booster for individuals, church groups, and private groups 鈥� all of those who have seen the need and want to help. Such a declaration by you will be affirmation that our community cares, and that helping those who need our help is recognized as the right thing to do.鈥�
Council was unanimous in supporting the proposed motion not surprising, but still a moment of feel good for this city.
Our past is about immigration and a growing acceptance of people from all across the world. This is just another step in that process, but a proud one just the same.
