Lögberg-Heimskringla - 14.06.1991, Síða 5

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 14. júní 1991 • 5
Canadian Ethnocultural Council
— INL participation
By Elva Simundsson
The Canadian Ethnocultural Coun-
cil met for its semi-annual Board of
Presidents Meeting on the weekend of
June 2 & 3 in Ottawa. The Icelandic
National League is an active member in
the Council. The council is a non-profit,
uon-partisan coalition of 39 national
cthnocultural organizations which, in
turn, represent more than 2,000 pro-
vincial and local organizations across
Canada.
The CEC reported on the 1990-91
highlights of their activities. A commu-
nity forum on immigration was held
with the then-Minister Barbara
McDougall in Toronto last October.
McDougall announced at that time her
new immigration strategy, which would
increase annual immigration levels to
1%. With our declining birthrate and
ouragingpopulation,the countryneeds
more immigrants to remain interna-
tionally competitive and to support the
social programs Canadians have come
to expect.
The CEC requested that employ-
ment equity be considered by the C RTC
in their deliberations on condition of
hcense for broadcasters. The council
mquested a return of heritage language
funding that could be operated from
the proposed Heritage Language Insti-
tute in Calgary. They further made sub-
missions to request a depoliticization
of the Canadian Race Relations Foun-
dation and an increase in community
involvement by filling positions on the
Board of Directors through open ap-
plications from the public.
I represented the interests of the
Icelandic National League at the meet-
ings. I was contacted and asked to take
part in a panel of experts who spoke on
behalf of their regions or areas of con-
cern. Representatives from the Assem-
bly of First Nations, the Maritimes,
Quebec, and Westem Canada each
spoke and then responded to several
questions from the council members. I
spoke on the western perspective and
on my understanding of what the mood
of the people was concerning the fu-
ture of Canada. I rriust say that I was
not overly optimistic about how the
mainstream of the population of West-
ern Canada was willing to offer special
considerations orrecognize distinctso-
cieties at the expense of further eroding
their own status within the constitu-
tion of Canada.
It was pointed out to us by the rep-
resentative of the Assembly of First
Nations that their sovereignity has
never been given away. Their respec-
tive nations have treaties with Canada.
According to legal definition, only sov-
ereign nations can enter into treaties
with one another. Self-determination
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and self-government will be a require-
ment in any constitutional agreement
between the assembly peoples and
Canada.
The speaker on behalf of Quebec,
Madame Senator Therese Lavoie,
spoke quite tactfully about the require-
ments of Quebec’s inclusion in the Con-
stitution of Canada under a renewed
Federalism. Renewed Federalism will
require some concessions on the part
of the rest of Canada but she was as-
sured that their conditions would be
met and separation would not occur.
Monday, 3rd of June was parlia-
mentary day. The council met with the
three major political parties and pre-
sented a number of questions. I took
part in each of the three council panels,
posing a question to each caucus con-
cerning our opposition to the concept
of recognizing only two founding na-
tions in Canada. The exercise is con-
ducted each year and gives the CEC
some degree ofvisibility with the oppo-
sition parties as well as the party in
power. The Minister of Multi-
culturalism, Gerry Weiner, is now more
interested in hearing from ethnocultural
groups in light of the new Federal
Multiculturalism Act that has recently
recieved assent.
A black leather jacket
Jón Mímir Einvarðsson
is an Icelandic student
who is studying aviation
management in Grand
Forks, North Dakota. A
month ago, he visited the
Lögberg-Heimskringla of-
fice in Winnipeg. He and
our editor decided to meet
at the Montcalm Restau-
rant on Pembina Highway
in Winnipeg. “I’ll be wear-
ing a black leather jacket,”
said Jón to our editor over
the phone, “that’s howyou
can recognize me.”
Our editor arrived a bit
early for this meeting.
While she waited for Jón,
no less than four men, all wearing black
leather jackets, entered the restaurant.
She eyed each one of them up and
down and thought to herself, no, this
one doesn’t look Icelandic at all, and
that other one seems too old for the
voice on the phone, but that good-
looking one over there—well I don’t
know. Oh my God ! He’s noticing that
I’m looking at him, and now he smiles—
good looking yes, Icelandic no. I had
better look the other way before he
misinterprets my gaze.
Finally, a young man, dark, but
unmistakenly Icelandic, entered the
restaurant. “You’re Jón , aren’t you?”
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our editor said with relief. “Yes, “an-
swered Jón. “Whatever you do Jón—
don’t ever again ask anyone to recog-
nize you by your leather jacket alone,”
she said. “ Here I’ve been sitting for
more than half an hour, staring at strange
men wearing black leather jackets, and
trying to find facial features—noses,
mouths,eyes—from the Icelandic ‘gene
pool’, and these guys probably think...
Well, never mind.”
Jón had come to Winnipeg to pick
up copies of Lögberg-Heimskringla. He
was working on an essay on K.N., and
needed some articles, and Paul A.
Sigurdson’s translations of K.N.’s po-
etry.
Jón said that he is very impressed
with how well the Westem Icelanders
he has met, in North Dakota, have
maintained their Icelandic language and
heritage.
Jón has now left for Iceland where
he will work during the summer, but in
the fall, he will retum to his studies in
Grand Forks. He is hoping, perhaps,
to participate in some of the social
activities of UMIS S (University of Mani-
toba Icelandic Student Society), upon
his next visit to Winnipeg.
H.K.D.
Minnist
í ERFÐASKRÁM YÐAR