The Netherlandic Presence In Ontario

Schryer’s central argument is that ethnic groups are as much modern “myths” as they are integral components of a socially constructed reality. Focusing on the large cohort of immigrants from the Netherlands and the former Dutch East Indies who arrived in Canada between 1947 and 1960, Schryer shows how the Dutch, despite a loss of ethnic identity and a high level of linguistic assimilation, replicated many aspects of their homeland. While illustrating and illuminating the diversity among immigrants sharing a common national origin, Schryer keeps sight of what is common among them. In doing so, he shows how deeply ingrained habits were modified in a Canadian context, resulting in both continuities and discontinuities. The result is a variegated image reflecting a multidimensional reality.

"Industry in the Wilderness by Frank Rasky is an account of the overcoming of natural elements in order to harvest the resource wealth of northwestern Ontario. It is part of the Dundurn Local History series. It is an oral history of lumberjacks, gold seekers, bush pilots, and early hydro men. Herein lies the major problem with the book. Rasky attempts to cover four important aspects of northwestern Ontario in only 128 pages. This impossible task is even further complicated by the fact that more than half of the book is devoted to pictures and diagrams ... The pictures and diagrams dominate the book to such an extent that one could ignore the text and still find a wealth of information about the topic. The diagrams of a paper mill, a gold mine, and a hydro-electric power plant could be a valuable teaching aid to students interested in those areas. The pictures are exceptionally good."--Umanitoba.ca/cm/cmarchive/vol12no5/industryinthewilderness.html.

Images of Canadianness offers backgrounds and explanations for a series of relevant--if relatively new--features of Canada, from political, cultural, and economic angles. Each of its four sections contains articles written by Canadian and European experts that offer original perspectives on a variety of issues: voting patterns in English-speaking Canada and Quebec; the vitality of French-language communities outside Quebec; the Belgian and Dutch immigration waves to Canada and the resulting Dutch-language immigrant press; major transitions taking place in Nunavut; the media as a tool for self-government for Canada's First Peoples; attempts by Canadian Indians to negotiate their position in society; the Canada-US relationship; Canada's trade with the EU; and Canada's cultural policy in the light of the information highway.

This book describes how Dutch immigrants became commercial farmers in the Canadian province of Ontario. It addresses the broader question of why the Dutch have an international reputation as successful farmers, and the critical implications of such positive stereotyping.

Until now, information about Dutch immigration to Canada has been scarce as much was lost during the German occupation of Holland during World War II. However, Herman Ganzevoort was able to unearth and translate rare letters and articles written by Dutch immigrants during the 1920s, which offer new insight into the struggles the Dutch faced to fit into their new country. The letters opened up the inner dimensions of the immigrants: the reasons for their emigration, their hopes, their fears, and, best of all, their experiences in Canada. These images are not reminiscences screened and filtered by the passage of time but are immediate and compelling. The writers of The Last Illusion: Letters from Dutch Immigrants in the "Land of Opportunity" 1924-1930 shared their feelings and showed an openness that was uncommon in their culture and time. Their words describe the pain caused by separation and loss, and the sense of shared joy and exhilaration when goals were reached.

The Canadian provinces have evolved quite different ways of responding to the policy problems posed by religious schools. Seeking to understand this peculiar reality, Faith, Rights, and Choice articulates the ways in which the provincial governance regimes developed for religious schools have changed over time. Covering nearly three centuries, the book begins with the founding of schooling systems in New France and continues into a variety of present-day conflicts that emerged over the question of religion in schools. James Farney and Clark Banack employ a method of process-tracing, drawing on 88 semi-structured interviews with key policy insiders. They also reference archival material documenting meetings, political speeches, and legislative debates related to government decisions around issues of religious education. Relying on the theoretical foundations of both historical institutionalism and Canadian political development, Faith, Rights, and Choice presents a new analytic framework to help make sense of the policy divergence witnessed across Canada.

“It is good that Mr. Mulira tells the story of the unknown black Ugandan Diaspora. I hope this book encourages more books written by others who fi nd themselves living away from their beautiful homeland.” - M/s Yasmin Alibhai –Brown, writer for the Guadian, London, U.K. “Th is is a very interesting and informative book. I enjoyed reading it and learned not only the life stories and contributions of Ugandan immigrants in Canada but also the history of Canadian immigration.” Ugandan immigrants in Canada have become more visible in recent years. Yet, it is likely that only a small percentage of Canadian citizens are well informed of the history and interesting traditions of these people from East Africa. Th e actual number of Ugandan immigrants currently living in Canada is uncertain but could range from 10,000 to 20,000 people. Most of the Ugandan immigrants in Canada live in major metropolitan areas like greater Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. In the U.S. where the number is larger, they are also mostly concentrated in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and other large industrial cities.