Italians & Chinese: the key to future development and growth
TORONTO – In politics, as in life, much relies on the establishment of respect for others. There is no secret formula – money comes, money goes but dignity and self respect is difficult to earn. A successful politician is constantly “reaching out” to get his/her message out and assess the acceptability of whatever message is coming from government.
With the readers’ permission I wanted to reflect on the experiences prompted by a couple of my friends from the Chinese community who are now deeply involved with MP Jenny Yip from Scarborough Agincourt. Their Constituency Association, on which there is an Italian couple, Savina and Cono Cacciatore, hosted the Hon. Evan Solomon, federal Minister responsible for the file on Artificial Intelligence. He had much to say for eager listeners.
Some may remember Minister Solomon from his days as a TV news personality. But he was pleased to “announce” a personal connection, via his daughter, to the Orient. Two of the ladies – Cathy Lin and Grace Chum, my hostesses with whom I had travelled to China on numerous occasions in the ‘nineties, one of them a former MP in Taiwan – were delighted to learning about that personal detail. They glossed over the rest of the speech.
Not that they were disinterested, quite the contrary. Until recently, only immigration from the Philippines and India vied with them for numbers. Their young (er) people filled our Universities and Colleges with their registrations, Financial Houses were replete with recruits from their community, investors in Manufacturing enterprises relied on them to satisfy their thirst for growth.
Once “secluded” in the eastern part of the City of Toronto, they have spread to the North-East of the GTA and increased their presence in Mississauga and beyond. It may not be long before they outnumber even the Italian Canadians in Ontario. We have a good reciprocal relationship.
Minister Solomon will have a positive report to deliver when he returns to Ottawa.
Here below is a photogallery from the event (photos: Corriere Canadese)
