Succeeding From the Margins of Canadian Society: A Strategic Resource for New Immigrants, Refugees, and International Students. Francis Adu-Febiri

been able to achieve what they did if they had been prevented from taking advantage of educational opportunities in the country.

       Ujjal Dosanjh, Federal Minister of Health

      Mr. Dosanjh was born in India and lived in England when he was a teenager. He immigrated to Canada in the late 1960s. Like many Canadian students today, Ujjal worked full-time while attending university. He received a Bachelor’s degree in political science from Simon Fraser University and later a law degree from the University of British Columbia. Mr. Dosanjh was called to the British Columbia Bar in 1977 and practiced law successfully until the early 1990s when he entered provincial politics. After a few years’ experience as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, he became the province’s minority Attorney General. Mr. Dosanjh made history in 2000 when he became the first visible minority premier of British Columbia, the first in Canadian political history. Perhaps, more from the mismanagement of his party in years past than from his own failings, Dosanjh and his government were subsequently defeated by the Liberal Party, headed by former Vancouver mayor, Gordon Campbell. Mr. Dosanjh returned to rebuilding his law practice but was soon called by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin to stand as a candidate for the Federal Liberal Party. In 2004, Dosanjh was rewarded with a cabinet level post, as the Minister of Health for Canada. Dosanjh’s life, to date, gives evidence of the opportunities that await immigrants who work hard, focus on clear goals, and have access to strategic resources such as education, appropriate network and community support.

       Other Canadian Immigrant Success Stories

       Yousuf and Malak Karsh

      Yousuf and Malak Karsh embody the highest levels of photographic excellence. Refugees from the brutal 1915 Turkish genocide against ethnic Armenians, the two brothers chose Canada. Their uncle, who owned a portrait studio in Sherbrooke, Quebec, encouraged them to follow in his footsteps. In addition to photographing Winston Churchill, thanks to a sitting made possible by Prime Minister Mackenzie King, Yousuf photographed such highly-acclaimed individuals as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway, Charles de Gaulle, John F. Kennedy, and Nikita Khrushchev (Yousuf Karsh 2001). Malak, who had worked as an assistant to his brother, eventually, also made a name for himself as an outdoors photographer (Yousuf Karsh 2001). The dedication, talent, and professionalism of the Karsh brothers brought them personal glory but the accolades extend to Canada where these two men achieved their success. If Canada had not provided such a fertile soil for their ambitions, the Karshes may not have been able to bloom and blossom and share with the world their gifts and talents as photographers.

       Mano Sandhu

      Mano came to Canada from India in 1975 with two Master’s Degrees and $8 in her pocket. She graduated from High School in India when she was 13, received her Bachelor’s degree at 17 and her first Master’s degree at 19. Having no job she began to get involved in her small community in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, by offering to teach Indian cooking lessons. After a short time she decided to commute to the University of Victoria to take a Master’s in Public Administration. She did this while working part time in an old people’s home and raising two young children. It was hectic but she kept her goal in mind and was very determined to achieve it. Since she earned the degree in 1988 she has been working steadily. She did some consulting work with BC Systems Corporation, started her own import/export business, and has been working for the British Columbia provincial government. Apart from Mano’s hard work, individual intelligence and personal ambition, her success is also connected to the chance a manager in one of the Government Ministries in British Columbia gave her to start her public service career.

       Tak Wah Mak

      At the age of 15, Tak Wah Mak left China to study in the United States. He later moved to the University of Alberta in Edmonton to complete his doctorate in biochemistry. As a Maclean’s article on Tak Wah Mak notes, in the early 1970s, at the Toronto-based Ontario Cancer Institute, Mak began path-breaking research that focused on the immune system. He “captured the world’s attention in 1984 with his discovery of T-cell receptors--the highly specialized parts of virus-fighting cells that help keep the human body free of infection. The potential implications of Mak’s research for the treatment and prevention of not only some forms of cancer, but also HIV/AIDS, are still unfolding” (“Tak Wah Mak [BrainGain]” 2001). For people like Mak who could have made a lot of money in other places such as the United States there must be something special about Canada that encourages them to make it their permanent abode.

       Freedom and Success

      When Ms. Emmie Leung arrived in Winnipeg in 1972 from Hong Kong she could not believe how cold the winters were in that part of Canada. Following her graduation from the University of Winnipeg with a Bachelor’s degree in business administration she worked as a temporary worker in a large company. Her take-charge attitude was not welcomed. Wondering what to do she sought counsel from family members back in Hong Kong. Even though her father suggested she return to Hong Kong Ms. Leung refused. Driven by her determination to be independent she cast her eyes upon the vast Canadian business landscape for some opportunities.

      Leung saw Canada as a land of opportunity – a place where she felt she could succeed free of the gender stereotyping of her homeland. It was her desire for freedom that originally led her to Canada, she says. She credits her brother with first suggesting that she start up a recycling company. “My family was in recycling,” she says. “I said to myself, ‘That is where my interest is. Nobody {here in Canada} had this business yet.’ I confess, I did not have the vision {that recycling would be a wave of the future.} I did it by default. No employers wanted me.”

      (Chinese Businesswoman Finds Freedom and Success in Vancouver’s Rubbish…1994)

      After doing her costing on transportation, Leung realized that it would be profitable to ship paper to Asia’s Pacific Rim. In 1976, at 25 years of age, she started her business with two employees, $15,000 and a van. Initially, she purchased and shipped bales of paper that she bought in Canada. To increase the volume she convinced local politicians to let her provide homes in a few communities with blue bags that would hold old newspapers. Curb side recycling has become very much a part of everyday Canadian life but in 1982 Ms. Leung’s idea was Canada’s first successful attempt at municipal curb side recycling. “Today, Leung’s company employs more than 100 people at five collection centres that annually process more than 100,000 tons of paper, plastic, and metal for shipment to wherever she can get the best price” (Chinese Businesswoman Finds Freedom and Success in Vancouver’s Rubbish…1994). What does Ms. Leung like about Canada besides making money from recycling? “I always looked forward to Western-style living, gender equality – that is the prime factor that motivated me,” she says. “The freedom. That’s what I love most about Canada” (Chinese Businesswoman Finds Freedom and Success in Vancouver’s Rubbish…1994).

CHAPTER THREEGOING FOR THE GOLD

       Enough About Other People’s Dreams; What About Yours?

      No doubt, you have your own dreams. You may be having visions of buying a home, starting a business, or in the very near future, making a million dollars! For now, however, more pressing concerns may include finding a place to stay, a base from which you can transform your dreams into reality. To be sure, you would not be the first person to have come to Canada with the belief that the intelligence, tenacity, maturity, and other personal qualities that made you a success in your country and helped you survive what might have been a treacherous journey to these parts would also help you to succeed. Unfortunately, this has not always been the case. Such overconfidence has been the undoing of many an immigrant. Far too many have been blindsided in the benign looking environment of Canada, forcing them to abandon their dreams and to accept conditions of life that they would never have imagined a few years before. Not taking the time to understand the Canadian system and the underlying rules that govern life can be pricey in the long run. Taking the time to study the lay of the land, so to speak, will save you from the kind of mistakes that have sidelined