Tonight, I searched the web to see what the US State Department posted on their site regarding travelling to Italy. Surprise surprise, they caution their citizens to be vigilant when in Italy. The threats posted are similar to those posted on the Canadian site. I then decided to look at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs where Italian citizens can find out about risks in Canada. They warn Italian citizens traveling to Canada to be aware of the potential for bombs. We use taser guns and they caution, that if you are arrested, do not resist arrest. What does this tell you about the governments of Italy Canada and the United States? To me, they are doing no less than any one of us would do with our families, our children. Be aware of the unknown and do not take any unnecessary risks while traveling. Should we take offence that the Italian government is warning their citizens about bombs in Canada? What about the fact that you shouldnt resist arrest? Or for that matter that we use taser guns? Are they suggesting our police are brutal and will use excessive force if you question them on an arrest? I guess if I wanted to sell newspapers or wanted to make a case as an Italian journalist motivated by a partisan political agenda, it wouldnt be too difficult would it? As a lawyer, I must say that I would not expect anything less from a parent, a family member and, yes, the government. It is their job to warn us of a potential risk. I must assume that in the circumstances of determining risk, our governments should have better knowledge than us given the local consular offices they manage all over the world. Am I offended by the travel advisory? No Im not and as a lawyer, if the travel advisories were less than thorough, I would consider a law suit on behalf of a client against the government in the event of an incident occurring while abroad and there being no posted message of a potential risk so that I could assess it properly. Clearly the governments are doing their jobs. Anything less, I submit could be deemed negligent. So, why all the discussions over this article in the Corriere Canadese? From a travel advisory that is mirrored in at least three jurisdictions, the author and by implication the editor have drawn a conclusion that the Canadian Government and in particular Minister Kenney believe that Italians are genetically speaking born criminals and it is in our DNA to be thus. From this stretch comes the pronouncement that this is the basis for the Conservative government and Minister Kenney, not allowing immigration from Italy. I dont know where this monumental leap came from. Perhaps my knowledge of Italian is lacking the genetic make up I need to appreciate the finesse of the authors twisted logic or, maybe, the article is written to incite anger in the Italian community? Or, perhaps to sell more newspapers? Only the editor and his team can answer those questions. To suggest that the government has to change the travel advisory as a result of this Corriere discovery of an offensive travel advisory because it is offensive is at best disingenuous. Tomorrow I am cancelling my three subscriptions to the Corriere Canadese. One that was going to my mother, one that was going to my mother in law and one that was coming to me. The one for my aging mother and mother in law because I am afraid that the creativityof the writers and this paper is damaging their sense of pride as Canadians of Italian Heritage. They are proud Canadians of Italian Heritage. I dont want to do damage control every time they flip another page of this paper. Shame on you all for trying to take the legacy of their hard work, dedication and appreciation away from them for partisan motivations. I cant always be there to correct your creative interpretations of the facts, accordingly, it is better they get their facts from other Italian media sources. I will also give up my subscription. There are other ways to practice my reading of Italian. I have a concern however that unlike my mother and mother in law, there are many older Italians who read this paper and believe it is news, the truth. Who is going to explain to them that this is not how our government, other Canadians perceive us? It is a sad day for our community when we have to pick up the only Italian Canadian daily and have to accept a partisan point of view based on faulty research and half truths. To suggest as a newspaper that a travel advisory should be the basis of an argument that Italian DNA makes us criminals is slanderous. Thank you for setting us back 50 years! To all of you reading this, I hope you reach out to friends family, neighbours and remind them that Italians and Canadians of Italian heritage are honest, principled individuals that are not afraid of hard work and have contributed to the building of this country and continue to do so. The Canadian Conservative government supports the Italian community. It has honoured us by hosting a dinner with our Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of Italy. It has funded a project to enshrine into our schools a curriculum setting out the contributions made by Italians to the building of Canada. Many of the Ministers attend our functions and dialogue with us when we have issues of concern. If anything, we should be proud of our achievements and the respect we have garnered in a Canada and the world. We should all demand an apology from the Corriere Canadese for this serious lack of judgement.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 13:35:47 +0000
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