Over the last year or so our agency had worked hard to try and save our funding from the Town of Richmond Hill. Last night we presented our case to Town Council and hoped we can change their minds.
In the days leading up to last night, the situation had generated quite a bit of momentum. People wrote letters to Council in support of us, they called us to ask what they can do. Between that and our regular “business”, the phones had been ringing non-stop. I have been doing interview after interview with newspaper and TV to try to get our message out to the public.
Last night, at the meeting, quite a large number of our supporters were there, and 17 of them registered to speak. As new Canadians, it was not an easy task for them. In addition to the language challenge, many of them came from countries where they were not allowed to have a voice. It must have been such an intidimating experiece for some of them to stand up in Council Chambers to make their views known. I was encouraged to hear their stories and how our agency had helped them in their time of great need.
In the end, we were told that Council had made up their minds two years ago and nothing anyone said last night made a difference. As we filed out of the Chambers following the decision, I saw the disappointment on many of their faces. It occured to me then that there was a greater casualty last night other than our funding: For the people who spoke last night, they came in believing that in Canada, their voice count and can make a difference. Instead, they were told plainly that it didn’t matter if they had shown up at all.
Last night we lost something far more valuable than the small amount of funding we were hoping to get. In the minds and hearts of the many new Canadians who came out, they lost their vision of how things are supposed to work in Canada, their new homeland.
