Olivia Dean’s speech at the Grammy Awards last weekend got me thinking about my family history and the bravery of immigrants.
Welcome to the 149th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a quote of the week. Along with the bravery of immigrants, this week’s edition looks at electric ferries, the legality of plastic bans, and alternatives to road salt.
On my mind this week: Celebrating the bravery of immigrants
As she accepted the Grammy for Best New Artist, 26-year-old British singer Olivia Dean declared that, as the granddaughter of an immigrant, she is a product of bravery. Her call for immigrants to be celebrated set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Immigration has been on my mind a lot in recent months as my daughter Laura prepares to move to Australia later this year. The thought of her being on the other side of the world makes me sad, but I understand where she gets her wanderlust and adventurous spirit. She comes from a long line of brave immigrants on my side of the family.
I’ve written before about my grandparents’ travels from England to Australia and back in the 1920s. My newlywed 28-year-old grandmother, who had never left England before, spent 33 days on a ship with her new husband. Talk about a leap of faith! They lived in Australia for five years until they returned to England just before my Dad was born.
Fast forward 50 years to the early 1970s. My parents bravely uprooted our family to bring us to Canada—a place they had never visited and only heard about from my aunt and uncle who had immigrated here in the late 60s.
For my mother, the move from England to Canada was the second time in her life that she had moved to another country in search of a better life. She left Ireland as a teenager to take a job in England.
A courageous step
Dean is right. The bravery of immigrants is something to celebrate. It takes courage and initiative to leave everything and everyone you know behind and move to a faraway country in search of a better life. It’s something you can’t truly appreciate if you’ve never done it.
Sadly, in privileged western countries, berating and belittling immigrants has become all too common in recent years. People who will never truly be able to understand the sacrifices immigrants make love to blame them for all of society’s woes.
I might have been just a child when we came to Canada, but I am still an immigrant. Seeing the discrimination and mistreatment makes me sad. Other than the Indigenous people who inhabited this land long before the arrival of European settlers, we are all immigrants.
I truly believe that diversity of all kinds makes us richer and stronger. If we open our hearts and minds, we can learn so much from people who are different from us.
Getting back to the Grammys, the big winner of the night, Bad Bunny, said it best when he proclaimed “We are humans.”
We should all keep that in mind.
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Three highlights of the week
It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- I made a delicious lasagna soup from a recipe I got from my daughter Laura. On Wednesday, I visited my mum and took her some of the soup and fresh homemade bread.
- The weather warmed up a bit and I got outside for a couple of walks. It’s pretty bad when -7C feels warm, but compared to -18C, we’ll take it.
- It was nice to be able to watch the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics live. That’s something I couldn’t do when I was working.
Things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:
Electric ferry completes record voyage
A criticism of electric ferries is that they are only appropriate for short, fixed routes. Swedish ferry company Candela is out to prove them wrong.
Candela’s electric hydrofoiling passenger ferry successfully traveled 160 nautical miles from Gothenburg to Oslo. This test shows promise for the future.
(Source: Interesting Engineering)
Federal Court of Appeal upholds single-use plastics ban
Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the government’s 2021 decision to classify plastic as toxic, thus clearing the way for the single-use plastics ban to continue.
We’ll take whatever good environmental news we can get right now.
(Source: CBC News)
Scientists study alternatives to road salt
Salt has been in the news a lot lately as Ontario experiences a road salt shortage in the middle of one of the coldest and snowiest winters in recent memory.
Road salt is an important tool in keeping our roads safe in winter, but it has its downsides, including its impact on groundwater. Scientists at London, Ontario’s Western University are researching alternatives, including beet juice which is already used in some instances.
I’ll keep an eye on this research and share updates as I hear them.
(Source: CBC News)
Quote of the week
I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I’m a product of bravery and I think those people ought to be celebrated.
Olivia Dean
I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
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What a great quote from Olivia Dean.
Yes. Very insightful words from a wise, young woman.
Indeed.
We have much the same problem in the UK in how many people treat immigrants, Michelle. It’s very sad to see, especially given that our National Health Service would not survive without the majority of its staff coming from different parts of the world. And the same goes for our hospitality businesses. Unfortunately, much of the media in the UK focuses on bad news about immigrants rather than the positive news stories they’re a part of.
England is also behind the rest of the UK in terms of environmental issues. Wales, where I live and was born, was the first part of the UK to charge for plastic bags in supermarkets. In doing so, the amount of plastic bags being used dropped by 80%. Wales was also the first part of the UK to introduce the smoking ban in public places and is third in the world in terms of how much its people recycle. Something I’m very proud of. I only wish the environmental laws we have in Wales also applied to England. They are coming, but they are much slower to take up environmental issues.
I think the disdain for immigrants is very common in a lot of western countries, Hugh. It truly is sad. During my career, I felt fortunate to work with people from many parts of the world. They were kind and hardworking people. As my Dad always said—there’s good and bad in every race.
I didn’t realize there were such big differences between England and the rest of the UK. I’m happy to hear Wales is doing so well. Those stories give me hope. Our community pioneered the “blue box” recycling program and we have had terrific success diverting waste from landfill. The provincial government recently took over the program and I fear it’s a step backwards.
I fear that when governments get too involved, it produces too much red tape and problems, Michelle. Plus, everything can take years to get implemented. I don’t know why it takes so long, but it seems like everyone has to sign off on everything. No wonder the world is the way it is. Sometimes, it seems more about greed than about doing what is best for the population.
You hit the nail on the head there, Hugh. I believe the transfer of responsibility for recycling to the provincial program is driven more by corporate interests than care for the environment.
I marvel at the courage it took for my parents to emigrate to Canada twice. Once in the 1950’s knowing nothing about the country and arriving without a job or shelter to go to, and a second time in the 1970’s with young kids in tow. Starting from scratch a second time!
You really do have to admire their pioneering spirit. In the early 1900s, my grandfather lived in Canada and Australia, then moved back to England before he married my grandmother and they moved to Australia and eventually back to England. Travel wasn’t easy in those days. He died before I was born, and I often wish I could have met him. He must have had some fascinating stories.
Great post, Michelle! Yes, Laura defo has your adventurous spirit! I love it!
I had no idea about the salt shortage, Michelle. Manitoba doesn’t use salt on the roads because it gets too cold and doesn’t melt the ice on the roads. That’s what I remember being told.
I didn’t know it had an impact on ground water; however, as I just typed this I thought, well, how could it not? Beet juice? Let’s see where that goes, but I give them props for ingenuity and thinking outside of the box!
Cher xoxoxo
Yes, it’s true that salt doesn’t work below a certain temperature. This winter, it has been too cold here for weeks on end, so they’re using a mix of sand and salt.
They do use a mixture that includes beet juice already in our area to pre-treat the roads when a big storm is expected. It’s very interesting.
Wow, that’s definitely indicative of cold weather! Do they? That is very interesting!
May I please have Laura’s recipe for the lasagna soup? It looks delicious!
It was delicious. I will send it you the recipe.
Thank you!
Sent! Check your messenger.
Thanks, Michelle!
Immigrants made countries great with their work and culture!
They definitely do, Cristiana. I love learning about other cultures.
Here’s wishing your daughter a great experience in Australia and a welcoming far nicer than immigrants receive here in America. The problem, as I see it, is that the objection toward undocumented immigrants has morphed into a distrust and discrimination toward all immigrants. It’s not only sad but disgusting.
Thanks, Pete. I hope the move goes well for her. It is disgusting that people can’t or won’t make the distinction between undocumented immigrants and those who enter the country legitimately. I don’t know what it will take for people to stop and think about their own history, and try to show empathy.
I loved the speeches at the Grammys that used the opportunity and platform to speak up for immigrants that are being unjustly targeted. I’ll definitely be cheering Bad Bunny on tonight!
I will be cheering him on too, Ab!
Interesting news on the electric ferries. Last summer, I noticed the huge difference in air quality while riding in electric ferries in Vancouver and diesel diesel ferries in Victoria.
As the granddaughter of immigrants, I appreciated your comments on the bravery needed to change countries. I sometimes consider if I have what it would take to leave family behind to move to another country, and I find the thought very difficult.
Yes, the electric ferries show promise. I hope they continue to pursue these opportunities.
I agree with you. I was too young when we came to Canada to really appreciate what a big deal it must have been for my parents. I was shocked when were were in Ireland a couple of years ago to hear my mum tell my aunt that she didn’t want to move to Canada. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for her, especially considering my oldest sister stayed behind in England.
We still forget so quickly how many of us are descendents of immigrants. It boggles my mind sometimes, but then privilege often has a way of masking things we don’t want to acknowledge.
Exactly, Deb. Our nations (both Canada and USA) were founded by immigrants. It’s a shame we can’t be more accepting.
I don’t know what I love more, Michelle. Your beautiful words here:
“I truly believe that diversity of all kinds makes us richer and stronger. If we open our hearts and minds, we can learn so much from people who are different from us.”
Followed by your inclusion of Bad Bunny’s quote? Humans. Yes, indeed.
Thank you, my friend. 💝💝💝
Thank YOU, Vicki! I don’t know how we lost our way and forgot to care about our fellow human beings. We know better. Or at least many of us do. It’s so sad.
Enjoy your Sunday, my friend. 🤗
You, too. Sending hugs! ❤️🥰❤️
Fascinating re: the beets… 🤔I hope it doesn’t look like blood in the streets. 😅
Ha ha. We all know what happens when we eat beets! 😂 In our area, they actually already use a mixture that includes beet juice to pre-treat the roads when a big storm is expected. It’s just a light spray and it does add a light pinkish tinge the the roads, but then it mixes with the snow and dissolves. It’s very interesting and I’m glad they’re looking at more environmentally-friendly options.