Ricardo Duchesne, a social sciences professor at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) has come under fire over public remarks many have deemed racist. In his blog, Duchesne said he thinks the rapid increase of Asian immigrants in Vancouver will threaten Canada’s culture.
“Ever since the influx of Asian immigration, Vancouver has become a more loud and congested city. In a few years, the European population will be diminished. Who voted for that?” Duchesne said. “I’m not against immigration, I am an immigrant myself, but mass immigration is not good and we need to talk about it.”
Kerry Jang, a Vancouver city councilor and professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), asked UNB to review the views of Duchesne.
UNB vice-president Robert MacKinnon released a statement addressing these concerns saying, “academic freedom is a foundational principle of university life. The university statement of mission and values very clearly supports the freedom of thought and expression while maintaining the highest ethical standards and a respectful environment.”
Duchesne said his desire is to trace the origins of where mass immigration came from, while acknowledging his fellow academics’ failure to question it.
“Immigration is good, but has to be limited so people can assimilate. You don’t want to destroy the existing cultural background and traditions and brush them to the side,” Duchesne said.
Duchesne said his main idea is that Europeans have to learn to utilize multiculturalism for their own benefit.
“You can never promote the interests of Europeans openly. Europeans are the people that must stop apologizing for their history. Every ethnic group in Canada should have the right to protect their ethnicity, enhance it, and talk about it with pride,” he said.
Duchesne sent Jang his article, challenging his call for an apology for the federal government to investigate the head tax. Jang responded, and Duchesne then responded via a blog post, which began an online back-and-forth over the subject.
“With freedom of speech comes a great deal of responsibility. It has to be well researched, grounded in fact, and shows the good and bad in everything,” Jang said. “Duchesne can say what he wants and claim it as freedom of speech, but I’m the one who has to deal with the death threats, and hate mail, simply because of the colour of my skin.”
Jang said using university affiliation and title to justify one’s opinions and beliefs is wrong because they are using the university to condone their response and make it sound more credible.
“It’s going to take time to see an attitude change in society. Sometimes it’s painful and sometimes it hurts,” Jang said. “But when you see something wrong, just call it out. You don’t have to get angry, but just let it be known.”
“Sometimes you’re more successful than others, but by standing up and saying something, you expose these people for who they really are,” he said.
