A hateful graffiti calling Indians ‘rats’ triggered a major row in Canada’s Mississauga, while Prime Minister Mark Carney opened his arms to H-1B visa holders who will not get a foothold in the US because of the new fee. H-1B does not only refer to Indians, but Indians are the majority among H-1B tech workers in the US. Canada also has similar programs but as the US hiked the H-1B visa fee to $100,000, Carney said his country would accommodate those who are skilled, enterprising, willing to work but not getting a place in the US. But how? While Carney did not reveal any offer and promised that something would be rolled out very soon, the hateful graffiti is at the centre of a flashpoint. “Racism only hurts Canada. Top talent will leave. Canada will be left holding the bag with mediocre talent who came here because floodgates were opened by the government,” the Indian immigrant who posted the ‘Indian rats’ graffiti on Reddit said. The Coalition of Hindus in North America condemned the graffiti and said this is part of a growing pattern of racism, intimidation and Hinduphobia in Canada. “The hate is growing more visible but the actions from law enforcement and lawmakers have not kept pace,” CoHNA wrote. “CoHNA urges @PeelPolice to take Immediate action to investigate this as a HATE -motivated incident. We reiterate the importance of stronger anti-hate mechanisms at municipal, provincial, and federal levels to track and address racism against Hindu and Indo Canadians. WE ONCE AGAIN DEMAND RECOGNITION OF HINDUPHOBIA as a specific form of hate that needs urgent attention, alongside other forms of racism,” it said. The Redditor said the Canada he chose to immigrate to had a reputation of being a country of the nicest people on God’s green earth. But his experience of living in Canada for the last three years has a different story to tell. He’s often mistaken for a store worker, or an Uber delivery person while he paid 100k in taxes, 100k in rents and a similar 100k in restaurants, groceries, hotels.“I’m sure I have generated significant economic benefits for Canada, and I got a long 30-40 years of productive life ahead of me. I did my part, and I’m still committed to keep doing my part. Can Canadians do theirs? If not, can we at least adhere to basic social decency?” the person wrote.
