The UCP affects me and my wife directly. We are Asian and my wife is an aspiring immigrant. Their insane anti-immigration conspiracies and fervour expressed by UCP and their followers, against Asian immigrants and Canadians of Asian ancestry, empowers them further. 

The UCP affects me and my wife directly. We are Asian and my wife is an aspiring immigrant. Their insane anti-immigration conspiracies and fervour expressed by UCP and their followers, against Asian immigrants and Canadians of Asian ancestry, empowers them further. Especially after the pandemic. 

However, this sentiment has been festering since the 90s in the hearts of these armchair warriors, as they believe that Asian Canadians, are some kind of 4th column invaders disloyal to Canadians. 

I have served the Calgarian homeless community, given blood, and made significant community investments to municipal, provincial, and federal non-profits. I have served as an ally to marginalized communities, particularly the LGBTQ2S marches on behalf of Bow Valley College, and Indigenous causes. Next month I embark on a medicine-picking excursion where I plan to donate my findings to the Indigenous student center of the school - so that the students can smudge for mental and physical preparation, fostering courage to face such racial prejudices. 

I am unsure how to be more Canadian, as I serve its people. Yet I have been harassed by random unstable people, mostly on public transit where I am told to "Go back home to China" frequently. 

The rise of China after good governance and sacrifices by its people has become very fear-inducing among anxious Canadians. The Chinese community has lived and contributed to Canada for over a century. We have integrated into Canadian society. As professionals, we even defend Canada in the Armed Forces. We present Canada internationally as athletes, in many different sports. This has unnerved certain people in the country, making it easy to give in to their fears that successful members of our ethnic community are organized crime, owning to the sociopathic criminals in our community. But remember: these exist in any community. Media and movie portrayals of these socioeconomic terrorists did our community no favours. Especially in the minds of older Canadians who have served overseas, or whose era was the 50's-90's with the rise of Japanese consumer imports and increased tourism and investment.

The Hong Kong nationals who migrated to Canada in the 80's-'90s also fueled anti-Chinese sentiment. These were economic migrants with wealth who naturally gravitated towards real estate and other finance professions and enterprises. Yet most immigrants, especially from other Asian countries, who moved to Canada for a better life, for more liberal governments and lifestyles, are of a less affluent demographic. We came seeking a better life for our families.

The UCP absorbs anti-immigration disgruntled citizens by capitalizing on their irrationalities, with an empty promise to protect them from whatever fearful fantasy they subscribe to. 

My wife and I were often targets of these miscreants. We were once merely taking a photo selfie of ourselves in front of a church, and an unstable man though we were taking a photo of him covered his face and flipped us the middle finger. I tried to politely tell him we were just taking a photo of the church. This set him off and he threatened the safety of my wife, telling us to “go back to China.”

Another homeless man threw his sandwich at us. He missed and lost his much-needed food for survival. Such is the degree of fearmongering from the UCP, that they can inspire someone to attempt to assault someone with their only meal. 

This is the effect of the UCP. Their anti-immigrant rhetoric makes everyone fearful instead of addressing actual mental health and addiction issues.

Thank you for allowing me to express firsthand the crisis we are facing because of the UCP. We need to reinvest in mental health care and housing. The UCP's pandering to the oil companies at the expense of underfunding many of our social safety institutions has resulted in the decline of our social fabric and our economy. This is going to hurt us not only as a province but as a nation if the UCP is allowed to continue.

But of course, everything is the immigrant’s fault, in their head anyway.