To the editor:
There is a common perception that too much of the money in government funded programs goes to high administrative costs and overpaid front-line workers. I expect this was behind the cartoon on June 6. However, because neither you nor the cartoonist checked your facts, the resulting cartoon came across as highly inaccurate and a cheap shot at a respected not for profit organization in Thunder Bay.
The Thunder Bay Multicultural Association has a long history of providing services in Thunder Bay. As with other community based not for profit organizations they have learned how to survive in the face of government cutbacks and limited core funding. None of the employees are remotely close to being on the sunshine list. The Board of TBMA is made up of representatives from the many groups that have emigrated to Thunder Bay during its history. These people volunteer their time to TBMA in part because they appreciate the difficult time their grandparents or parents had when they first arrived in Thunder Bay.
My most recent experience with TBMA goes back several years when our church sponsored a refugee family. Some of the services they provided were a worker who could communicate with the family in their own language in the first weeks; a comprehensive list of services available; excellent English as a Second Language classes where the students were treated as friends and encouraged every step of the way. The language classes also served as orientation to Canadian culture. Through the classes friendships were formed and newcomers began to feel less alone.
Handing money to someone new to the country who doesn’t speak the language and is unfamiliar with the culture does nothing to help them learn the language, become familiar with the culture or know where to turn when problems arise. Dedicated front-line staff whose goal is to help their clients make a successful transition into Canadian culture is the answer. I saw staff who organized fresh fruit baskets for their clients for Christmas because they realized this would be lacking in the Christmas Cheer hampers but was important to people from countries where fresh fruit is abundant.
Currently the Respect campaign is encouraging citizens of Thunder Bay to treat each other with respect. Surely this applies to organizations as well. I think you owe your readers an article featuring the work the TBMA does with newcomers in the community and an apology for a cartoon which depicted their organization so inaccurately.
Brenda Reimer,
Thunder Bay
