     At the end of the 19th century, there was a lot of surplus
people in Italy, especially in the non-industialized areas.  The
economy was deteriorating at a dangerous rate, so the impoverished
Italian people tried to find work in foreign countries in search of
a better life.  At that time, the Canadian government encouraged
Italians to enter Canana in order to fill the surplus jobs.  The
Italian workers came to Canada had nothing to lose.  Their life
could not be any worse.  Coming to Canada was not a gamble, it was
their last and only hope.  The invitation of the Canadian
government seemed to be the answer to their desperate prayers. 
Finally, they had a change to survive.  This was the first
immigration wave between 1900 and 1914.

     After the second world war, Canada was booming again, and the
Canadian government asked Italians again to come to Canada because
of the demand for jobs.  The Italians responded very positively. 
They came, in the thousands, to earn a living, to have a better
chance than the one they had after the lost war, in the poverty-
stricken villages of Italy.  Again, Canada was their las and only
hope. This was the second immigration wave between 1950 and 1970.

     Italians came to Canada for a better life.  Unfortunately,
like so many immigrants, Italians were treated unjustly, and their
struggle for freedom was worthless.  They became the victims of
frequent discrimination in every aspect of life.  Italians were
given a very hard time in their struggle to survive in Canada. 
Everything an Italian earned was worth double the work of a
Canadian but only half the pay.  Canadians made it obvious that
Italians were not to be included in the ethnic mosaic.  Canadians
blatantly exhibited their attitude agains Italians.  They had no
compassion for a poor Italian immigrant who was simply looking for
a job to support his family.  Canadians and the Canadian government
conceived and acted on some vicious attempts to inflict pain and
hardship on Italians. One wonders why Italians were  treated so
unpleasantly in Canada during World War II, or why they were so
poor, or why an Italian could never trust a Canadian and why
Italians rarely went to college or university for a long time.  It
was fascinating how Canadians are portrayed to be so peaceful when
they can be so destructive.

     Canadians disliked many immigrants, but none more than the
Italians during the second world war; Italians faced harsh
treatment in and out of internment camps.  On June 10, 1940, Benito
Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy, declared war against Great
Britain and France, therefore, Canada fought against Italy. On the
same day, thousands of hard-working Italians were arrested in
Canada. They were "Men from every economic stratum, from
millionaire to beggar."1  Very Prominent men were arrested, even a
twenty-five year veteran of the Toronto police force was interned. 
The most discussed internee ever was James Franceschini, the only
immigrant to have his rights shattered, abused and never given his
freedom back. Mr. Franceschini was a self-made millionaire; before
interned, he owned several construction companies.  He was the best
road-builder in the business, with inexpensive rates but high
quality. When Italy entered the war on the German side, Mr.
Franceschini decided that he would build ships for the Canadian
army, at his own expense.  Then, he was interned, his assets
frozen, but most of them were sold without his permission.  When he
was released (about a year later), everything else he had worked
for, was taken away from him.  Only after he was released, did
someone bother to admit that "He [Mr. Franceschini] should not have
been arrested at all; but the much greater offence agains him was
the failure to release him as soon as Mr. Justice Hyndman had
reported."2  Mr. Franceschini is a shining example of how internees
were treated.  Internees were considered to be criminals, not as
innocent people who did not break the law.  Their only error was to
come to Canada.  They must have thought they would be free; they
were wrong.  Police were brutal to Italians.  They smashed windows
and destroyed houses to arrest innocent men.  The police tried to
damage Italins' property as well as the Italian people.  Some of
the actions that the police committed agains Italians were
reprehensible.  The police had the law on their side, and the law
was used agains Italians in World War II.  Although the police
acted in horribe ways, the Canadian people did worse.  Canadians
smashed Italian stores, beat Italians up, and would never let
Italians come near them.  They automatically assumed that a
dishonest immigrant was an Italian immigrant.  Candians randomly
called Italins Fascists, Wops, Dagos, etc.  The racial slurs that
many Canadains uttered were disgraceful and without foundation. 
There was also a tremendous amount of stereotyping against Italians
during the second world war.  It was apparent that Canadians did
not judge there people individually. It took just one prejudiced
person to say something stupid about Italians, and the whole
country believed it. Canadians sincerely believed that all Italians
were hot-tempered, violent, and they were all construction workers.
Despite warnings from well respected Canadian men that Italians
(even though some of them belonged to the Fascist party) were not
a national threat. Italians were still interned.


               The comitee believing that a large majority of
               naturalized Canadians (some members of the Fascio)
               are not at heart disloyal to this country; they do
               not feel it would be in the public interest to
               recomment their immediate arrest on the outbreak of
               the war on the grounds of their membership of the
               Fascio unless this prima facie evidence of
               disloyalty is reinforced by corroborative proof from
               his past conduct that the persons in question are
               likely to act in a manner prejudicial to the public
               safety3


     Well, unfortunately this fair and humanitarian advice was not
taken by the Canadian government.  A disappointing picture about
the way Italian immigrants were treated will always be part of the
Canadian history.  The shock of this kind of treatment made some
Italians move to another part of the country.  Other Italians
changed their name and denied their heritage.  Canadians should
always be ashamed for what they did to Italians during the second
world war in and out of internment campst.  No amount of apology
can change that.

     Italians were "ordered in bulk and treated t hat way - not as
men with high hopes and personal dreams, but as commodities -
bodies to dig up land and turn the wheel of progress"4  Italians
were hard workers.  Canadians took advantage of this rare quality,
and used it against them.  Companies paid Italians close to nothing
for doing the same or harder work than Canadians.  Many companies
forced poverty and hardship on Italians giving them low pay and the
kind of backbreaking work Canadians did not want to do.  The
working conditions were terrible.  Some Italians worked in unsafe
mines if they were lucky enough to have a job.  Many compaines
denied jobs to Italians applicants.  Before the first world war, in
the 1900's, employment agencies made a lot of money off of Italian
immigrant looking for a job.  First, the poor immigrant had to pay
the agency, and more ofthen than not, he never got his money back
if no job turned.  If someone got a job, the employment agency
charged again for getting the job.  During World War II, any
Italian who was fortunate enough not to have been interned was
automatically denied and kind of job.

     It was totally acceptable for Canadians to be unfair to
Italians.  There was one kind of justice for Canadians and another
kind for Italians.  in 1897, three innocent Italian men were beaten
up without and kind of provocation; one of them died.  The
criminals received and incredibly light sentence.  On the other
hand, when a local man threatened to beat up an Italian tailor, the
situation was diiferent.  When this criminal decided to make his
threat a reality, the Italian talor shot him.  Even though this was
a clear case of self-defence, the Italian tailor was sentenced to
death.  The judge said the penalty was so severe because the
defendant was an immigrant.

     Some Italians lived in sheds, some in cheap motels without
running water and other basic necessities.  Their determination to
make a better life for themselves and their family was used against
them.  They were perceived and used as cheap labour.  Some of
them died young, some of them went back to Italy. 

     All Italians wanted was a better life, and they were more than
willing to work for it.  In order to give an easier life to their
children, they wanted to make sure that their children would
receive a decent education.  Unfortunately, the education system
was corrupt, and most teachers did not care for the poor Italian
kids at the bottom of the class.  The highly acclaimed book by John
Porter describes the situation of Italian students: they were at
the bottom of the class, and there was not chance for them to catch
up intellectually.  Many people translated this information about
Italian students as being "dumb" and not students who need help. 
Even Italian students with high marks were discouraged from
academic studies. There was a very bright Italian student who had
to face this situation: it was 1961, and young Franc Sturino was to
have an interview with his school counsellor.  He wanted to enter
an academic high school because he wanted to go to university.  His
counsellor suggested he enter technical high school because his
parents would not be able to afford university studies for him,
anyway.  Fortunately, Franc Sturino had a decent teacher who
insisted that he must go to the academic high school because that
was where he belonged.  Mr. Sturino did so.  Later he entered
university, earned his Ph.D. in history and worked as a high
ranking administrator at York University.  Franc Sturino was on e
of the luck Italian young men who had a supportive teacher.  Many
Italian students were deprived of this kind of opportunity. 
Education is the basis of systematic knowledge, and it is
everybody's basic right.  A lot of Italian-Canadians were denied
this ever so important right.

     It was disappointing to find out what happened to the Italian
people who came to Canada in the hope of a better life.  They
risked their life to achieve this dream and discovered that they
were hated before they arrived.  Imagine that people would do
anything to come to Canada, the country respected by most people
around the world, and Canada committed some of the most bewildering
acts agains innocent immigrants.  The struggle of there immigrants
was hopeless.  They felt the irrational hatred them. and they had
to deal with it.  Their hopes were destoryed by the ignorance and
hatred they felt.  The acts that were committed agains Italian
immigrants will never be forgotten; no amount of apology can change
the past.  One can only hope that most Canadians are deeply sorry
for the injustices they committed atains Italian-Canadians.  Thank
goodness, most Italians had the courage to stay in Canada and fight
for their rights; today they are a very valuable part of our
cultural mosaic.
























                            End Notes

1. Mary Scianna: "The Day Freedom Ended", The Globe and Mail, p.
D5, June 9, 1990

2. Kenneth Bagnell: Canadese: A Portrait of the Italian Canadian,
(Toronto: Kanbar Productions Ltd., 1989),p. 104

3. Ibid, p. 73

4. Ibid, p. 108











































                          Bibliography

Bagnell, Kenneth, Canadese: A Portrait of Italian Candians, Toronto
     Kenbar Productions Ltd.,1989.

Bagnell, Kenneth, "Life in the New Land: A Portrait of Italian
     Canadains", Imperial Oil Review, Fall issue, 1990, p.8-15

Davis, Morris, and Krauter, Joseph, Minority Canadians: Ethnic
     Groups, Methuen Publications, a division of the Carswell
     company limited, Agincourt, Ont., 1978.

Dreidger, Leo, The Canadian Ethnic Mosaic- A Quest for Identity,
     Canadian Ethnic Studies Associtation, 1979.

Roy, Patricia, "Italians- Emigration and Immigration", The Canadian
     Encyclopedia, 1988, VII, 1083-1084 

Scianna, Mary, "The Day Freedom Ended", The Globe and Mail, June 9,
1990, D5.

Sturino, Franc, and Perin, Roberto, ed., Arrangiarsi: The Italian
Immigration Experience in Canada, Montreal, Guernica Editions,
1989.

"Edmonton, Alberta", The Junior Encyclopedia, 1990, VII, 397-398


