Alberta's come a long way in eliminating racism: Lieutenant-Governor Kwong

EDMONTON (CP) - When the Queen's representative in Alberta was just six or seven, he wanted to jump into a Calgary wading pool. But Norman Kwong's sister told him they couldn't because they were Chinese.

"I didn't understand why at that time, but I know that hearing that from her didn't make me feel very good," Alberta's lieutenant-governor said Sunday.

Kwong, who was born in 1929, said while he thought the people of Alberta were doing a good job at eliminating racism and discrimination, there was still work to be done.

"Diversity isn't the strange thing it was when I was growing up," the lieutenant-governor told the crowd attending the 10th anniversary of The Canadian Multicultural Education Foundation.

His parents came to Canada in the 1920s and they lived in a Calgary neighbourhood where his was one of only two Chinese families on the block.

"We were the only families that were of different colour than white. We were kind of looked on as strange because we had different customs and things," Kwong said.

"I also grew up in an Alberta where Chinese Canadians weren't allowed to vote and that didn't change until the year before I joined the CFL as a rookie Calgary Stampeder."

Kwong was 18 - the year was 1948 - when he became the first Chinese Canadian in the Canadian Football League and went on to win four Grey Cups - one with the Stampeders, three with the Edmonton Eskimos.

"Today, diversity isn't such a big deal, just go to any high school and look around at some of the students, it's just simply now a part of who were are as Albertans."

Kwong, who was named to the Order of Canada in 1998, said he decided to take the job as lieutenant-government partly because of his parents.

"I thought about what my parents went through as immigrants to Alberta in the 1920s because they were a very visible minority.

"Then I thought about how proud they would have been to see me serve as lieutenant-governor of the province and what my appointment would say about diversity in Alberta."

Kwong said he was reminded how far Alberta has progressed as he took part in preparations for Saturday's opening in Calgary of the Glenbow Museum's exhibit Mavericks - An Incorrigible History of Alberta.

The exhibit is based on the book of the same name by Aritha van Herk.

"?.?.That book talks about how early Alberta communities tried to keep minorities and new immigrants from succeeding and how those new Albertans were blamed pretty much every social problem in the province.

"But today they are recognized for the strength that they bring to our communities, they are celebrated and shared, rather than feared and shunned."

Rahim Jaffer, MP for Edmonton Strathcona, also praised Canada's open and tolerant society.

His family came to Canada in the 1970s as refugees from Uganda.

"And 25 years later to sit in the federal Parliament as a member of Parliament. Very few countries would allow that to happen so we should be very proud in Canada for that sort of thing that's been achieved," he said.

© The Canadian Press, 2007