Seems to me that Canada has every right to expect immigrants to assimilate to their culture.That includes learning English (and/or French) and behaving in the same civilized ways that are rightfully expected of Canadians.
Of course assimilation is a dirty word today in the US thanks to the likes of Ted Kennedy (and many others).Don't know if the same is true in Canada but I wouldn't be surprised if it was.
American immigrants in the early 1900s were held in quarantine on Ellis Island. The society ladies sponsored Settlement Houses which taught ‘modern’ living. The Settlement Cookbook was one of their projects.
All four of my grandparents were immigrants. All except my paternal grandmother learned English to an acceptable or better degree. My paternal grandfather spoke, read and could write 5 languages, including English and Spanish. His family spent 9 years in Argentina, which was the only country then that didn’t charge for a visa.
On my mother’s side, both grands came over at 18 and were allowed in as workers. The other side had 2 kids and grandma was pregnant, so a sponsor, a job + a visa were required. 6 kids combined in my parents’ generation, all assimilated, all were enthusiastic Americans. They even refused to teach us Russian, Yiddish or Lithuanian because they didn’t want us to be greenhorns. I picked up some Yiddish, but by the time my brother was born 5 years later, they stopped using it around us, so I forgot.
These people came from rural areas with dirt floors and weekly baths, wood heat and wood cook stoves. They were all born in the 19th century in Eastern Europe. They figured things out quickly. They wouldn’t discuss life in Europe. If I asked, the answer was “It’s better here.” End of discussion.