A Conversation with Salim Kassam

By Alexander Witt (3L)

Salim Kassam came over to me after Justice Abella’s Q&A session ended on November 3 to tell me that Canadian citizenship means much more than a travel document. Minutes before, I had asked Justice Abella what Canadian citizenship means to her, and in doing so I indicated that it is not much more than a right to a passport. He wanted to tell me that Canadian citizenship means a lot more than a passport. But his initial reaction was to tell me “You’re taking it for granted!”

Kassam was born in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. His grandfather came, at age eight, from India in 1906.  In the early 1970s, at the same time as East Indians were expelled from Idi Amin’s Uganda, East Indians in Tanzania suffered from government discrimination.  Homes and businesses were nationalized. His parents decided that the family had to leave Tanzania. They went to Karachi, Pakistan.  But many families fleeing Uganda went to Canada, including some of Kassam’s extended family. From 1974 until 1984, he and his parents lived with their lives on hold.

During that decade they tried to get to Canada. Pakistan never felt like home.  “We didn’t know how it was in Canada, but we were told it was the best country to be in,” Kassam remembers thinking.  When the family’s application was accepted, he stayed up a week partying. “Our friends and family were excited for us, but they were envious too,” he said.

Kassam contrasts Canada with the USA. Many of his friends got there, one way or another. It was tougher. Many started out in convenience stores, but, after 20 years they are doing fine.  In 1996, to help treat his son’s asthma, Kassam and his family moved to Florida. 

He saw how other people thought of Canada: “People I know, even in the U.S., think that Canada is a fair country. They think our health care is the best – sometimes I disagree – they think it’s a laid back country.  If it weren’t for the weather, most of my friends in the U.S. would come up here.”  Being from Canada helped both Kassam and his wife find jobs easily; as a registered nurse she walked into a hospital’s human resources department on day and walked out with a job.

His children, thanks to their Canadian education, were years ahead of their classmates in the U.S. Ultimately Kassam and his family missed Canada.  “I moved back to Edmonton because it was the best place to raise my family.” For Kassam, Canada has the best education, opportunities, and it’s well respected around the world.
Kassam continues to believe in this country. “If I would have known what I know today, twenty five years ago, I would do the same thing.” Working as an accountant in Karachi, as a middle manager, it would have taken him ten years’ salary, before taxes, to afford a Toyota Corolla. No average working family thinks of buying a house there. “I can provide much more for my family here in Canada than my parents ever could in Tanzania,” he said, “I wouldn’t trade this country for any other one.”