A nice place to visit: Italy as seen by Canadians

Abstract

This article analyses Canadian perceptions of Italy at the governmental and societal levels. It argues that Canadians pay relatively little attention to things Italian and that their images of Italy are somewhat stereotypical. Italian politics do not receive much attention and when they do, domestic political aspects prevail over foreign policy ones. The Canadian press represents Italy as a country with a cultural and artistic past, an economic system that finds it difficult to adjust to globalisation and hence destined to decline, a corrupt political system and last, but not least, a society exhibiting many curious, and even bizarre, streaks.

Keywords:

• stereotypes
• scandals
• Mafia
• tradition
• style
• corruption
• interventionist state

Notes

Notes

1. We have also examined eight of the 23 volumes in the series L’Italia nella politica internazionale published by the Istituto Affari Internazionali between 1972 and 1994. Six of these volumes have a very brief section on Canada under the heading ‘Italy's bilateral relations’.

2. We have ignored the historic literature dealing with non-political aspects of Italian–Canadian relations (e.g. explorers, missionaries, etc.). For a review of this literature, which is also rather limited, see Sanfilippo (1992). We should mention, however, a collection of essays by Canadian historians of Italian origins, which explores the efforts of the Fascist government to penetrate Italian communities in Canada and the internment of some Italian-Canadians during the Second World War (Iacovetta, Perin, and Principe 2000; of particular interest in this volume are the essays by Principe, Pennacchio, and Bruti Liberati).

3. For a survey of all treaties between Canada and Italy, see Canada Treaty Information available at http://www.treaty-accord.gc.ca/section.asp

4. The Canadian Alliance was a party that existed from 2000 to 2003. A successor to the Reform Party of Canada, it inherited its position as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and held it throughout its existence. In December 2003, the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative parties voted to disband and merged to become the Conservative Party of Canada.

5. According to the figures provided by the OECD–DAC (http://www.oecd.org/dac), however, the reverse is true. At least since the 1990s, Canada has spent on average about 0.05% more than Italy on international development assistance. Both countries spend less than half of the UN suggested 0.7% of GDP.

6. Standing Committee on the Status of Women, December 5, 2006 (http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=188078&Lang=1&PARLSES=391&JNT=0&COM=10477) and 24 April 2007 (http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=204229&Lang=1&PARLSES=391&JNT=0&COM=10477).

7. Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, 15 June 2006. http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/391/fopo/evidence/ev2293772/fopoev09-e.htm#Int-1599752

8. Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, 11 December 2007 (http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/2/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/fore-e/02evb-e.htm?Language=E&Parl=39&Ses=2&comm_id=8). The Senators might not have got all the facts totally right since in the debate it was also mentioned that Italy was investing 300 million euros in its ‘Go India project’ to help small- and medium-sized businesses. Yet, according to an Indian daily, it was the Italian banks’ association (ABI) and not the government that earmarked €300 million. The Italian government apparently provided only €10 million (‘Go India project: Italian cos sign 3 MoUs’ The Financial Express, 13 February 2007 (http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Go-India-project-Italian-cos-sign-3-MoUs/174408/).

9. Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce, 9 November 2006. http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/bank-e/11eva-e.htm?Language=E&Parl=39&Ses=1&comm_id=3

10. An ‘inter-parliamentary group’, unlike a bilateral parliamentary association, which includes parliamentarians from two countries, includes only parliamentarians from one country who share an interest in another country. The Canadian Parliament has five bilateral associations (with the US, the UK, France, Japan and China) and four ‘inter-parliamentary groups (Germany, Ireland, Israel and Italy). The Canada–Italy inter-parliamentary group was founded in 1981 and is open to all members of the House of Commons and Canadian Senate. It aims at providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and promoting the expansion of relations between Italy and Canada. Its membership is composed mostly of parliamentarians of Italian origin or representing ridings having a substantial number of voters of Italian origin. The group, however, does not seem to be very active, at least judging from its website (http://www.parl.gc.ca/iia/Default.aspx?Lang=E&DCId=1&P=welcome).

11. Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, 20 March 2007. http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=197950&Lang=1&PARLSES=391&JNT=0&COM=10475

12. DFAIT, Global Partnership Program. http://www.international.gc.ca/gpp-ppm/global_partnership-partenariat_mondial.aspx

13. Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan. http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/collection_2008/dfait-maeci/FR5-20-1-2008E.pdf

14. Travel Report–Italy, 30 October 2009. http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=136000

15. DFAIT, ‘Minister Pettigrew announces special arrangement for upcoming Italian national elections’, Press release no. 233, 24 November 2005.

16. We excluded from the search republished news, recurring pricing and market data, obituaries, sports, calendars and those instances in which Italy referred to ‘Little Italy’ in Toronto or somewhere else in Canada.

17. While Mafiosi watch their backs /And cower in decrepit shacks/Where all the future has in store/Is laundry pushed in through the door,/All Italy looks centre-stage/As Berlusconi bares his rage/And says he won’t accept the fate/Of capos who capitulate./How dare they try to take what's his?/This country's Berlusconi's biz,/And anyone who's worth a bribe/Belongs to Berlusconi's tribe,/Where big-boobed blondes on state TV/Know who requires their loyalty/And judges find no proof of fraud/In his Godfathered acts of God./A valediction? Some farewell,/When Silvio says, ‘Go to hell’/Each time the opposition tries/To send him to his just demise —/The man has changed his country's laws/To find forgiveness for his flaws,/So what's a ballot-box defeat/But just another rap to beat?

18. Frequent references were made to the ‘very important’ or ‘strong Italian community’, ‘Corso Italia in Ottawa’, the ‘twinning’ of Toronto and Milan and to the presence of many MPs of Italian origin in the House of Commons which, according to one observer, elicits jealousy in other communities.