My name is John Portelli, a Maltese who came to Canada in 1977. I have lived in Montreal and currently live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where I teach in the faculty of education at Mount Saint Vincent university. Presently I am pursuing a research project about the Maltese in Canada. I am writing to several Maltese in Canada whose e-mail address is available in Grazio Falzon's Malta web page in order to seek information or assistance in this project.
The primary purpose of this study is to carry out an interdisciplinary study (historical-sociological-cultural studies) about the Maltese in Canada. This study was triggered after I spent one month in Toronto this past summer. This stay gave me the opportunity to visit the Maltese organisations in Toronto, and to learn more about the Maltese community. Through informal conversations, I heard several narratives of Maltese immigrants about their lives in Canada: why they emigrated; how they travelled to Canada; what they expected from Canada; what they found and felt about Canada; the role of the Maltese community in their process of adapting; their working conditions, etc.I learned a lot from these conversations. A thorough search in Canadian libraries indicates that very little has been written about the Maltese in Canada. My aim is to document information I gather from Maltese in Canada. I believe this study will contribute both to the understanding of the intricacies and complexities that take place within the development of a small ethnic-cultural group in Canada, as well as to the understanding of certain aspects of social life in Canada as seen from the perspective of such a group.
I have already conducted archival searches of holdings in Ottawa. I plan to do similar searches in Toronto and elsewhere. And finally I hope to conduct semi-structured interviews with informants-participants. I plan to conduct such interviews in Toronto this Spring. I would also like to interview or carry out a survey either through e-mail or regular mail. Participants are assured that the interviews-surveys will be kept confidential: any direct quotes will be anonymous unless the participants may prefer not to conceal their anonymity. The interview or survey can be conducted in Maltese or English.
If you are interested in assisting in this study, I would greatly appreciate it if you write to me. I would also be very grateful if you bring to my attention names and addresses of other Maltese who may be interested in this study, as well as other sources (books, articles, news paper articles, etc.) or documents (pictures, letters, etc.)
With Best Wishes/Sahhiet
John P. Portelli, 21 Parmbelle lane Halifax, Nova Scotia,B3M 1N2
E-mail to John Portelli.