Can Multiculturalism 2

8/6/2019 Can Multiculturalism 2

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Multiculturalism

In this weeks classes we will examine-Multicultural Policy in Canada

-The Development of Canada as aMulticultural nation

-The Pros and the Cons of Multiculturalism-The Face of Multiculturalism in Canada today


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Multiculturalism The Basics

A 2001 census done by Statistics Canada reported that

43.3 percent of Canadians claimed an ethnic

background other than Canadian, French or British.

In 2006, more than 200 different mother tongue

languages were reported to be in use in Canada.

Ethnicity: The language, religion, dialect and cultural

heritage that commonly define a certain group.

Ethnic Origin: Refers to the ethnic or cultural group to

which an individuals ancestors belonged. This pertains

to the ancestral roots or origins of the population, NOT to

place of birth, citizenship or nationality.


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Multiculturalism- The Basics

Ethnic groups in Canada are unevenly mixed throughout

the population.

In 2001, 94% of immigrants who had arrived during the

1990s were living in metropolitan areas. (Big Cities)

Nearly three quarters of them lived in Toronto, Vancouver

and Montreal.

World history shows that many states can successfully

accommodate vast economic differences, and they do so in

2 major ways:

The Melting Pot

The Mosaic


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The Melting Pot: A method of cultural integration that

concentrates on a coming together of cultures based onshared experiences and a commitment to shared political

ideas and values.

Different cultures boil down and melt together into one

This process involves cultural assimilation: Blending in to

the dominant culture of the land.

The United States provides an example of the melting pot

method of cultural integration.


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The Melting Pot


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The Mosaic: This approach has been to encourage

different cultures to exist side-by-side in harmony andtolerance.

The Mosaic forms the basis of the ideology that governs

multiculturalism.

It encourages the retention and promotion of ethnic andcultural differences instead of the melting together of

differences.

Canada stands as an example of the Mosaic and bases

itself on a model that integrates different cultural interestsequally.

This approach was established and is defended through the

Constitution and continued policies bilingualism,

multiculturalism, different rights and equality provisions.


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The Mosaic


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When non-English or non-French speaking immigrants

choose Canada, they usually learn to speak English orFrench and this begins a process ofcultural layering.

Cultural layering is adopting different multiple layers

(cultural aspects) from other cultures and adding them to

your experiences and world view. Canadians have layered cultures not just immigrants

Antoine Maillett Acadian, French, Canadian.

As the flow of immigrants to Canada increases and the

ethnic composition of the country changes, there is agrowing challenge to maintain the balance between

national loyalty and respect for diversity.


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Immigration: Patterns and Policies

Immigration is a shared jurisdiction between the federal andprovincial governments.

Both levels of government consult annually about desired

numbers of immigrants and settlement measures.

Quebec selects the immigrants it wishes to settle in the

province independently due to the Canada-Quebec Accord


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Immigration: Patterns

Since Confederation, immigrants have come to Canada in

several large waves.

The first three were related to depressed economic/post-

War conditions in Europe.

First wave(1896-1914): Mainly British labourers, Eastern

European peasants and US farmers.

Second wave(mid-1920s): Central and Eastern

Europeans.

Immigration ceased briefly during the Great Depression.

Third Wave: Began after WW2 and lasted until 1960. This

wave saw mostly well-educated Europeans immigrating.


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Immigration Since Confederation


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Immigration: Policies

The Canadian Bill of Rights (1960) dramatically changed

Canadas immigration policy.

For the first time, a federal law in Canada barred

discrimination on the grounds of race, national origin, colour,

religion or gender.

In 1962, changes in federal immigration regulations shifted

the main source of immigrants from those of British or

French origins to Asians.

Immigration levels rose again in the mid-1960s in a fourth

wave that has remained well above 100 000

immigrants/year until today.


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Immigration: Policies

In the 1960s Canada introduced a points system that

favoured highly skilled foreigners by assigning points foreducation and work experience and accepting those who

earned high scores.

In 1992, at the pinnacle of the fourth wave, Canadaaccepted 253 000 immigrants and refugees.

In 1995 a 10-year immigration plan took effect and

increasing numbers of immigrants were selected on thebasis of their skills and their capacity to contribute to

Canadian society and the economy.


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Immigration: The Extent

Throughout the 90s Canada accepted, annually, about

1% of its population in immigrants roughly 235 000/year This number has increased to about 240,000/year since

2001.

Of the 1.8 million immigrants who arrived between 1991

and 2001, 58% came from Asia and the Middle East and20% from Europe.

Nearly two-thirds of Canadas yearly population growth

comes from immigrants.


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Immigration: The Result

This immigration has created a multi-ethnic population and

provided the fuel for economic growth in Canada. Between 2001 and 2006 immigrants added more than 1.6

million Canadians, this was responsible for raising Canadas

population growth rate from 4% to 5.4%

In 2006, Canada had the highest growth rate of all G8countries, due to immigration.


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Population Growth in G8 Countries from 2001

to 2006


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Multiculturalism

Over the years, the reception and accommodation of

newcomers to Canada has changed considerably. The initial tendency was towards assimilation.

Later, during the high immigration period (1940s and1950s), cultural pluralism ormulticulturalism began to

take hold. Multiculturalism: Within the context of Canadian

citizenship and economic and political integration, ethniccustoms and cultures should be valued, preserved andshared.

This is an integrative approach as opposed to anassimilationist one.

The basic assumption of this policy is that confidence inones own cultural foundations helps break down

prejudice and discrimination between groups.


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Multiculturalism

Reasons for the change:

Economic prosperity in Canada had eased cultural conflicts

and a new wave of immigrants (many whom were educated

and professional Europeans) helped break down the rigid

correlation between socio-economic class and ethnicity.

Britain was declining as a super-power and Canadiannationalism required a new self-image that distinguished

itself from the U.S. and their melting pot immigration

policy.

Canadas historical relationship with Quebec (2 nations inone state) provided a good conceptual framework in which

to consider multiculturalism.


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Multiculturalism: The Policy

In the early 1970s, the federal government and the

provincial governments of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan

and Alberta formally adopted a policy of multiculturalism.

In 1971, the federal government defined Canada as being

multicultural within a bilingual English-French framework

and established a Cabinet position in government of theMinister of the State for Multiculturalism.

Multiculturalism Act was passed in 1988

A governmental department Multiculturalism and Citizenship

Canada was established in 1991.

All-in-all Canada has been rather successful with adopting

Multiculturalism, although it has had its share of challenges.


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Multiculturalism Act 1988 PARLIAMENTARY ACTION

A. Canadian Multiculturalism Act(Bill C-93)

Bill C-93, which provided a statutory framework for the existing policy, wasadopted by Parliament in July 1988 and immediately given Royal Assent.

Passage of this legislation has imbued the principle of racial and cultural

equality with the force of law.

The Act recognizes the need to increase minority participation in society by

ensuring that federal institutions are responsive to the multicultural reality of

Canada. Moreover, all government agencies, departments and Crown

corporations not just the ministry responsible for multiculturalism are

expected to provide leadership in advancing Canadas multicultural mix.

It is also noteworthy that the Act makes the government accountable to bothParliament and the public for ensuring compliance with its provisions by

requiring annual reports. A multiculturalism secretariat was established to

support the government in implementing improved delivery of government

services in federal institutions.


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Multiculturalism Chronology

1996 - The federal government established the Canadian Race Relations

Foundation. 1997 - The Minister of State for Multiculturalism announced a renewed

multiculturalism program.

2002 - The federal government announced that Canadian Multiculturalism

Day will be held on 27 June each year.

2005 - In the February budget, the federal government announcedcommemorative and educational initiatives to highlight the contributions of

groups that have troubling memories as a result of historical events during

times of war, or as a result of immigration policies of the day.

2005 - In March, the federal government releasedA Canada for All:

Canadas Action Plan Against Racism.

2005 - Between August and November, the federal government announcedagreements-in-principle with the Ukrainian-Canadian, Italian-Canadian, and

Chinese-Canadian communities as part of the Acknowledgement,

Commemoration, and Education Program announced in the February 2005

budget.


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Racism

As of 2001, almost 4 million Canadians were part ofvisible

minority groups.

Employment Equity Act: Persons other than Aboriginal peoples,who are non-Caucasian in race or non-White in colour.


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Racism

The number of visible minorities in Canada is growing muchfaster than the population itself. 25% 1996-2001,Population 4%

After 2001, Chinese constituted the largest visible minoritygroup.

More than half of Canadas visible minorities live in Ontario

and British Columbia. In 2001 they formed 36.8% ofTorontos population.

In spite of Canadas multicultural policy, ethnic tensions stillexist.

Studies show that visible minorities are more likely to sufferfrom racial discrimination than Caucasian/Europeanimmigrants

Racial discrimination: Is the imposition of handicaps,barriers and different treatment on individuals because of

their race.


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Racism

Systemic Discrimination: Unintentional, institutional form of

racism that manifests itself in high levels of unemploymentand exclusion from certain sectors of the economy.

The worst levels of racism in Canadian history have been;

the Chinese head tax to prevent Chinese from immigrating

to Canada, the internment of Japanese Canadians duringWW2 and the poor treatment of Native people.

Prevalence: In a 2002 government survey on ethnic

diversity asked people whether they had been discriminated

against because of their ethnicity, culture, race, skin,language, accent or religion. 93% said they had never or

rarely experienced discrimination due to these reasons.


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Further Resources

Ethnic Diversity Survey --

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=get

Canada Gov. site

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/index.asp

Jean Leonard Elliot and Augie Fleras Unequal Relations:

An Introduction to Race and Ethnic Relations in Canada.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=4508&lang=en&db=imdb&adm=8&dis=2http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/index.asphttp://www.cic.gc.ca/english/multiculturalism/index.asphttp://www.statcan.gc.ca/cgi-bin/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=4508&lang=en&db=imdb&adm=8&dis=2

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