DIVERSITYDavid Last

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Readings• Trudeau “Statement on Multiculturalism” Russell et al.,

133-134• Bouchard and Taylor, “report on accommodation

practices”, Russell et al., 150-156. • Yasmeen Abu-Laban, “Diversity in Canadian Politics”,

Bickerton & Gagnon, 301-322.• Alfred and Wasáse, “Indigenous Pathways of Action and

Freedom”, Russell et al., 175-180.

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Outline• What is “diversity”?

• Trudeau (1971): from B&B to multiculturalism• Kymlicka (2008): Language, race (phenotype), religion (gender?)• Comprehensive conceptual mapping?• Practical implications

• Statutory obligations• Official Languages Act, 1963, 1969, 2003• Multiculturalism Act, 1988• Employment Equity Act, 1995

• Social science perspectives – EDG • Comparative questions: What works?• Empirical questions: political culture and representation of

women

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What you are missing….

Aboriginal Issues• The Changing relationship

• Riel Rebellion• Treaties, Indian Act• Aboriginal Rights• Land claims• Self-government• Indigenous Rights

Gender issues• Suffrage• Political participation• “Waves” of feminist action

• Anti-feminism• Gender equity(gentlemen, you also have a gender, but men and women are not the only two genders)

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Five Genders? Or Six?

• Female• Male• Hermaphrodite• Male-bodied living as

female• Female-bodied living as

male• Twin-spirited

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9VmLJ3niVo

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Definitions of Diversity• Variety or difference• What differences are significant?

• Genotype, phenotype• Geographic region of birth over generations (indigenous peoples)• Gender, sexual orientation • Language, religion

• What differences are acknowledged?• How are differences managed within political structures?

• Norms, customs, rules• Agendas and assumptions• Rights and accommodations

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Trudeau’s Policy Statement, 1971• Assist all cultural groups to grow and contribute• Assist members of all cultural groups to overcome barriers to full

participation in Canadian society• Promote creative encounters and interchange• Assist immigrants to acquire at least one of Canada's official

languages

“The sense of identity developed by each citizen as a unique individual is distinct from his national allegiance. There is no reason to suppose that a citizen who identifies himself with pride as a Chinese-Canadian, who is deeply involved in the cultural activities of the Chinese community in Canada, will be less loyal or concerned with Canadian matters than a citizen of Scottish origin who takes part in a bagpipe band or highland dancing group. Cultural identity is not the same thing as allegiance to a country.”

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Three lives of Multiculturalism• Will Kymlicka (April, 2008) podcast (link on web site)• Is it time to bury the policy?• Kymlicka argues that it is still relevant, but must adapt, as it

has in the past• Three stages:

• The logic of language-based ethnicity • 1970s, race and racial discrimination• 2000, religions making claims on public life

• Evolution was ad hoc, but this has been a strength of the policy

• The adaptation of multiculturalism to the demands of ethnicity and race have prepared it well to deal with politicized religion

• Key goals in 1971 were national unity and human rights

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Mapping “Ethnicity” and Identity

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Sources of Identity

• Physical differences• Language• Norms against inter-marriage

• Religion• Negative historical memories

(see link to sources of identity scheme for EDG on web site)

• Phenotype• Ideology• Religion• Language• Culture• Individual narratives• Collective narratives

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Stats Canada Definition • “Ethnicity is a difficult concept to measure and there is no

internationally recognized classification for this concept. In general, data for a group is published if the count is about 500 or higher.

• “A single ethnic origin response occurs when a respondent provides one ethnic origin only. For example, in 2006, about 568,510 people stated that their only ethnic origin was Scottish.

• “A multiple response occurs when a respondent provides two or more ethnic origins. For example, about 4,151,340 people in 2006 gave a response which included Scottish and one or more other ethnic origins.”

• We have multiple identities

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Implications of Diverse Identities

• Problem of identity-based conflict

• Percentages and tipping points?

• Strategies for managing diversity

• Rational actors, fifth columns, and political risk management?

• Islam in Paris:• http

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vuY0v7mt_E

• Race riots in Paris• http://www.youtube.co

m/watch?v=yo7dhp5_u0c

• Think about your reaction to these YouTube clips

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Folk Devils and Moral Panics• Stanley Cohen (1987) described a “moral panic” as worry

that the values and principles which society upholds may be in jeopardy – a sense of society under threat

• Folk devils are conditions, episodes, persons or groups which become defined as a threat to societal values and interests. [Cohen, 1987: 9]

• Mass media images help to create these panics and targets of hostility

• They can be part of cycles of inter-ethnic violence, usually associated with violence by a majority against a minority, though often a rising minority, or a successful minority:

• Anti-semitism, racism, prejudice, and event genocide

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Statutory Obligations• National unity and human rights are basic protections

against the social tendency to seek scapegoats and victims to blame for social problems

• Beyond the Charter, legislation has shaped our national institutions to accommodate

• Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism• Official Languages Act, 1969, 2003• Multiculturalism Act, 1988• Employment Equity Act, 1995

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Royal Commission B&B• Laurendeau and Dunton, 1967-1970• Book 1 – official languages (1967)• Book 2 – education (1968)• Book 3 – the work world (1969)• Book 4 – the contribution of other ethnic groups (1969)

“Multiculturalism within a bilingual framework”• Book 5 – the federal capital (1970)• Book 6 – voluntary associations (1970)

Consequence: an emerging rights-based consensus that predated the Charter

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Official Languages Act, 1969, 2003• Right to government service in both languages• Federal courts in both languages• Laws and regulations in both languages• Equal status of French and English• National Capital Region is bilingual• Commissioner of Official Languages• Provision for the preservation and promotion of minority

language rights

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Multiculturalism Act, 1988• Every Canadian receives equal treatment, respecting

diversity• Recognizes and protects Canada's multicultural heritage,

within a bilingual framework• Other languages may be used, but only French and English

are official [implicitly acknowledged costs of bilingualism]• Recognizes aboriginal rights• All groups have rights to enjoy their own culture• Annual Report on the Operation of the Multiculturalism Act,

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2009 • http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/multi-rep

ort2008/part1.asp

• 2006 Census – Canada is increasingly diverse

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Diversity in Canada – Census

• Statistics Canada reports compare 1996, 2001 and 2006 census data for diversity by census metropolitan area

• http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/92-596/index.cfm?Lang=eng

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Visible Minorities by Province, 1996-2006

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http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/92-596/figure2.cfm?Lang=eng&LINE_ID=901&T=PR

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Employment Equity Act, 1995 • Federally regulated employers must provide equal

opportunity to four designated groups:• Women• Aboriginals• Disabled• Visible Minorities

• The Canadian Human Rights Commission is responsible for ensuring compliance

• Compliance audit begins with an audit questionnaire, which relies on self-identification

• (time permitting, a short digression on what employment equity means for RMC recruiting, shortfalls, and special measures)

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Social Science Perspectives on Diversity

• Major collaborative research project – Ethnicity and Democratic Governance

• http://www.queensu.ca/edg/index.html• Political Autonomy and Divided Societies: Imagining Democratic

Alternatives in Complex Settings  • Ethnic Politics and the Making and Unmaking of Constitutions in

Africa, Special Issue of Canadian Journal of African Studies 2009 - Volume 43 Issue 3

• Constitutionalism in Divided Societies Special Issue of the International Journal of Constitutional Law (I·CON) October 2007 - Edited by Sujit Choudhry, Volume 5, Issue 4

• Comparative questions: What works, how and why? • Example: empirical questions about political culture and the

representation of women

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Real World Research…

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Mechanism

Output

What works in one context doesn’t necessarily work in another

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Cultural Obstacles to Equal Representation

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• Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart (2001) Journal of Democracy 12:1, 126-140

• Lack of gender equality in political representation undermines democracy• Nordic parliaments: 38 percent• Americas: 15 percent• Asia: 14 percent• Non-nordic Europe: 14 percent• Sub-saharan Africa: 12 percent• Pacific: 11 percent

• What are the explanations?

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Social Structures and Political Institutions

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• The eligibility pool helps determine who can run for office: occupation, education, and socioeconomic status of women

• Lower socioeconomic status reduces prospects; poorer countries have smaller pool of potentially eligible women

• BUT many countries with similar socioeconomic structures have different proportions of women in office, e.g. • Canada, 20%• US, 13%• Netherlands 36%• Italy 11%

• Comparison suggests that social and political structures are not the main causal factor

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Cultural Barriers

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• We can augment structural and institutional explanations by considering the importance of political culture

• Socialization theories emphasize the importance of gender roles, especially egalitarian or traditional attitudes towards women

• These attitudes influence whether women come forward, and how successful they will be

• Survey data confirm:• There are wide differences in attitudes towards women as political

leaders• Traditional attitudes are a major barrier to election of women• Culture continues as a factor, even when institutional changes are made• As a result of modernization, attitudes are changing rapidly among the

younger generation

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Attitudes towards Women’s Political Leadership

Rank the statement – “on the whole, men make better political leaders than women do.” on a four point scale, where 1 is strongly disagree and 4 is strongly agree.

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Implications for Change

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• Norris and Inglehart have used comparative data to demonstrate that political culture is the decisive factor in explaining poor participation of women in most electoral systems

• Altering deep-seated attitudes may be difficult, but is more important than minor institutional changes.

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Summary• What is “diversity”?

• Trudeau (1971): from B&B to multiculturalism• Kymlicka (2008): Language, race (phenotype), religion (gender?)• Comprehensive conceptual mapping?• Practical implications

• Statutory obligations• Official Languages Act, 1963, 1969, 2003• Multiculturalism Act, 1988• Employment Equity Act, 1995

• Social science perspectives – EDG • Comparative questions: What works?• Empirical questions: political culture and representation of

women

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Questions for discussion• How do we measure diversity?• What institutions help states to accommodate diversity?• As officers in the CF, what legislation shapes our

operating environment, and why does this legislation have security implications?

• Using the Norris and Inglehart article as a pattern, how might you explore barriers to minority representation, and what might you expect to find?

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