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The benefits of multiculturalism in canada
Essay on multiculturalism in canada
The benefits of multiculturalism in canada
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Multiculturalism is a significant fabric of Canadian society that defines its unique identity among the rest of the world. Enactment of the Canadian multicultural policy (1971) affirmed government position and recognition of multiculturalism as a vital element of Canada. It is imperative to understand that multiculturalism is a static concept that keeps changing overtime and has a multidimensional entity. Canadians have always and will continue to revise the concept of multiculturalism to suit the ever expanding needs of Canadian society. In this paper, I will evaluate the reasons behind Canada’s adoption of multicultural policy and assess whether the policy should be maintained or not. I will defend the thesis that Canada’s multiculturalism …show more content…
Multiculturalism policy ensures people from different ethnic, racial, religious, and linguistic backgrounds coexist together. Ng, Eddy and Isabel affirmed that the strategic tolerance fostered through the policy enhance the development of a national identity centered around multiculturalism with much ado about citizenship and naturalization process (254). In the long-term, the policy reduces hostilities between the natives and immigrants. Durante Chris explained that, “As both a political philosophy and public policy, multiculturalism has become one of the leading approaches for coping with problems that arise when attempting to accommodate the needs of ethnic, cultural, and religious communities in a liberal democracy,” (323). In the long-term, the policy reduces hostilities between the natives and immigrants, thereby creating a society where cultural identity and ethnic diversity enjoys mutual respect and tolerance – suitable ingredients for social cohesion. Peace and harmony within a society prevails if each group feel respected and allowed to associate with their identity without prejudice. However, issues have risen in Canada where the natives feel immigrants are overburdening their them and introducing new cultures. If such situation is the case, multiculturalism could impact negatively on social …show more content…
Banting noted that some Canadians fear multiculturalism will bring, “…challenges to historic cultures, anxieties about Islam, and fears about insecurity,” (797). As people migrate from one cultural or religious backgrounds, maintaining the identity of the host country becomes difficult. Young children born interact with the immigrants and they could easily emulate foreign cultures thereby putting the historic cultural identity of Canadians at risk of erosion. Winter Elke warned that multiculturalism is changing to give too much preference to the immigrants thereby risking it to become a minority affair (638). Therefore, the relationship between national the majority of Canadians and immigrants need rethinking. Erosion of other cultures as immigrants introduce new ways or adapt to the cultures of the host county (Canada). Furthermore, education of the immigrants could face challenges if they experience difficulty settling in Canada. Given that immigrants later work in Canada, the human resource sector faces a new challenge of managing a diversified workforce, which can create headache for Canadian employers. Banting indicated that there is, “a strong sense that multiculturalism policies have “failed” a reaction that is strongest perhaps in the Netherlands, but is felt in many other countries as well,” (797). Such assertions only fuel resentment towards
Canada is an ethnically diverse country. The notion of "multiculturalism" began circulating in Canada in 1971 and is a word that is now commonly used to define this country, unlike the word "melting-pot" which is used to describe Americans' loss of ethnic identity. The broadcasting system in Canada is pressured by the government to acknowledge the culturally diverse society by broadcasting a fair representation of the population in terms of ethnicity. This is achieved through the many acts that have been passed through parliament: the multiculturalism policy of 1971, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms of 1982, the Ethnic Broadcasting Policy of 1985, and most recent, the Broadcasting Act of 1991. These legislative and policy frameworks have provided guidelines for the management of Canadia...
Today in Canada it is not uncommon to see people of various races, ethnic backgrounds or cultural groups living within a mutual society; commonly known as multiculturalism. Multiculturalism refers to the presence of, or support for the presence of several distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society. As the topic becomes more more popular due to news events and social media debates, multiculturalism gets twisted and misunderstood. In essence, multiculturalism is not about dwelling on about our differences, it is about emphasizing our commonality. Diversity of the human race has the power to unify society and make it stronger. Firstly, innovation
“Multiculturalism” entered public speech in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Canada that focused on unique cultural diversity, nationalities, and ethnicity across the nation. Multiculturalism and Immigration are important factors in the development of Canada to attain a strong multicultural example of economic stability, social and political growth which leads to the emergence of Canada’s identity and culture.
Multiculturalism in Canada is actually a beautiful element. Through different texts such as “I am not racist” and “I’m a Banana and proud of it” multiculturalism may not be a beautiful thing after all. The stereotyping, that is describing people shape, colour and language they speak. In Canada, stereotyping and racism occurs even if we think it’s not as we are multicultural country.
Our history of 20th century of Canada on the treatment on immigrants was indeed bias and still occurs to some extent today. Numerous amounts of immigrants were into lose if not all, but very many of their belongings, valuables and family behindhand, to posses a Canadian citizenship. People travelled extensive distances to seek better lives; Canadians faced many with racism because of their differences, in fact it influenced ruined many lives. Immigrants in the past were shamefully discriminated against and exploited by the Canadian changing role of government, producing a dark side to Canada’s history. The three events that accurately validate that immigrants had tough lives were, “The Boat of People,” Chinese due to Chinese Exclusion Act, and the most improved, Merit Point System. These have effected Canada’s society significantly in a negative manner and have helped us learn, improve and equalize our society for everyone.
The findings of the Royal Commission of Bilingualism and Biculturalism built the foundations of what would be Canada’s first policy on multiculturalism. It was on October 8, 1971 that Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau addressed the House of Commons and announced that Canada was to be “multicultural within a bilingual framework” (Haque 18). The use of multiculturalism as a term has become increasingly elastic according to Eve Haque and it has been used time and time again across the Canadian political spectrum. It has been used to signify both the success and the demise of the country (Haque 18). Its has been used to identify:
There was a notable divide between Canada’s French and English-speaking population in the 1960s, as they each presented contrasting views of the country’s national identity. As the federal government faced what seemed like two separate nations embodied within a single country, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson assembled the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in July 1963. It was to evaluate the existing state of bilingualism and biculturalism and recommend the actions needed to alleviate the largely linguistic and cultural divides in Canada. Pearson’s directive was given at a time when Quebec was experiencing a period of great social and economic development through the Quiet Revolution, while English-Canada was grappling with the re-establishment of the country’s identity as the British definition of Canada was becoming increasingly rejected. This paper will assess bilingualism and biculturalism as it challenged national identity, seen through the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (RCBB) and the influence of the Quiet Revolution; which resulted in policy – the Official Languages Act in 1969 and the Official Multicultural Policy in 1971 – that ultimately shaped bilingualism and biculturalism within what became a multicultural framework in Canada.
Canada has long been called "The Mosaic", due to the fact that it is made up of a varied mix of races, cultures and ethnicities. As more and more immigrants come to Canada searching for a better life, the population naturally becomes more diverse. This has, in turn, spun a great debate over multiculturalism. Some of the issues under fire are the political state's policies concerning multiculturalism, the attitudes of Canadians around these policies, immigration, the global market, and a central point is the education and how to present the material in a way so as to offend the least amount of people. There are many variations on these themes as will be discussed in this paper.
...d the ideal of a perfect Canadian – who belongs to the nation and where do the boundaries lie? There are individuals who still subscribe to the Eurocentric understanding of the country, where the British nation with a French and English presence clearly divided that state. Those who share that view often see multiculturalism as a change that challenges their conception of Canada, themselves and the nations identity. From this perspective, the changes Canadians have experienced make the country seem like it has fallen apart. Racialized minorities have been contingent to this idea of what a model setter once was and what is now considered best for the nation. In reality Canada’s national identity is a lot more complex than both views explain, with a contemporary Canadian perspective included. It has been interestingly portrayed to the Canadian public in various ways.
35 Fleras, Augie, and Jean Leonard Elliott. Engaging Diversity: Multiculturalism in Canada. Toronto: Nelson, 2002: 164.
...of Canadian Integration and Immigration Policies at the Millennium. Mar 2000: 1-14. On-line. EBSCOhost. 03 Mar 2000 Avery, Donald. Peopling Canada. Mar 2000: 1-14. On-line. EBSCOhost. 03 Mar 2000. Available: wysiwyg://bodyframe.47/http://ehos....migration Bourrie, Mark. Population-Canada: No Longer Nice to Refugees, Critics Say. Mar. 2000: 1. On-line. Internet Explorer. World Wide Web. 05 Mar 2000. Available: http://www.oneworld.org/ips2/oct98/21_40_082.html Braham, Carol G. Random House Webster’s School & Office Dictionary. New York: Random House, 1998 "Immigration Policies Hurt Torontonians." The Toronto Star Nov 1999 On-line. Internet Explorer. World Wide Web. 05 Mar 2000. Available: http://www.thestar.com/back_issues/ED19991114/opinion/ 991114NEW02c_OP-HAROON14.html Ungerleider, Charles S. Immigration, Multiculturalism, and Citizenship: The Development of The Canadian Social Justice Infrastructure. Mar. 2000: 1-15. On-line. EBSCOhost. 03 Mar. 2000. Available: wysiwyg://bodyframe. 7/http://ehos...%20%26%20immigration%22&fuzzy You Asked About...Immigration and Citizenship. Ontario: Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 1999.
In addition, multiculturalism has a powerful repercussion on national identity. The term “melting pot” which the United States is often referred to as was coined by St. John Crevecoeur’s. This as due to the mix of Scotch, Irish, Dutch, Germans and Swedes that were in the United States in 1782. However, not everyone agreed with Crevecoeur’s ideas such as Horace Kallen who advocated against Creveceour’s idea. Many individuals such as Allan Bloom and Arthur Schlesinger followed in Kalle’s footsteps. Until the 1960’s, Canada restricted minorities that were deemed as “unassimilable.” These individuals included Chinese, Japanese, South Asians and Blacks. Canadian authors such as Bissoondath and Gwyn stated multiculturalism prevents society from advancing saying things such as “multiculturalism does not encourage immigrants to think of themselves as Canadians” (443). However, the article does discuss authors who believe multiculturalism is a positive thing such as Canadian author, Will Kymlicka who finds multiculturalism as a “defensible, and successful approach
Based upon the study of Canadian attitudes towards immigration and multiculturalism by Stuart Soroka and Sarah Roberton, an absence of specificity also
The idea of multiculturalism is that there are many different cultures in Canada that somehow manage to live in harmony. This movie depicts a variety of different cultures all coming together in one of the most nationalist cities in Quebec, and eventually getting along. It is important to see that though there are different cultures there is still love between individuals of these cultures, stereotypes that are in common, and humour to be made out of the differences, which are all larger than any territorial and linguistic boundaries. This movie also shows the issue with bilingualism which is another important part of Canada’s heritage but encourages the idea that bilingualism policies could create a more unified Canada. In a course on multiculturalism it is important to understand the ideology of these policies and how they work in practice which this movie depicts really
It would be nice to allow people to adhere to their own styles, but doing that excludes them from the already existing nation’s practices. On the other hand, requiring immigrants to completely conform to society, will result in taking away all of their beliefs. According to Malik, “‘multicultural’ has come to define both a society that is particularly diverse, usually as a result of immigration, and the policies necessary to manage such a society” (22). With the immigration that European nations have faced, there is undoubtedly diverse culture present, but the policy aspect of that multicultural definition still needs to be redefined in order to create a balance between diversity and inclusion within