Bilingualism is often at the helm of immigration and multiculturalism in Canada. According to author Eve Haque, who wrote “The Bilingual Limits of Canadian Multiculturalism: The Politics of Language and Race” in Critical Inquires: A Reader in Studies of Canada, there have been bilingual constraints placed on the country’s multiculturalism policies. Haque’s piece provides an interesting perspective, which focuses on how bilingualism has negatively framed the development of multiculturalism in Canada. This paper will provide a counter to this claim, as bilingualism is encompassed within multiculturalism. It provides a base for development in a country that has become abundant in ethnic diversity and has consequently undergone policy changes to both reflect and maintain an all-encompassing society. This can be seen through the genealogy, history, and construction of the Royal Commission of Bilingualism and Biculturalism (RCBB) and its findings, which reflect a bilingual binary necessary for dynamic multicultural nation that is Canada.
Eve Haque illustrates the genealogy of royal commissions through Foucault, who contends that it “operates on a field of entangled and confused parchments, on documents that have been scratched over and recopied many times” (Haque 19). This interwoven web demonstrates the intrinsic value in history through genealogy and how it affects commission work. According to Foucault it can be outlined by three main method elements: eventialization, decent and emergence (Haque 19). However, the recording of singular events, even if they are absent, is a challenging concept. The discursive and non-discursive ways to understand eventialization force a reconsidering of how historical moments have shaped society and ...
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...art of the national’s interpretive framework and history“ (Haque 20). When the reports conclusions produce findings that result in policy, a larger argument is sparked – as seen with the Royal Commission of Bilingualism and Biculturalism.
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:
Multiculturalism policy was first adopted in Canada in 1971, which reaffirms the dignity and value of all its citizens regardless of ethnic origins, race, religious affiliations, or language. Part of this policy, Canada confirms the rights of all the aboriginals along with the recognition of two official languages. Indeed, multiculturalism has great importance since its main purpose is to give equal treatment to all the citizens (Daniel, 2010). It ensures that all individual citizens could still maintain their identities, and have pride with their ancestry. Through this initiative, the Canadian government was able to give their citizens a feeling of self-confidence, making them more open to their diverse cultures. The multiculturalism policy
Although Quebec is in Canada, a majority of Quebecers do not identify with the national identity of Canada. Both societies create a sense of identity as well as nationalism (Hiller, 295). Hiller mentions two approaches to assessing Canadian identity; the unitary approach and the segmentalist approach (Hiller, 277). The unitary approach suggests that society consists of people who regardless of their ethnic back ground, identify as belonging to the national society, while the segmentalist approach concentrates on groups and communities that share racial, linguistic, occupational, or cultural similarities (Hiller, 28). While most Anglophones are more unitary or pan-Canadian, Quebec heavily identifies with the segmentalist approach. This dissimilarity of identity perspective may be problematic for the country, at the same time however, it can also be viewed as a struggle where contradictory parties find a way to compromise and reshape Canadian society together (Hiller, 277). Canada’s former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau made it his objective to unite Quebec with the rest of Canada. In 1969 Trudeau’s government implemented Bill C-120, otherwise known as the Official Language act, which made French an...
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...
The reason I want to be a teacher is so I can make a positive impact in the lives’ of children similar to the teachers that taught me who impacted my life growing up. When I was six years old my family left Mexico and migrated to Greenville, Texas. The transition was challenging; I left behind everything I knew and was forced to adapt to a brand new world where I could not understand the language that everyone spoke. Luckily for me, Greenville had a bilingual program and I was placed in the classroom of Ms. Ramirez. I will never forget how she treated all her students, she truly is one of my biggest inspirations as to why I decided to become a bilingual teacher. Every time I stepped foot in her classroom, I always felt safe, secured, and
The Canadian Multiculturalism Act: A Guide for Canadians. Ottawa, Ont: Multiculturalism and Citizenship Canada, 1990. Print.
“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.
The author Maria de la Luz Reyes explains through several characters born and raised in a family that spoke different native languages but he managed to excel in learning English. Biliteracy refers to the ability to communicate and write more than one language and this represents a major achievement because it takes a lot of sacrifice and dedication to realize it. The situation surrounding biliteracy is controversial because some parents appreciate when their children learn more than one language but others are not as Collins explains in the book, Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Biliteracy and its influence differs and Collin Baker identifies that diverse bilingual classes and schools, culture and language, influence dissimilar
Every year, over 250,000 people make Canada their new home. Attracted by its education system, economy and universal healthcare system, there are few other places in the world like it. All Canadians are guaranteed equality before the law and equality of opportunity, regardless of where they are from. However, some might argue that Canadian policy has not been put into practice as well as it should be. Is the concept of true equality a far-fetched idea? It seems that Canada has taken great measures to promote the integration of immigrants socially, but can the same be said for their integration economically? Politically? To judge whether or not Canada has been successful at promoting the integration of immigrants in these realms, a deeper understanding of Canadian policy must be considered.
In this thriving time period, Canada admitted countless immigrants and refugees from other nations. This second wave of immigrants contributed to Canada’s exponential population increase, alongside baby boomers. Canada was also introduced to many cultures and religions conveyed overseas by newcomers from Asia and Europe. This symbolized the start of Canada’s worldwide recognition of a multi-cultural country. As the coveted land for foreign citizens, Canada did not completely welcome every person who applied for citizenship. Under that desirable façade, the Canadian government somewhat welcomed and admitted immigrants with a comparatively hospitable attitude, however, once the immigrants arrived in Canada, they were left alone by the government to fend for themselves. Similar to the treatment of the government, immigrants were not completely welcomed by the Canadian mainstream society after settling in Canada.
Do you know that despite Canada being called multicultural and accepting, Canada’s history reveals many secrets that contradicts this statement? Such an example are Canadian aboriginals, who have faced many struggles by Canadian society; losing their rights, freedoms and almost, their culture. However, Native people still made many contributions to Canadian society. Despite the efforts being made to recognize aboriginals in the present day; the attitudes of European Canadians, acts of discrimination from the government, and the effects caused by the past still seen today have proven that Canadians should not be proud of Canada’s history with respect to human rights since 1914.
36 Fleras, Augie, and Jean Leonard Elliott. Engaging Diversity: Multiculturalism in Canada. Toronto: Nelson, 2002: 171.
When visiting just about any school across America, students who attend come from all over the globe. This raises the question across America about bilingual education. This can create many challenges in and out of the classroom. The classroom should be a safe place for all students regardless of what native language they speak. In the essay Lost in translation written by Eva Hoffman, describes a foreign student who tries hard to fit in. Instead, Eva begins to feel angry, hurt and confused because people laugh at her. In Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education by Elizabeth R. Howard, Julie Sugarman, Donna Christian Center for Applied Linguistics Kathryn J. Lindholm-Leary San José State University David Rogers Dual Language Education of New Mexico. Guiding principles gives great ideas to educators to stop kids from making other students feel the way that Eva felt. After reading several articles about bilingual education, it is evident that all children in school should learn English but never lose their native language. When all the students speak one language, students will be less likely to make fun of each other. A good educator should learn enough foreign languages to aid them in effective communication in their classroom although; if an educator does not speak a foreign language, they should recruit within the classroom students to be peer mentors. However, a teacher should be willing to listen and encourage the students. Above all a good educator should be a good role model to their students by respecting their heritage and their language.
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
The mention of the abolition of multiculturalism for a “new” post-multiculturalist approach becomes difficult to understand. It claims, “to avoid the ‘excesses’ of multiculturalism” (47), however where does this notable governmental and social switch take place? How is the term coined, and how is it understood in theory versus in practice? How is it different from its predecessor? Even the classification of history struggles to define what is considered to be modern, let alone post-modern, and yet the term suggests a positive approach to alleviating difficult assimilation projects similar to those faced elsewhere (47). This notion may developed on the grounds of “someone else’s problems” ¬– in regards to its Canadian context – as a means to label, or justify, miscellaneous aspects of multiculturalism. However, with the government-wide commitment to policies and programs, in conjunction with social understanding, it naturally becomes subject to a wide array of differing opinions. As both immigration and citizenship policies change, its public reception often shifts as well. Especially since the channels referred to within the ‘multiculturalism...
The policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual system assures that the cultural freedom of Canadians is protected as well as the policy should help and control down the “discriminatory attitudes and cultural jealousies” (Driedger2011, 222). The Multiculturalism Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms are two different things. The act “values and dignity of all Canada citizens regardless of there racial or ethnic origins, or their language” (Government of Canada. “Canadian Multiculturalism: An Inclusive Citizenship” 2012). Where as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects rights, and allows each and of us to do what we desire.