According to Statistics Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey in 2011 “Canada had a foreign-born population of approximately 6,775,800 people, representing 20.6% of the total population—the highest proportion among G8 countries. In addition to English and French, more than 200 languages were reported as the mother tongue.” Moreover, “the proportion of the population who reported religious affiliations other than Christian—including Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist—continues to grow. In 2011, about 2,373,700 people or 7.2% of Canada’s population reported affiliation with one of these religions, up from 4.9% a decade earlier. More than 1,400,000 people reported an Aboriginal identity, representing 4.3% of the total Canadian population, which …show more content…
Understanding clients` needs, ability to empathize and connect, to provide individual counselling, and to choose the most appropriate avenue for resolving clients` problems, involves a high degree of cultural competence. Cultural competence is important in every profession, but it is especially important in law because “Culture is key to how we experience, and how we respond to conflict.” The cultural background of the parties directly influences preference of the process, strategy and tactics utilized, and the desired outcome. Meta-analysis and an empirical evidence available in Social Sciences supports the position that the cultural background of the parties is one of the major factors that influences behaviour during the dispute. For example, according to the studies in Social Psychology, the differences arise from the values that the particular society holds. For example, in Western cultures, people are viewed as autonomous individuals who are responsible for their actions. However, Eastern societies are known for their Interdependence. In this instance, Independent cultures are oriented towards the self, and Interdependent cultures are oriented towards one`s social group. In Independent cultures an individual is concentrating on himself/herself, therefore their ties with their group members are somewhat weak. Interdependent cultures, on the other hand, are the cultures where an individual is part of a group and the group serves to aid the group member at various stages of his/her life. Independent societies emphasize the importance of the self and goals directed toward oneself, whereas, Interdependent societies stress the importance of others and the goals serve to benefit
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
Canada has been constantly acknowledged as a nation of different people from different part of the world (MacDonald 66). Our great nation is recognized as a very diverse country filled with unity, which continues to encourage people from other part of the world to come and live in Canada. Although its been constantly considered as one of the top countries in the UN Human Development Index, Aboriginal peoples classified together with residents of Panama, Belarus, and Malaysia in terms of their economic and social possibilities (qtd. in MacDonald 66). In a special report by James Anaya, claimed that Canada has issues in regards to the circumstances surrounding indigenous people of the nation, and Aboriginal petitions continues to be unsettled, and therefore resulted to an excessive amount of lack of confidence among Aboriginal peoples towards the government (qtd in MacDonald 66).
According to citizen and immigration Canada statistics, (Immigrating to Canada, 2009), each year, Canada welcomes more than 200,000 new immigrants. It creates a diverse of multiple nationalities. Most immigrants from Europe or their descendants have religious backgrounds which respect universal fraternity. Also the multiculturalism makes Canada a "melting pot" for every member in the "pot". People respect each other and live together peacefully. People with different backgrounds live together peacefully without discrimination.
I choose Chapter 4 Cultural Competence for the class discussion, and I addressed the following two points from the chapter. The first one was about Your Ethical Responsibility while working in the Human Service profession and the second was about Important Points to be Remember in Cross -Culture Interactions.
However, in this era of multiculturalism, could the current immigration flow help us determine what is a Canadian and, to an extent, what is Canada? Is multiculturalism a core part of Canadian identity? In the 1970s, Pierre Elliott Trudeau decided to use multiculturalism as a “way of dealing with discontent over the report of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism1.”. According to some groups, this report dealt primarily with French and English linguistic issues and did not pay enough attention to issues referring to other groups within the Canadian population. To a more general extent, “multiculturalism policies in Canada have attempted to assist cultural groups in overcoming barriers so as to allow them to integrate more fully in society”.
Vincent Massey (Governor General of Canada) once said,“Canada is not a melting-pot. Canada is an association of people who have, and cherish, great differences, but who work together because they can respect themselves and each other.” In other words, he describes how Canada is a very diverse place and how we should work together despite our differences in religion. Immigration poses opportunities for citizenship: for building a society in which all Canadians belong. Although, to what extent should immigrants continue to promote culture and religion? Some may argue that we need to put restrictions on promoting religion like the code adopted in Hérouxville; which forbade women from being stoned alive
Cultural competence has to do with one’s culture. Culture affects among other factors, how children are raised, how families communicate, what is considered normal or abnormal, ways of coping with issues, the way we dress, when and where we seek medical treatment, and so forth. I should know because I come from a very cultural home where it is considered bad to talk to a male doctor about anything gynecological.
It is without a doubt that Canada is considered one of the most welcoming and peaceful countries in the entire world. Individuals fleeing conflicts from different continents, on opposites sides of the planet, view Canada as a safe haven, a place to thrive, succeed, and safely live life to its fullest potential. Excellent healthcare, education, and proper gun control are just some of the many priviledges freely given to those who are lucky enough to call Canada their home. The Rights and Freedoms of Canadians are incomparable to those of individuals living in other countries, and with freedom of religion being one of them, it becomes crucial that we respect and show acceptance of different religions. However, it is saddening to see that in
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
...of how to resolve it successfully. A reflection on my own cultural concepts has enabled me to understand how personal values and beliefs may contribute to misunderstandings when working with others and how the impact of cultural differences can affect conflict. It has also explained where to get assistance if needed if conflict arose. This information will be used in my work when counselling clients from a different cultural background.
It seems that the accent piece is just one more strand in this entire story of the difficulties that immigrants face in Canada. In the vast of majority of social science research examining issues affecting immigrants in Canada, language is viewed as a sign of the process of racialization and a cultural component of ethnicity. I find it very interesting how accents work as a marker not only of where they come from, but also their ethnic, education background and also their work qualifications. The vast majority of immigrants to Canada have been filtered out of job prospects because of their foreign accents. There are special labels including the terms” language minority”(LM), the “linguistically and culturally diverse”(LCD), the “culturally
Mordecai Richler. These writers are not meant to represent any ethnic group as a whole,
Growing up with a diverse community makes you realize that Canada is growing and slowly becoming a Multicultural society. Multiculturalism as stated in the textbook, is defined as allowing and accepting different cultures and providing them encouragement and support to keep their culture and diverse traditions (Mintz et al. 2015, 34). In 1971, Canada became the first country in the world to adapt the official policy of multiculturalism. (Government of Canada. “Canadian Multiculturalism: An Inclusive Citizenship” 2012). Canada grants all residents of Canadian citizens regardless of their “racial or ethnic origins, their language, or their religious affiliation”. (Government of Canada. “Canadian Multiculturalism: An Inclusive Citizenship”
Stella Ting-Toomey’s face negotiation theory explains cultural differences in conflict and conflict resolution by explaining individualistic and collectivistic cultures, methods of conflict resolution, and high and low contexts. Individualistic cultures, like the United States, are focused more on themselves as an individual; they are focused more on what keeps them on top. They are self-image dependent which leads to face concern self, other, and mutual face restoration. Individualistic culture is often found more in men than in women because men are taught from a young age that they need to be the alpha. While Individualistic cultures are concerned about themselves, a collectivistic culture is quite the opposite. A collectivistic culture,
South Asian immigrants have a long standing history within Canada, and in British Columbia in particular. This Indian diaspora, the dispersion of Indians from their original homeland, is well rooted in Canada (Geary 2014). Indo-Canadians represent three percent of the Canadian population at large, and are the second largest minority behind Chinese-Canadians (Geary 2014). In fact, the South Asian populace as a whole is growing faster than overall Canadians, at a rate of thirty-three percent for South Asians versus four percent for Canadians as a whole (Geary 2014).