History Of Multiculturalism In Canada

Canada today is referred to as a cultural mosaic because it ensures the ethnic backgrounds of all its people are secure and welcome. Canada’s culture itself is one that celebrates and embraces other cultures without condemning or discriminating against other peoples’ ethnicity because in Canada multiculturalism and equality of everybody is very important. But has it always been like this from the start? Unfortunately it was not. In times of Canada’s past, diversity was not something that was celebrated and those who were not white had great injustices done to them|. Canada does have a history of mistreating minorities this can be seen through assimilation policies used on the Natives, racism of African Canadians and discriminatory practices against Asian Canadians.

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The Canadian government thought it was up to them to provide the Native children with schooling systems that would integrate them into Canadian society because it was thought their Native culture and heritage was inferior. Residential schools were set up across the country and it was made mandatory for the Aboriginal children to attend by law under the Indian Act. Roughly 150,000 Native children attended. The purpose of these schools was to teach these kids Canadian customs, Christian religion and the English language. The hope was they would pass them on to their children in the future and the aboriginal culture would completely disappear over the years. Children were torn away from their homes and taken to schools were they were forced to learn things that were foreign to them. They were not allowed to speak their own languages or practice their traditions. If they were caught doing so they were punished severely. They were often ab...

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...not enforced, some schools met as rarely as three times a month, others shut down completely.

Some schools only met three times in the span of a month. ( Blackhouse, 1999 p.251). Racially segregated schools were not taken away until 1964.( Blackhouse, 1999 p.250)

In the late evening of February 28th 1930, seventy-five Klu Klux Klan members came to Oakville and proceeded to Ira Johnson’s house, who a black man who had a white woman living with him (Isabel Jones). The Klan then forcibly separated the couple. They took Isabel away from Ira and brought her to her parents. They rounded up Ira’s family and then nailed a cross to their yard and burned it down. They threatened that if they ever saw Ira again with a white girl they would be back for him.(Blackhouse 1999 p.173) When a black citizen alerted the Police Chief of what was going on he did not make any arrests,