Multiculturalism Analysis

As Canadians we are constantly celebrating and are known for our multiculturalism, this country is well known for its inclusivity. Multiculturalism symbolizes harmonious integration and open-minds that is why most people tend to see multiculturalism as a positive thing. However, that is not the case with Himani Bannerji in her paper On the Dark Side of the Nation: Politics of Multiculturalism and the state of “Canada”.

The multiculturalism policy was passed in 1971.Multiculturalism can be simply described as the variety of cultures found within a society. For Bannerji, multiculturalism is more than that, she claims that it "is plain realism- an effect of the realization that many "others" have been allowed in, stretching the skin of tolerance

The main critiques of this policy were firstly the fact that this policy that was not asked for but forced upon the citizens does nothing to promote equality. It is just a reminder to everyone that is a part of the “core culture”, those being white Europeans that they are superior and the rest, the ‘others’ are different. Actual equality would have been possible had they made changes in their social and political structures and made things like employment more inclusive. But no, they have a policy that imposes multiculturalism, a policy that rests on the notion that those belonging to the main culture would have to deal with the ‘others’ through the practice of ‘tolerance’ (Bannerji, 1996). Supporting these views is Eva Mackey who conducted research on multiculturalism in the 1990’s. Mackey conducted many interviews with white Canadians who claimed that citizens are allowed to feel belonging to other cultures but they should identify with the Canadian culture first (Mackey, 1999). That supports Bannerji’s claims on multiculturalism being built on a main culture or a “core culture”. Mackey also discusses how many people would make a distinction between a “real” Canadian and “others” during her interviews(Mackey, 1999). This relates to Bannerji’s points of the idea of multiculturalism being built on the creation of “visible minority” communities. Lastly, Mackey claims that many of the people she interviewed spoke with this tone of acceptance and tolerance of the “outsiders” because of their language and the use of words like “allowing” other people to practice other cultures and different faiths (Mackey,