Canada emphasises equality and inclusiveness for all of its people. The notion of multiculturalism is often referred to as one of Canada’s major accomplishments and a distinctive element of Canadian identity. Immigration has played an integral part in the development of multiculturalism within Canada. Diaspora refers to a large group of people with a similar heritage or homeland who have since moved out to places all over the world (“Diaspora” Elieser Ben Rafael). Many diasporas’ want to keep in touch with their homeland, this is seen with the hundreds of alternative media outlets that are created to counteract mainstream media. The Chinese diaspora is incredibly active in Canada due to the large population. For this reason, they have several …show more content…
It presents unbiased information about Asian ethnicities that mainstream media might not cover. Furthermore, the alternative outlet still covers international news. This enables the Asian community to feel attached to Vancouver and Canada as a whole. It also creates a sense of connection between the community and those who are going through similar things. Stephan Harold Riggins states in his book “Ethnic Minority Media: An International Perspective” that: “if minority media did not contribute to ethnic cohesion and cultural maintenance to some extent, there would be little justification for their existence except as a marketing tool and an instrument of social control” (3) From this statement we can see that there is a logical reasoning for the existence of alternative media. The existence is to support their community and maintain their attachment to their culture while helping them during the integration process into a new nation. Furthermore, alternative media outlets help those who are born in Canada (i.e. the second generation) gain a sense of connection to their ethnic origin. For example, Asian Pacific Post has a community page that has specific articles about education, careers, and culture. There is a page that is dedicated to Asians in Vancouver who are at the top of their careers entitled: My Work My Education. These articles talk about the success that is seen in the Asian community in Vancouver. The person is interviewed and they talk in detail about their lives and their
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
Over the years, ICT, information communication technologies, has lead to a smaller world. A world where information can be transmitted instantaneously, a world where the quality of the information received has vastly improved. This information highway era has become so efficient that it has created a "global village". Canada is placed in a rather unique societal position today in this global village. It stands out from the rest of the world with its culturally diverse population, community networking and experts in the field. From representing its multicultural citizens through broadcasting programming, to creating successful community networks, and having leading experts in the field of communications, Canada must be considered one of the leading model communication innovators to the rest of the world.
In 2011, more than 200 ethnic origins were reported in the National Household Survey, and 13 of those different ethnic origins had surpasses the one million mark in Canada, thus showing much diversity, and with diversity comes benefits. A variety of ethnic restaurants, grocery stores and clothing stores add more “life” and brightness to communities and areas, which attracts more residents and tourists. Thus, benefiting society by attracting new residents and tourists, which also adds to the stability and strength of the community. Moreover, as Canadian schools develop a cross cultural learning, citizens learn about diversity and the world, which benefits overall understanding and their education. Another benefit of multiculturalism, is that as more immigrants settle, communities benefit from cultural celebrations and more diverse cultural music, arts and food, thus benefiting society socially. Continuing onward, as diverse people migrate to Canada, they bring along a desire for goods from their homes and original location markets and such, thus benefiting society by contributing to a 0.2 per-cent rise in the value imports, along with a more interesting and varied market overall. Accordingly, a diverse population makes a community more and colourful and full of “life”, evidently benefiting
The Indian Residential schools and the assimilating of First Nations people are more than a dark spot in Canada’s history. It was a time of racist leaders, bigoted white men who saw no point in working towards a lasting relationship with ingenious people. Recognition of these past mistakes, denunciation, and prevention steps must be taking intensively. They must be held to the same standard that we hold our current government to today. Without that standard, there is no moving forward. There is no bright future for Canada if we allow these injustices to be swept aside, leaving room for similar mistakes to be made again. We must apply our standards whatever century it was, is, or will be to rebuild trust between peoples, to never allow the abuse to be repeated, and to become the great nation we dream ourselves to be,
“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.
Nationalism is a political, economic and social ideology, doctrine and practice describing the “advocacy of or support for the interests of one’s own nation”, especially above the interests of other outside nations, individuals, and regions (“Nationalism”). It is a conscious state of mind where individuals believe their duty and loyalty is to the nation-state. It believes that a nation is the most crucial aspect for human social life because it gives a nation a sense of unity by promoting the shared interests and identities of the individuals such as language, race, religion etc. (“Nationalism”). Therefore, the aim of nationalism is to preserve and promote the nation’s culture as opposed to other cultures. Politically, the goal is gaining and
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”.
This essay will focus on racial borders within Canadian literature looking at the effects of a border on a member of a minority group. “The border is in fact also the symbol of the exclusionary practice inherent in the discourse of the nation.” Canada is a country made up largely of immigrants and their descendants, an interesting question is, what caused a country, with a diverse population to be so deeply racist?. Two novels which will reflect the experience of a members of immigrant groups in Canada, are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler and Obasan by Joy Kogawa. The first novel shows the Jewish experience in Canada, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, is a novel written by a Canadian author. The novels protagonist is a Jewish boy living in Canada. The book while comical illustrates the racial prejudices that existed towards the Jewish Canadians, through Duddy’s story. Duddy is a Jewish boy from a small town in Canada yet he has big dreams, he hopes to one day own some land because his Grandfather tells him “a man without land is a nobody. Remember that Duddel.” this can be read as a comment on Jewish displacement, the fact that the Jewish people came to Canada as immigrants. Duddy’s grandfather, Simcha, came to Canada as an Immigrant. Duddy spends a lot of time focused on his one goal which is town his own land. Throughout the novel Duddy faces discrimination due to coming from a poor area and being Jewish. Finally, a second text to show racial borders within Canadian literature is the novel Obasan. Obasan focus on the struggles of the Japanese Canadian’s. During World War II and due to the bombing of Pearl Harbour, the Japanese immigrants in Canada were subject to extreme racial prejudice. Th...
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.
This is why the other cultures do not seem like ‘alien’ to us. As professor Borroso from Duquesne University Pittsburgh says “The big difference with the globalization we have nowadays is the fact that it is not controlled by one or a few countries; it goes beyond any borders, it’s truly global and unable to be controlled by any individual government,” thus the people have become more tolerable. Countless fast food restaurants, television programs, diverse music and sports events from many cultures are becoming common. Few of the example are Hollywood and Bollywood movies, music from different parts of Asia, sports such as cricket is also becoming more common in Canada. Since we have greater access to the foreign culture, we have more choices. More than two-thirds of Canadian television is devoted to foreign programs as well. People from across the world, can find benefit in Canada. For instance, the refugee migrations have been part of human existence across the globe from time to time, the scale of the current refugee crisis is fuelled by modern advancements in communication and transportation, making it easy for refugees to come in and feel at ease as they can find food and items from their homeland in the market easily. Moreover, the ever growing technological advancements and transportations are beneficial to the
35 Fleras, Augie, and Jean Leonard Elliott. Engaging Diversity: Multiculturalism in Canada. Toronto: Nelson, 2002: 164.
In “Canadian Multiculturalism: Global Anxieties and Local Debates” Keith Banting and Will Kymlicka challenge the understanding that failed multiculturalism in Europe will follow suit in Canada. Although Canada is not immune from the challenges that can come with multiculturalism, the way in which they tackle problems are country specific and do not necessarily reflect the practice or outcomes of other nations. As UK critic of multiculturalism Trevor Phillips, observes Canada to be ‘sleepwalking towards segregation’ (44) when the dynamics are far more complicated. TRANSITION SENTENCE REQUIRED
Mordecai Richler. These writers are not meant to represent any ethnic group as a whole,
“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”