Banting and Kymlicka diagnose the problem with multiculturalism in Canada by looking at it from a European perspective. Trevor Phillips critiqued that Canada may be “sleepwalking towards segregation”, much like what happened in the United Kingdom, and should heed the warning. Yet, the problem with Canadian multiculturalism is that there is no current problem. The only issue is that it is being compared to Europe, and therefore people are not looking at Canada as an independent country with a completely different culture. Commentators look at the failure in Europe and then look for evidence of the same in Canada. There is then the question of why Canada is better at integrating multiculturalism than Europe. Banting responds to this question …show more content…
They discussed the already prevalent diversity in Canada; and although their focus was on ethnic groups via immigration, it is still important to note that Canada has different cultures even without immigrants. Statistics show that around half of Canadians are of a descent that is neither British, French or Indigenous. Through a variety of surveys, it was also shown that the longer immigrants reside in Canada, the stronger their pride in the country becomes, and that native-born Canadians find pride in being a multicultural country. Often, immigrants are equally, if not prouder to be Canadian than native-born Canadians. This is supported further by the fact that in 2005, 84% of eligible immigrants had obtained their Canadian citizenship, whereas in the United Kingdom that dropped to 56%, and down again to 40% in the United States. From a political perspective, Canada’s government certainly strives to have an effective multicultural system and society. This was seen in 1988 when the Canadian Multiculturalism Act was adopted by parliament, making Canada the first country to pass a multiculturalism law. This law indicated that Canada was very serious about having an effective multicultural system in place. With European countries not having laws which strive to reduce discrimination the preserve language and culture, it is not hard to …show more content…
Originally, Canada was going to follow in the footsteps of America and would also adopt a laissez-faire approach to integrating cultural diversity. This changed course when laws were put in place to protect cultures and the expression of cultures. This is different from what we see in other countries when immigrants are pressured to conform to the culture of the country they have moved to. Dasko also supports this, putting emphasis on the baby boomer generation and how their change in values, wanting egalitarianism, respect, and inclusion, is what lead to legislation creating the Official Languages policy in 1969 and the policy of multiculturalism in 1971. And although Canada went through a rough patch in the early 1990’s during the recession, where Canadians were found to be less accepting and tolerant, after the mid-1990’s to 2002 awareness and acceptance of the multiculturalism policy rose again. Acceptance sat at 74% in 2002, which was after 9/11 when tensions on the topic were globally at a high. This showed that Canadians “maintain a strong allegiance” to the policy of multiculturalism. There is also an article published by Elisa Sance where she reviews Jatinder Mann’s comparison of Australia and Canada’s approach to multiculturalism. Mann had pointed out that “the transition from British
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...
Today in Canada it is not uncommon to see people of various races, ethnic backgrounds or cultural groups living within a mutual society; commonly known as multiculturalism. Multiculturalism refers to the presence of, or support for the presence of several distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society. As the topic becomes more more popular due to news events and social media debates, multiculturalism gets twisted and misunderstood. In essence, multiculturalism is not about dwelling on about our differences, it is about emphasizing our commonality. Diversity of the human race has the power to unify society and make it stronger. Firstly, innovation
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.
“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.
In the 1900’s a prominent English scholar Gilbert Murray said: “There is in the world a hierarchy of races;[some] will direct and rule the others, and the lower work of the world will tend in the long run to be done by the lower breeds of men. This we of the ruling colour will no doubt accept as obvious.”(Walker; 1997) It was very true at the time; everywhere you looked you could see that white men assumed all roles of responsibility. Canada has been fighting a never-ending war against racism in the 19th century. It. It has modified or created many laws to help try to combat the discrimination that exists within our country. Canada has modified its immigration act to make it less discriminatory. It has created the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to bring equality to everyone and it has, created human rights acts to protect people of different races.
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.
...to identity with at least one of the countries predominate languages, English or French, dictated the degree in which they could participate in Canadian life. According to the Commission, this participation was real under two conditions: “that both societies, the French-speaking as well as the English-speaking, accept[ed] newcomers much more rapidly than they have done in the past; and that the two societies willingly allow other groups to preserve and enrich, if they so desire, the cultural values they prize[d]” (RCBB Book 1 xxv). It creates an interesting take on the acceptance of those “othered” groups, as change was necessary not only on the part of the minorities but also from Canada’s French and English-speakers. The Commissions work remains focused on language and culture, more so than ethnicity amongst a bilingual, bicultural and “othered” Canadian society.
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.
Mixed race individuals have a long history within the world, particularly within Canada; and are a by-product of the continuous globalization and interaction of different ethnic groups caused by the influx of immigration to most Western countries. Consistently discussed within the media, the mixed race demographic of Canada is steadily expanding, and have admittedly created a more prominent emphasis on the importance of recognizing their demographic. The mixed race population within Canada has an influentially beneficial role within the nation, as is seen through their influence within history, Canada 's demographics, and media.
Canada is internationally renowned for its commitment to multiculturalism. In fact, Canada was the first nation to officially adopt a multicultural policy. However, while the Canadian government has developed a broad-based multicultural mandate that includes a national human rights code and increased penalties for hate-motivated crimes, and most Canadians oppose overt forms of discrimination and hate, racism continues to exist in Canadian society, albeit in a subtle fashion.
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
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
In his article “The Failure of Multiculturalism”, Kenan Malik uses the diverse European culture to study and explain the irony of multiculturalism. He defines multiculturalism as “the embrace of an inclusive, diverse society” (Malik 21). Integration between cultures is practically inevitable, but several nations view this as a threat towards upholding their culture. Due to this, many countries have made attempts at properly integrating new people and ideas while trying to prevent the degradation of their own. This can result in unjust regulations and the reverse effect of an intended multicultural society.