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The benefit of multiculturalism in Canada
Canada's multiculturalism essay
Canadian identity
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The Canadian identity has changed through the years from the makeup of ethnicities, culture and values but all these changes are kept within a normative standard. The state has a stake in minimising conflict and diversity at the expense of the minority. Political writers theorise on the motive for government actions with the two primary theories being Foucault’s “biopolitics” and Agamben’s “state of exception”. Biopolitics stresses the importance of biology and how the government seeks to protect life rather than condemn, creating an effective and optimised population for capitalism. The state of exception focuses on the state consolidating power during perceived times of need, often at the expense of civil liberties. Using both these theories, the events described in this essay are explained by viewing the state acting in defense from minorities seeking change. The status quo refers to the Canadian state maintaining the normative majority on topics concerning diversity such as class, race, language, culture, sex, and gender among others. A biopolitical criteria means using those topics and judging the minority on their value. By illuminating the fundamental issues minorities face this essay will first contest multiculturalism is an imagined projection by Canadians as the state actions are intolerant to diversity. This will be proven by going through various instances of Canadian, European and American history to find inconsistencies contrary to the openness and diversity many Canadians believe. As the second argument of my paper I will dissect how the state governs with a normativity standard, selectively crafting the Canadian identity. This dissection of the state will prove the biopolitical criteria used by the state...
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...Radical History Review 1.100 (2008): 38-59. Print.
Kymlicka, Will. "The Current State of Multiculturalism in Canada." Report on Multiculturalism 1 (2010): 6-21. The Current State of Multiculturalism in Canada. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.
Lawerence, Bonita, and Enakhsi Dua. "Decolonizing Antiracism." Social Justice 32.4 (2005): 120-143. Print.
Monture, Patricia. "Standing Against Canadian Law: Naming Omissions of Race, Culture, and Gender." Yearbook of New Zealand Jurisprudence 2.1 (1998): 7-30. Print.
Osterlund, Katherine. "Love, Freedom, and Governance: Same-Sex Marriage in Canada." Social & Legal Studies 18.1 (2009): 93-109. Print.
Titchkosky, Tanya. "Governing Embodiment." The Canadian Journal of Sociology 28.4 (2003): 517-542. Print.
Vukov, Tamara. "Imagining Communities through Immigration Policies." International Journal of Cultural Studies 6.3 (2003): 335-353. Print.
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...
The discrimination suffered by the “ethnic Canadians” increased during the war was inflicted by both society and the government. An example of the discrimination suffered by “ethnic Canadians” is Sarah Mann, a Canadian-German living though World War 1. Before the people of the town knew she was of German descent, she lived a normal life. But, that all changed when they found out; they vandalized her house by breaking the windows, painting harsh words in red paint or blood, which is overall person to person discrimination. However, throughout the war, it was not just the Canadian-Germans who suffered from discrimination, all ethnicities either than English-Canadian or French-Canadian. Also, they did not only receive discrimination through vandalism, and other person to person discrimination, “ethnic Canadians” faced discrimination by the Canadian government. The governments’ discrimination was caused by the pressure of frightened public experiencing panic because of the Great War. Therefore, the government took action by passing the Wartime Elections Act and the Wartime Measures Act. The Wartime Elections act meant the “ethnic Canadians” would lose their right to vote. The “ethnic Canadians” would also be put into concentration camps or have to register to the police on a regular basis. The historical significance...
... A successful strategy in the accommodation of national minorities within a liberal democracy could be founded upon mutual trust, recognition and sound financial arrangements. However, a certain degree of tension between central and regional institutions may remain as a constant threat in this complex relationship since they entertain opposing aims. The federal governments determination to protect its territorial integrity, and its will to foster a single national identity among its citizens clashes with Quebec’s wish to be recognized as a separate nation and decide upon its political destiny and to foster its distinct identity (Guibernau pg.72). Moreover, if the ROC and the federal government can come to an agreement on terms that satisfy the majority and an identity that encompasses the heart of a country; Canada will continue to exist with or without Quebec.
Foreign policy and Immigration since 1945”. Threatened Peoples, Threatened Borders: World Migration Policy. Eds. Michael Teitelbaum and Myron Weiner. New York: Columbia University, 1995. p.123-124.
Systemic discrimination has been a part of Canada’s past. Women, racial and ethnic minorities as well as First Nations people have all faced discrimination in Canada. Policies such as, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, provincial and federal Human Rights Codes, as well has various employment equity programs have been placed in Canada’s constitution to fight and address discrimination issues. Despite these key documents placed for universal rights and freedoms Aboriginal and other minority populations in Canada continue to be discriminated against. Many believe there is no discrimination in Canada, and suggest any lack of success of these groups is a result of personal decisions and not systemic discrimination. While others feel that the legislation and equality policies have yet resulted in an equal society for all minorities. Racism is immersed in Canadian society; this is clearly shown by stories of racial profiling in law enforcement.
Fleras, Augie. “Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: Repairing the Relationship.” Chapter 7 of Unequal Relations: An Introduction to Race, Ethnic and Aboriginal Dynamics in Canada. 6th ed. Toronto: Pearson, 2010. 162-210. Print.
Sangster, Joan. "Regulating Girls and Women: Sexuality, Family, and the Law in Ontario, 1920-1960." (2001).
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.
“ Canada 's national obsession seems to be its own identity.” For many years Canada has feared the increasing influence of its North American neighbors on its culture - the United States . It has become a matter of growing concern for the people of power and influence in Canada to maintain their separate cultural identity and to promote their own cultural norms. Gaetan Tremblay presents his views on this topic and does this from the perspective of a person living and working in Quebec.
Kessner, Thomas and Betty Boyd Caroli, “Today’s Immigrants, Their Stories.” Kiniry and Rose 343-346. Print.
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.
... presence of religious diversity amongst the multiculturalist scene, multiculturalism and its relationships to ethnocultureal minorities, Quebec’s reasonable accommodation as well as the overlap of Aboriginal and multiculturalism issues, require research and development. This speak volumes about Banting and Kymlicka, as it places their work on a larger spectrum that will one day be surrounded by other impressive works that may compliment or challenge their findings. Canadian multiculturalism is completely different than what takes place in different countries. It goes without saying that not every picture can be painted with the same type of brush because the world is not full of the same picture that has a white washed idealized understanding. With that being said, the problems in other countries are not inherent to the multiculturalism picture in other countries.
To begin with, the role of Critical Race Theory provides us with the idea of “racial realism”, the idea that racism, the normalcy of white supremacy is part of the everyday life of an ‘other’, in other words, racial or indigenous minorities in Canada (Slides on Critical Race Theory). The Critical Race Theory gives an understanding of the power that can be given to a definition such as ‘race’, and how
...in European countries and countries. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 52, 115-131. http://cos.sagepub.com/libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/content/52/1-2/114. Desmond, S. A., & Kubrin, C. E. (2009). THE POWER OF PLACE: Immigrants.