Minority Discrimination In Canada

Canada and the issue of racism in society has been an issue for many years. Recently, our country has created new laws or altered old ones to prevent discrimination that exists in society today. In this paper, I will argue that only through recent years Canada has tried to battle discrimination through the creation of the Charter of Rights and Freedom, the modification of the Immigration Act and the creation of the Human Rights Act in Canada. First I will provide background information about discrimination, racism and prejudice. Secondly, I will discuss the creation of the Charter and Rights and Freedom and the creation help deplete discrimination towards minorities. Also, the alteration of the Immigration Act in Canada gave minorities the opportunity to be equal. Then, I will discuss the Human Rights Act and how those modifications are leading Canada in the right direction for a lesser

Canada is internationally recognized as a culturally diverse nation that emphasizes the concept of “The Mosaic”. No other country in the world encompasses inhabitants from so many different backgrounds who exhibit strong loyalty towards Canada, while still preserving their cultural heritage. This is contrasted to the American ideal of the "Melting Pot", which attempts to shape all of their citizens into a set mold. Canada’s philosophy is believed to be more effective and respectful than that which is possessed by our American neighbours. The following will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches, and analyze the impact of the structures on each country’s society.

Even though, Canada is recognized for plurality and multiculturalism, that does not mean that societal racism can be easily

In the eyes of many Canadians our country is viewed as a historically racially-inclusive society. This idea is false, and there is very limited evidence to support the contrary. Many events in Canada’s history have shows that it is guilty of promoting racial hierarchies and cultural insensitivities. Throughout Canada’s development there has always remained an emphasis on promoting the supremacy of the white race, and Anglo-Canadian culture.

Many issues impacted by hate crimes can be informed by psychological research. For example, are hate crimes more harmful than other kinds of crime? Why do people commit hate crimes? What can be done to prevent or lessen the impact of hate and bias-motivated crimes? Social scientific research is beginning to yield information on the nature of crimes committed because of real or perceived differences in race, religion, ethnicity or national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender. Current federal law defines hate crimes as any felony or crime of violence that manifests prejudice based on “race, color, religion, or national origin”. Hate crimes can be understood as criminal conduct motivated in whole or in part by a negative opinion or attitude toward a group of persons. Hate crimes involve a specific aspect of the victim’s identity. Hate crimes are not simply biases, they are dangerous actions motivated by biases.

There are many theories of crime, with criminologists, psychologist and sociologists, debating whether criminality is an an outcome of nature, as in genetically inherited, or produced by nurture (Brinkerhoff, White and Ortega, 2011). Even though the debate is ongoing, most criminologists, sociologists and psychologists agree that cases in which criminality is linked to nature, are extremely rare. Instead, they emphasise, criminality as a product of nurture (Brinkerhoff, White and Ortega, 2011). This means that people who commit heinous hate crimes were presumably raised in an environment which expressed extreme prejudice towards a certain racial, ethnic or religious group and truly believed that the world would be a better place without them in it, or, at least, without them living in the United States (Brinkerhoff, White and Ortega, 2011).

Discrimination is a big topic it can be blatantly out of discussion but it is important to stress that people of all race, gender and sex, religion or even sexual orientation. In Canada specifically has done some reasonable set of legal protections to prevent Canadians from being discriminated against but sometimes it is not that easy and things turn out of people’s control and will. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a section of the Canadian Constitution that makes it illegal for the government of Canada, and the provincial government to pass laws that either plainly discriminate against certain Canadians on the basis of their identity. Place an unfair burden on one group over another. The Supreme Court of Canada routinely overturns laws they perceive to be discriminatory on the grounds of Charter protections. Canada’s legislation called the Canadian Human Rights Act that prevents private entities, such as employers, landlords, schools, and stores from discriminating against clients or customers on the basis of identity. Discrimination cases of these sorts are decided by a government known as the Human Rights Tribunal that has the power to issue fines and or other corrective actions. The various provincial governments have their own human rights laws.

Every individual in society is guaranteed a certain amount of protection and equality from the state regardless of their situation or background. Depending on how the terms discrimination and equality are interpreted in the courts will those rights apply.

The labeling of individuals and groups as ‘different’ is part of the process of creating social hierarchies, which represents the foundation of oppression (de Leeuw, Kobayashi, & Cameron, 2011). This story brings to light the denial of systematic racism of the indigenous people in Canada. It was established that although Canada prides itself in the great variety of culture and ethnicity and religion. However, despite such practices, racism is still a significant issue. Oppression is a contemporary issue for indigenous people because Canadians are still ignorant about aboriginal history. There is a misconception that aboriginals are either living in an idyllic utopian society or in a primitive world. “underprivileged” and “disadvantage”, lazy,

As for what sort of bias and hate crimes typically occur in the US, several studies have found that of all the

        In Canada the road to racism is compared by John Boyko to ladder the first rung being stereotypes. These stereotypes are brought to existence by popular culture such as newspapers, magazines, cartoons, and movies. The next rung is prejudice, which is the belief that stereotypes are true. These beliefs are portrayed in phrases such as, “They are all”; or “Those people”; prejudice only looks at groups not individuals. The next rung is discrimination which is an action based on prejudice. For example an employer not hiring someone because they believe the stereotypes about the group that that person belong to. The next rung that Boyko talks about is sanctioned discrimination. This is where the discrimination becomes entrenched in our laws and practices.  After that the next step is systematic racism, which is seen in laws that promote segregation.  This step leads to the next step, a need to purify the nation through exclusion or expulsion.  And finally that last step, which is genocide, the deliberate extermination of a race. (Boyko; 1998) In this essay I would like to talk about the 5th step in the ladder, sanctioned discrimination. Canada, which prides itself on being a multicultural nation, has a

Futhermore, another sector mentioned in the Ontario Human Rights Code that set precedent to Canadian courts is racial discrimination. Racial discrimination was a social injustice towards people of colour, ethnicity, and religion in the workplace. At around the same time as the Female Employees Fair Remuneration Act (1951) came the social movement of Fair Employment Practices Act (1951). This was a social movement to reverse social discrimination in the workplace. Frager and Patrias (2001) proposed a rationale on the issue of not challenging racial discrimination in Canada in their article “This is our country, These Are Our Rights': Minorities and the Origins of Ontario's Human Rights Campaigns.” In this article, the authors examined

Every nation in the world has unique characteristics that make its county and citizens unique. Although it may be hard to quantify the things that distinguish countries from one another, there is a universal recognition of an acceptable standard of living and human rights, which can be measured quantitatively. If you ask almost any Canadian where in the world is the best place to live, their answer out of patriotism, experience, or possibly lack of education will quite unequivocally be, Canada! However, if we look at the idea of basic human rights, Canada's history shows a considerable lack of fluidity when it comes to racism and discrimination to what is now in today's society socially acceptable. As famous South African President Nelson

Racial discrimination in the workplace has been a persistent theme in Canada’s history as well as present-day times. The occurrence of actions and attitudes that impose a sense of one being less equal than another on the basis of one’s race in Canada’s workplace inhibits both our nation’s ability to move forward as well as strengthen unification within our country. The belief in a more egalitarian society, where one’s race and ethnic background have little to no impact on employees (or potential employees) standings within the job market, would seemingly be reinforced by the majority of Canadians, who consistently show support for Canada’s multicultural identity. Couple that with the noticeable strides Canada has made in the past several

A country built on immigration, Canada has long had a reputation of being culturally and ethnically diverse. While multiculturalism is meant to be built on equality and appreciation of different cultures, its concept has gained both support and opposition. On one hand, it allows for more assortment and the voices of minorities have a higher chance to be heard. On the other hand, loss of unity and conflicts may occur due to contrasting worldviews of the citizens. All in all, multiculturalism is a controversial policy that has both advantages and disadvantages, but has proven to be a successful strategy in Canada.