Multiculturalism In Himani Bannerji's The Dark Side Of The Nation

The government of Canada decided that the country could be a mosaic of cultures where people from different countries could keep their nationalities and still be called canadian therefore allowing an influx of different cultures. The royal commission came up with the idea of "cultural pluralism" and encouraged the government to reflect this in their policies. Pierre Elliot Trudeau, the prime minster in 1917 accepted this policy called the multiculturalism policy. In 1988, the governement of Canada also imposed the "Multiculturalism Act" . The factors influencing these two policies/acts were quite similiar to one another. In mid-1960s, the troubled English-French realtions in Canada desperately needed a solution. They preferred the idea of a cultural mosaic. After establishing this policy racism reduced significantly as every ethnic group was to be treated the same way, allowing canada to be a cultural hub. In the context of theory so far everything seems to be working smoothly but the real question that we need to ask ourself is whether multiculturalism is working in our society or not ? Do we feel comfortable living amogst all the different kinds of people and are content with our lifestyle? Take education for an example. A university in North America called Stanford had a program in which the curriculum was designed

So the achievement of syncretic multiculturalism in whole can be seen as facilitating a reimagined, binational foundation for Canada, that is based on taking in consideration, the rights of the aboriginal people and their nation to nation relation with Shognosh

Canada’s identity comes in many shapes and forms. Multiculturalism has been adopted and is at the forefront of Canadian identity. Following the Second World War, Canada’s multiculturalism policies became more acceptable and even successful in, not only accepting, but inviting multiple ethnic cultures in. In contrast to other countries, multiculturalism adaptation works for the Canadian culture. Canadian policies on multiculturalism have shifted over the past few decades; policies are now implemented for integration, not discrimination.

For example, racialized nurses in Canada may experience multiple forms of everyday racism in their working lives, including instances of tokenism, bullying or invisibility, excessive monitoring, lack of recognition, and verbal put-downs because of race and ethnicity (Das Gupta 2009; Estachio and Saidy-Khan 2014). The micro-racism in the nursing workplace also intersects other negative identity markers such as race, gender, class, and ability to amplify the exclusions or invalidations. Clearly, then, a contradiction is in play: Individuals may be equal before the law in terms of equal opportunities, yet still be slighted or excluded if their identities and realities are misrecognized or discredited through the racialized tone of everyday rhetoric (see Levey 2013). Formal citizenship rights may be real, but they must be exercised in everyday contexts neither constructed to reflect minority realities nor designed to Canadian Ethnic Studies/Études ethniques au Canada advance their interests (Fleras

Within the essay, the author claims that multiculturalism should be abandoned as a symbol that defines Canada. Instead, the restoration of the royal symbols should express the definition of Canada, as a historical country. Letourneau argues between multiculturalism and the

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

“Multiculturalism exists when people accept and encourage many cultures to thrive in a society. Multiculturalism can lead to many great outcomes, including racial and ethnic harmony, which simply means that people from different backgrounds get along well together. Living with and accepting different cultures helps us understand each other and discourage hatred and violence.” () Furthermore, various ethnic groups introduce their individual beliefs, traditions, as well as, religions to the Canadian society. Generally speaking, be part of an expanding multicultural society has impacted Canada economically, demographically and socially. Thus, the presence of the variety of different cultures, languages and heritages, results in the need for the county to adapt and change, based on the new reality of Canada.

A key challenge the idea of Canada as a racially-inclusive society are the events surrounding immigration policy throughout its history. Two periods of history which display this are the events regarding Chinese and Asian immigration, and Indian immigration. Each of these moments display how the Canadian government used its power to ensure Canada was a white supremacist state. In the case of Chinese immigrants, the state used rigorous measures to reduce immigration, and initiatives to ensure individuals to did immigrate were not successful.

This week and posts from other classmates brought the realization to myself that as a country we must have limits to multiculturalism and the allowing of cultural practices. Family equality and safety are the utmost priority within this sphere; although religion is a personal right one must remember our laws and legislation and abide by such. “To allow Sharia law to be practiced in Canada, especially in the legal system, would be a regression in human rights” (Ottenbreit, August 13, 2014, Sociology

In the essay, “No Place like home” by Neil Bissondath argues that although multiculturalism has emphasized differences it has also created a divide. Canada is seen to have a record of racism, that shows an ongoing separation in Quebec. This would also include sexism, and various forms of discrimination that are tied in with racism. Till today, people are discriminated on their physical appearance. As multiculturalism grows in Canada racism becomes to be a problem to some. Bissondath goes on to say that although there is a damage of multiculturalism, many Canadians need to, “pursue acceptance of others-not mere tolerance of them” (Bissondath, Page 307). What is meant to be said by that quote is, Canadians need to learn to accept other’s rather than parting ways due to someone’s color, race, or their appearance. However, Will Kymlicka says in his essay, the more multiculturalism the better. Kymlicka says that immigrants are supportive and that they have

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.

Canada is routinely defined as the exemplar multicultural society with the most diverse cities in the world such as Vancouver, Toronto and Quebec. The concepts of integrity and complexity are being shaped in Canadian society because of its co-existence of different cultures. Indeed, multiculturalism has been a keystone of Canadian policy for over 40 years with the aim of pursuing Canadian unity (Flegel 2002). Accordingly, Canada is generally estimated a country where people are all equal and where they can share fundamental values based upon freedom. Diversity is sustained and promoted by governmental policy, however, there are still racist interactions, which are destructive to minorities integration, especially recent ethnic groups’ arrival (Banting & Kymlicka 2010). This paper will examine challenges that multiculturalism has brought society and residents of Canada.

Refusal is one of three claim made by Audra Simpson in her book Mohawk Interruptus. She argues that refusal is “a political alternative to ‘recognition’ the much sought after and presumed “good” of multicultural politics” (11). Simpson attempt to challenges the prevailing concept of ‘recognition’ which underpins the multicultural politic. Mohawk people, according to Simpson, deploy refusal as “a political and ethical stance that stands in stark contrast to the desire to have one’s distinctiveness as a culture, as a people, recognized”. Multicultural politics are concerned with establishing and emphasizing difference: things that make the group uniquely recognizable and distinct from all others.

What is Canada? What is a Canadian? Canada, to employ Voltaire's analogy, is nothing but “a few acres of snow.”. Of course, the philosopher spoke of New France, when he made that analogy. More recently, a former Prime Minister, Joe Clark, said that the country was nothing but a “community of communities”. Both these images have helped us, in one way or another, try to interpret what could define this country. On the other hand, a Canadian could be a beer, a hockey-playing beaver or even a canoe floating in a summer day's sunset. A Canadian could also be a “sovereigntyphobe”, refusing to see the liquefaction, albeit political, of the second largest country in the world.

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.