Canadian multiculturalism is fundamental to our belief that all citizens are equal. Multiculturalism ensures that all citizens can keep their identities, can take pride in their ancestry and have a sense of belonging. Acceptance gives Canadians a feeling of security and self-confidence, making them accepting diverse cultures. All Canadians are guaranteed equality before the law and equality of opportunity regardless whichever origins. Canada’s laws and policies recognize Canada’s diversity by race, cultural heritage, ethnicity, religion, ancestry and place of origin and guarantee to all men and women complete freedom of conscience, of thought, belief, opinion expression, association and peaceful assembly. All of these rights, our freedom …show more content…
Gibbon’s metaphor of the cultural mosaic was elaborated in 1965(VALLEE, 2006). When sociologist John Porter published his book Vertical Mosaic: An Analysis of Social Class and Power in Canada, which criticized the class privilege enjoyed by people of British descent and the marginalization of other ethnic groups. (VALLEE, 2006) It was around this time that Canada began to accept increasing numbers of non-white …show more content…
(MARSH, 2013) .On 21 July 1988, the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney passed the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, which formalized the government's commitment to promote the full and equitable participation of individuals and communities of all origins in the continuing evolution and shaping of all aspects of Canadian society by establishing legislation to protect ethnic, racial, linguistic and religious diversity within Canadian society. (MARSH, 2013) Trudeau's declaration of Canada as a bilingual and multicultural nation resulted in an explosion of multicultural research. (MARSH, 2013) Publications and literature were developed, many national research surveys were launched, ethnic identity research escalated, and organizations were established to support diversity. This is significant step for Canadian again. As Multiculturalism was celebrated as a new vision of Canadian identity, which would foster a global understanding of all ethnic
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.
The Multiculturalism Act passed in 1985 acknowledges the freedom of all members of Canadian society to preserve, enhance, and share their cultural heritage. This made Canada a multicultural society where people with different from different ethnicities and cultures respect each other and live in peace and harmony.
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.
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
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.
Canada adopted multiculturalism as an official policy, which allows the value and dignity of all Canadians, regardless of their racial origins, language or religious affiliations. Plus the status of two official languages, French and English. Canada promotes multiculturalism by encouraging Canadians to participate in all aspects of life. Regardless of their background, anyone can participate in social, cultural, economic, and political affairs. Everyone is equal to one another. Everyone has the right to be heard. These rights are provided to us through our Canadian constitution and our charter of rights and freedoms. Some people come to Canada and have a history of hate towards an ethnic group. Promoting hatred is not permitted in Canada. You have the right to have your own ethnicity in Canada but you must also respect others right to do the same. Canada has experienced racial and ethnic tensions. But the majority of Canadians are fair minded. We will accept and respect them that will accept and respect us. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the freedom of religious expression. For those who are new comers to Canada, you may contribute to this country’s diversity. But you need to be prepared to live in a
“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 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.
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
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
While the rest of Canada employs the concept of multiculturalism, Quebec emphasizes on another theory: interculturalism, or the notion of support in cross-cultural dialogue and challenging self-segregation tendencies within cultures. In the province, the word multiculturalism announces pejorative meanings. This was due, in part, to the fact that “a federal commission which was charged several years ago with the task of developing policies for Canada, based on its bicultural and bilingual character emerged with a recommendation that Canada think of itself as a multicultural and bilingual country.3”. Francophones, on the other hand, felt that this concept placed them at the same level as minority ethnic groups, thus erasing their thoughts of being seen as one of the country's founding nations.
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 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.
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.
The quantity of individuals who are into Canada is consistently expanding as seen somewhere around 2001 and 2006, the quantity of remotely conceived individuals expanded by 13.6%, and by, 2006 Canada had developed to have 34 ethnic groups with no less than one hundred thousand individuals each, of which eleven have more than 1,000,000 individuals and various others are spoken to in littler sums. 16.2% of the populace self-distinguishes as a noticeable minority (Statistics Canada, 2011). This massive immigration has ensured that multiculturalism in Canada has never faced any threat of collapse. The Canadians know that the only way different cultures are going to strive in the country is by supporting legal immigration of people from various parts of the world into the country. By allowing the settlement of immigrants, multiculturalism in Canada was being