Rethinking Multiculturalism in Canada

Abstract

Intro: Despite Canada’s rich history in immigration and the strategic role that immigration plays in Canada’s future, the tension between immigration, ethnicity, and minority rights is still prominent. Some of the tension focuses on the existence of ethno-cultural organizations. Despite the rhetoric that Canada relies on immigrants to help ameliorate its labour shortages and aging population, the very ethnicity that many immigrants are associated with is often treated with suspicion. In particular, ethnic organizations are often criticized for threatening national unity, diluting Canadian identity, and promoting ghettoization and separatism. In particular, ethnic organizations are often criticized for threatening national unity, diluting Canadian identity, and promoting ghettoization and separatism. This chapter therefore examines the tension between immigration, ethnicity and minority rights with a focus on how multiculturalism facilitates or hinders the development of ethnic community organizations in Canada. Drawing from two case studies, the chapter explores the role of Chinese ethnic organizations in responding to changing community needs in Edmonton and Calgary. The findings suggest that ethno-specific organizations can be an effective alternative in providing accessible and equitable social services for immigrants because they are more closely connected with and responsive to ethnic community needs. The study also reveals the salience of ethnicity as both an important resource, and a liability. On the one hand, ethnicity was utilized by the state as a way to mobilize ethnic political support to serve an ethnic-specific community; on the other hand, the same ethnicity also became a device for the state to legitimize its political agenda in multiculturizing ethno-specific organizations with an ultimate goal of assimilation. To build an inclusive society, it is imperative to treat ethno-specific organizations as an integral part of Canadian society and to adopt minority rights that recognize and accommodate the distinctive identities and needs of ethno- cultural groups and their ethnic communities. THE