This Fall, the Globe and Mail launched an eight-part series entitled Canada: Our Time To Lead. This series, developped over the course of eight weeks, dedicated a specific topic of discussion to each week. Interestingly enough, the first topic was Multiculturalism.
Throughout the week, Globe journalists explored the state of multiculturalism in Canada. Supported by interesting videos and intereactive graphics, the series offers an interesting and in-depth look at Multiculturalism in Canada. While there is a lot of informative content, I would like to highlight the pieces that I found most interesting.
10 Leaders on How to Change Multiculturalism -- In this article, the Globe asks ten Canadian leaders from various backgrounds (from politicians to artists) what their thoughts are for the future of multiculturalism in Canada.
A Few Frank Words About Immigration -- In this article, Margaret Wente gives us a candid look a the (often taboo) debate about immigration in Canada. While some of the views expressed in this article may rub many Canadians the wrong way, it raises some interesting facts that can't be ignored. Did you know that, by admitting 250,000 immigrants a year, Canada has the highest immigration rate in the world? You'd think that, as such an important and large group, there'd be more effective support systems for new Canadians...
How Well Do You Know The Mosaic? -- This quiz tests your knowledge about the immigration process, immigration facts and the accomplishments of famous Canadian immigrants. A warning: this quiz is pretty difficult. I only got 50%, how well can you do?
Which Immigrant Would You Chose? -- Interactive feature puts you in the shoes of an immigration officer and asks you which candidats should be, or could be accepted to become a Canadian citizen. You'll learn a lot about who qualifies, who doesn't, and the reasons behind this decision. The results will surprise you.
The articles and features are just the tip of the iceberg of what was discussed in this amazing series. I highly recommend that anyone even remotely interested in Canadian multiculturalism to check out this website.
That's so neat. I'll have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, I got 60% on the quiz!
ReplyDeleteOh, and people write and talk about immigration in Canada all the time. Wente's claim that it's taboo is just her way of making it clear that she and the G&M are doing tough work that nobody else wants to do. But in her article she totally misleads (55% of immigrants to Canada last year were economic class, family class were less than 30%, this data is available on the Government of Canada website). One of the main reasons immigrants end up in poverty and unemployed is because Canada mostly brings immigrants here to do the jobs that Canadians don't want. It's not a coincidence that we don't recognize immigrant credentials, that's always what immigrant-receiving countries do. Until we can see immigrants as just as legitimate as native-born Canadians, they will continue to live with higher rates of poverty while we blame them for their (and our!) poverty. Wente does nothing to change this dynamic and does everything to contribute to discourses that marginalizes immigrants, people of colour and indigenous people.