Monday, January 31: The Journey Towards Multiculturalism in Canada: The Real Debate
7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science 1-430
Speakers:
Dr. Jack Jedwab, Association for Canadian Studies;
Dr. Ayman Al-Yassini, Canadian Race Relations Foundation;
Dr. Ayman Al-Yassini, Canadian Race Relations Foundation;
Satya Das, Cambridge Strategies Inc.;
Dr. Yasmeen Abu-Laban (Moderator), Department of Political Science
Dr. Yasmeen Abu-Laban (Moderator), Department of Political Science
Sponsored by Prairie Metropolis Centre
The diversity of Canada's population will continue to increase significantly during the coming decades. By 2031, between 25% and 28% of the population could be foreign-born according to projections by Statistics Canada, and the majority of this segment could belong to a visible minority.
However, in the past decade, multicultural models for managing diversity have been the object of increasing criticism in several immigrant receiving countries. Canada is no exception. In an October 2010 editorial, the Globe and Mail called for the word “multiculturalism” to be struck from the national vocabulary.
Critics have insisted that the very description of society as “multicultural” encourages immigrants and their children to preserve their cultures of origin at the expense of national identity and thus impedes their integration into the mainstream.
The panel will examine the veracity of this claim and offer analysis of how multiculturalism is really understood by most Canadians.
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