By April Fong
It’s hard to forget how in the fall of 2005, much of France was engulfed by unrest and chaos.
Rioters took to the streets following the deaths of two teenagers of North African descent, who were accidentally electrocuted while hiding from police.
The country was in a state of emergency. France ’s worst civil strife in decades tore through the country with the destruction of schools, hospitals, buses and cars, claiming at least one life.
In France ’s soul-searching, the violent behaviour between police and young French citizens of North African or Arab origin was attributed to the minorities’ high unemployment levels and more importantly, their sense of alienation.
French President Jacques Chirac acknowledged that the unrest demonstrated a “deep malaise” within society and condemned racism.
But in a country like Canada , where pride runs deep for its model of multicultural integration, the kind of violence and racism witnessed in France couldn’t happen here, right?
While many newcomers to Canada have thrived in our society, our idealistic cultural paradigm remains just that – an ideal.
Perhaps we are not yet on the direct path toward a violent eruption of sorts.
But Canada cannot ignore simmering questions about our official multiculturalism policy and fears that interethnic relations are growing more strained.
Visible-minority immigrants are an integral part of Canada’s history, and their stories should be reflected nationwide. We need a commitment in our leadership, our discussions and in our own lessons of Canadian history.
More importantly, immigrants need to feel they are part of this country. They need to see their story reflected as part of what it means to be Canadian, and part of the mainstream. Without projecting images of all Canadian backgrounds, multiculturalism will remain a blurry and undefined entity.
According to a recent study released by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, visible-minority immigrant groups and their children are slower to integrate into Canadian society than their white, European counterparts.
The report, written by Jeffrey Reitz and Rupa Banerjee of the University of Toronto , also argue “racial minorities are slower to acquire a sense of identification as Canadian than are immigrants of European origin.”
The conclusion stems from the report’s findings. Among the second generation, 78.2 per cent of white Europeans see themselves as Canadian, while visible minorities lag by more than 20 per cent.
Patrick Glémaud experienced these challenges first-hand when he left Haiti to immigrate to Canada .
He says he remembers feeling surprised that history books never mentioned Canadians who were of black descent, other than in accounts of the Underground Railroad.
“I almost had an identity crisis,” Glémaud says, now 38, recalling his high school years. “I had to find a sentimental link to this country.”
For that, Glémaud says he couldn’t rely on his history textbooks and began exploring Canada’s past. After learning about black communities like Africville in Nova Scotia , which was founded by Black Loyalists more than 150 years ago, Glémaud discovered he had a deeply-rooted link with Canada .
After that, Glémaud worked to bring Black History Month to his Toronto high school in the 1980s. Today he continues to organize the celebrations in Ottawa .
He now works at the federal Justice Department, and speaks at schools and churches, urging new immigrants to be part of the political process.
Canada will be stronger if people of all heritages feel they have a role to play in the country, Glémaud says, both in the past and present.
With that sense of self, visible minorities can lead as representatives in our social and political structure.
They will see a reflection of themselves. A connection.
Canada was founded on diversity, says Liberal MP and immigration critic Omar Alghabra.
“Racism comes from ignorance and fear of the unknown,” he says.
“If we can explore humanity and our fears, we can tackle racism. Mingling and mixing humbles people. As we learn about our country, we can put a human face on it.”
Alghabra says he rejects the direct association made between race and integration failures, like unemployment.
The link is a generalization of ethnicity that is unfair, inaccurate and offensive, Alghabra says.
“Certainly there are questions about how well we’re doing in that regard, but there are social and economic reasons,” Alghabra adds.
Multiculturalism is not limited to issues of race. It is Canada ’s source of strength and it deserves more attention in all spheres of governance.
Reitz and Banerjee’s study, which examines findings from Statistics Canada’s 2002 Ethnic Diversity study, suggests current policy approaches lack consensus on the significance of discrimination and immigrants’ vulnerability in Canada, as well as the lack of effort to even create such a consensus.
“The most important precondition for improved policy,” they argue, “may be the creation of a more effective means for the full participation of minority in Canadian policy-making.”
Canadians cannot continue looking in the multiculturalism mirror and thinking we are the greatest of them all, so to speak.
Visible-minority immigrants should have and fee they have a meaningful role to play in this country’s fabric.
Quite simply, what is deemed the “minority” must be brought to the majority of how we define Canada.