The strong voice of a great community
August, 2007

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Toward a Truly Equal and Pluralistic Society



Op-ed by Colleen Beaumier, Liberal Opposition Critic for Multiculturalism

Recently academics and other social scientists and commentators came
together for a four-day conference on diversity, social cohesion and
citizenship organized by the Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs.

During this conference, Oxford University Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan
suggested that multiculturalism is going to travel a bumpy road over the
next two generations.

Queen's University philosopher Will Kymlicka argued, however, that it's a
road Canadians will survive, if they understand that Canadian values and
pluralistic diversity are not a trade-off -- you have to sacrifice one to
get the other -- but rather that one is the reason for the other.

I have tremendous faith that Canadians will survive this road and further
strengthen our society in the process.  Canada is a true global society and this will be the bedrock of how we will succeed as a country in the 21st century.

This past weekend Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion attended Folklarama in Winnipeg, which is the largest and longest running multicultural event of
its kind.  While at that festival, Mr. Dion explained to a group of
reporters that, "We need to show to the rest of the world that diversity is
not a nightmare, to the contrary -- it's a strength.  It helps you to be a
better citizen, to understand others and to be closer to humanity."

The Liberal Party of Canada is committed to the concept of multiculturalism and historically has been the source of most significant Canadian multicultural policy.

In 1947, led by a Liberal government, Canada embarked upon an immigration program that contributed to the greatest increase in Canada's population from any previous decade.

This was one of the greatest periods of Canadian growth, not only in terms of population, but in national wealth and personal incomes.  This tremendous economic expansion was greatly facilitated by the hard work, new perspectives and ingenuity of newly arriving Canadians.

The Trudeau era brought about the official policy of Multiculturalism,
adopted in 1971.  This enshrined the positive idea of Canada's pluralist
composition and both integrated that concept into government decision making and promoted it as a source of Canada's identity and strength.  Unlike the melting pot model of the other countries, Canada adopted the idea of a 'cultural mosaic'- where unique parts fit together into a unified whole.
From that time forward, Canada officially recognized that as a country we
were more than the sum of our parts.

Every year, waves of immigrants come to Canada filled with hopes and dreams for a better life for themselves and their families.  Many of these new Canadians leave behind their countries, communities and homes for an unknown land filled with promise.  They bring with them a fresh perspective, a hard work ethic and tremendous resolve and ambition.  It is these very qualities that have contributed so much to the success of immigrants in our country and to the success of Canada as a modern country.

Less than a decade from now immigration is expected to account for the
entire net growth of Canada's workforce.  We must attract skilled immigrants and ensure they are able to reach their full potential if we are to sustain economic growth, promote innovation, and keep our economy strong.  Over the past six years Canada has welcomed 1.4 million new permanent residents from around the world.  Clearly it is in Canada's interest to foster further immigration, and to ensure those who come to Canada succeed.

Too often, today's new Canadians, despite higher levels of education, are
not achieving economic success as quickly as in previous generations.  We need better social and economic integration of new Canadians, including language training, the upgrading and recognition of their professional and technical credentials.  We must also ensure their access to first time job experience in the Canadian work environment.

More than that, we need to move Canada beyond the concept of a tolerant society to one of true equality.  If Canada is to maintain its population growth, its economic prosperity and its place in the world we need to continue to attract new Canadians from around the globe and truly welcome them as full participants in Canadian society.

It is not enough to tolerate immigration and multiculturalism, we as a
society must truly embrace those concepts and understand the necessity of both for the future prosperity of Canada.

That is why I, as Multiculturalism Critic, and my Leader Stéphane Dion, am committed to engaging with all Canadians in the coming months on these issues.  We must better highlight to all Canadians the benefits and
competitive advantages of building on our past success toward a truly equal and pluralistic society.