 |
Dec 23 - Jan 6, 2001 |
Canada example of world tolerance
Minister of Multiculturalism Hedy Fry agrees on more changes in current policy
By Irene Zerbini
Originally Published: 2001-12-02
 |
|
Students hail multiculturalism
|
In a world "that will never be the same again," as is repeatedly said following the September 11 attacks, one thing is for certain: maybe we live in a 'global village,' but a lot remains to be done in regards to mutual understanding and recognizing differences.
Demonization, false beliefs, ancestral fear, and commonplaces cut across both the Western and the Muslim worlds. However, there's no nation or religion that can claim immunity, to a greater or lesser degree, from the virus of diffidence towards strangers, and the results are devastating for world balance.
We began a research on the validity of multiculturalism in order to understand whether exporting the Canadian model could help attenuate the conflicts raging in the globe. The first instalment showed that Pierre Elliot Trudeau's visionary idea is still very much the order of the day after over 30 years. Other contributions underscored the need for a deeper enactment of that ideal, going beyond an apparent multiculturalism, often reduced to an exercise in political correctness.
For this instalment we asked Minister Hedy Fry, in charge of multiculturalism for the Federal government, what is the evidence of success for the Canadian model.
"A fundamental element must be clarified at the very beginning of this discussion," begins Fry. "Multiculturalism is not just a sound philosophy: it's an official policy of our government, committing it to researching strategies favouring integration. It should not be confused with the simple presence of different ethnic groups on the same land, and this makes it something unique to Canada. Only Australia can claim having something similar. As to conflict attenuation, that is the ultimate meaning of such a model. That is why, despite the criticism, an increasing number of nations is considering Canada's model of cosmopolitan coexistence with great interest. They are studying and trying to copy it, in search of our secret. How can 130 ethnic groups coexist in a single community, identifying themselves in a common Canadian denominator and sharing the same ideals?
Page 1/...Page 2
|
| Home / Back to Top |
|
|
 |
|
|
</ td>
