POV #4 To what extent should individuals and groups in Canada embrace a national identity?6/18/2018 In the second half of the 20th century (1950 on) the federal government changed Canada’s immigration policies and began to welcome immigrants from many different parts of the world. In 1971, Canada became the first country to adopt multiculturalism as official government policy. This policy which was affirmed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and enhanced in the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988, is reflected in Canada’s pluralistic society. In Canada today, all governments must find ways of finding a balance between honouring Canada’s traditions and fostering a vision of the future that Canadians of all backgrounds and heritages can unite behind and promote. The CMA (Canadian Multicultural Act) affirmed that Canadians have a constitutional right “ to the equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination and that everyone has the freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association and guarantees those rights and freedoms equally to male and female persons…” I think that multiculturalism is important because it dilutes and dissipates the divisiveness of ignorance. It is important because it encourages dialogue, often between radically different cultures that have radically different perspectives. There’s many benefits of Multiculturalism. Immigrants are a source of diverse knowledge and experience. They can increase innovation, creativity and prosperity in our city. New residents also enrich the cultural fabric by introducing new foods, music, traditions, beliefs and interests. Responsible government is a government that answers to the people rather than to colonial governors. The concept was introduced in Canada in the 1840s by LaFontaine and Baldwin. Their common desire for responsible government in Canada aided in bringing together Canada West and Canada East. Although responsible government is more than just being responsible. Both Lafontaine from "Canada East" and Baldwin from "Canada West" both had a goal to make sure that Francophones were not assimilated into anglophone society and culture. In 1841, the British government merged Upper Canada (mostly anglophone) and Lower Canada (mostly Francophone) into a single province called Canada. The population of Canada East was much higher than Canada West and English was the only language allowed in the legislature. In order to solve this, the British plan was to assimilate francophones into anglophone culture. LaFontaine wanted francophone culture to survive and Baldwin supported this goal. They set aside differences, joined forces and worked together to demand responsible government. “There is, and must be, no question of races” By 1848, they had reached their goal of responsible government in Canada and also French was restored as an official language of the legislature. In Canada responsible government is more commonly described as an executive or Cabinet that is dependent on the support of an elected assembly, rather than on the monarch. Responsible government is a key and an important part of Confederation, in my opinion. The British North American Act (BNA Act) which created Canada defined two levels of representative and responsible government. The federal government was to look after national affairs, and the four provincial governments would manage their own regional affairs. This arrangement assured that Quebec could affirm and promote the French language and culture of the province's francophones. There was a couple problems with this. The Metis people weren’t recognized at all. The federal government ended up implementing their responsibility through the Indian Act. As the Aboriginal contribution to Canada became more widely recognized, some people began to refer to “three founding nations”: Aboriginal people, French and British. The concept of three founding nations excludes the contributions of immigrants from countries that were neither French nor British.
3 Comments
callum
6/19/2018 12:31:47 pm
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Zach
6/19/2018 12:32:01 pm
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catricia hiebert
6/19/2018 12:33:28 pm
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