Multiculturalism and Social Cohesion: Potentials and Challenges of Diversity

This article by Jeffrey Reitz discusses the potentials and challenges of diversity in multiculturalism and social cohesion in Canada. It provides insights on the social impact of diversity and the inequalities experienced by visible minorities. Reitz's work shows that multiculturalism policies should address the challenges of diversity and promote positive relations between groups. The article also discusses the need for inter-group exchanges to foster effective inter-changes among members of Canada’s ethno-cultural groups. The assignment requires students to read the article and answer questions related to immigration and the social impact of diversity.

LIBS 1580 – Fall 2017
Multiculturalism Assignment 2- Unit 4
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-Read the following article by Jeffrey Reitz that has been divided into paragraphs. Then, go to
the last page of the document and read the questions posed, and any links therein.Type your
answers (12 font, single space) to the questions labeled below the questions, and save ONLY
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-Read the article, think about the questions, then plan out your answers and write them out
coherently.
Article:Multiculturalism and Social Cohesion: Potentials and Challenges of
Diversityby Jeffrey Reitz
1. Multiculturalism has been a cornerstone of Canadian policy for almost 40 years, but
internationally, particularly since 9/11 and in light of inter-ethnic conflicts in Europe
resulting from immigration, there has been something of a ‘retreat’ from multiculturalism.
Should Canada keep multiculturalism despite problems elsewhere? Or should our
multiculturalism policies be changed, or perhaps even abandoned?
2. Debate over multiculturalism is partly a question of political principle, as discussed by, for
example, Canadian philosophers Will Kymlicka and Charles Taylor. But today, the
debate is mostly about the social impact of diversity. Is there ‘unity in diversity,’ as
advocates say, or does diversity lead to isolation, mistrust and disunity, as critics
suggest?

3. There are many questions for social and psychological analysis based on the evidence.
My co-authored book Multiculturalism and Social Cohesion: Potentials and Challenges of
Diversity examines some of these questions based on evidence from a unique and
comprehensive source: Statistics Canada’s 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey of over 40,000
Canadians representing all cultural groups across the country.
4. Some of our basic findings are these. First, the maintenance over time of attachments
to an ethnic minority community – strong ethnic identity and involvement in the ethnic
community – have both positive and negative effects on social integration, depending on
different dimensions of social integration.
5. We find positive effects of strong ethnic attachments are found when we look at a
person’s sense of belonging in Canada, and their overall life satisfaction. There are
positive effects of ethnic attachments also on voting, a telling indicator of social
integration.
6. However, we find negativeeffects of strong ethnic attachments on rates of citizenship
acquisition for immigrants, and on acquisition of a sense of Canadian identity. There is
also a clear negative effect of strong ethnic attachments on feelings of trust in others.
7. These positive and negative impacts show that the impact of diversity on social cohesion
is mixed; the answer depends on the dimension of integration. The two opposing views
of the social impact of diversity are not contradictory. Rather, they capture different
aspects of reality.
8. A second finding shows that inequalities experienced by visible minorities are an
important challenge for policy. Visible minorities in Canada experience significant
inequality. Visible minorities have the lowest household incomes and the highest poverty
rates – about double the rates for whites. Of course, the economic status of visible
minorities definitely improves with time in Canada, and the children of visible minority
immigrants have high levels of education and much improved household income levels.
9. However, a third finding is troubling - many visible minority respondents report
experiences of discrimination in Canada, and their concerns appear to intensify with
greater time in Canada. For recentimmigrants, 34 percent of visible minorities reported
experiences of discrimination in the previous 5 years, compared to 19 percent for whites.
Visible minorities also more often report discomfort in social situations, and even fear
becoming the target of an attack. And over time, these concerns become more frequent
for visible minorities, whereas among white immigrants, reports of discrimination decline.
For the children of immigrants, the rate of reported experiences of discrimination
among visible minorities is up to 42 percent – and over 60 percent for blacks – whereas
among whites the rates decline to about 10 percent.
10. Partly as a result of experiences of discrimination and a sense of exclusion, visible
minorities are less socially integrated into Canadian society than their white
counterparts. They are clearly slower to acquire a ‘Canadian’ identity. Most indicators
show more negative trends for racial minorities than for whites. For example, among
recent immigrants racial minorities actually express a stronger sense of belonging in
Canada than do whites; among the children of immigrants it is the reverse. A positive

outlook of newly-arrived racial minority immigrants fades considerably with experience in
Canada.
11. These findings carry important implications for future policy. Our findings suggest
that multiculturalism policies should not only emphasize the potential strengths of
diversity, but also address some of its challenges. Multiculturalism policy should embrace
a more authentic and socially active commitment to developing positive relations between
groups.
12. It is worth recalling that these issues were emphasized in Pierre Trudeau’s original
speech on multicultural philosophy in 1971. Multiculturalism, he said, involved
supporting minority communities. But it also required resources for integration, including
equal access to full participation in Canadian society, as well as learning an official
language. And he added a fourth objective: to “promote creating encounters and
interchange among all Canadian cultural groups, in the interest of national unity.”
13. Regarding equality, existing policy promotes the idea of racial equality, but the impact
has been small. I say this because minority concerns about inequality grow with greater
experience in Canada, and yet equity policies evidently have been insufficient to counter
this trend. Many Canadians simply discount reports of discrimination as unimportant.Yet
minorities with greater experience in Canada become more concerned about the
issue, and as a Canadian-born generation of racial minorities emerges, the issues
of equality will become more significant. Inter-group exchanges could help Canadians
address a range of issues not only including cultural practices and beliefs, but also
inequalities.
14. Overall, we conclude that while Canadians celebrate the value of diversity, we also
should have a more open, frank, and authentic discussion of some of the challenges we
face as a multicultural society. Left unaddressed these challenges may become greater
and more difficult to address in the future. We need to explore various ways to bring
groups together for this more authentic discussion.
15. Minority communities may now tend to be isolated from each other but this is not
necessarily so. They could play a more positive role in integrating immigrants and
members of minorities into the larger society. They can act as a sort of “social bridge”
between the two. In further discussion we may want to explore various ways to foster
more effective inter-changes among members of Canada’s ethno-cultural groups in
various domains of social and community activity – both as groups and individually
among citizens who are members of groups. We think that these challenges are worth
meeting, because of the positive benefits of diversity which are also evident in our data
and in the everyday lives of most Canadians.
Jeffrey G. Reitz, FRSC, is R.F. Harney Professor of Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies
at the University of Toronto. Email: [e-mail]
…see questions below…

Assignment 2 – Unit 4
Name(s):
Course and Section:
Date:
Title of Assignment:
QUESTIONS
1. Consult this article below which discusses increasing immigration
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/why-canada-needs-a-flood-
of-immigrants/article4105032/?page=alland discuss why Canada needs more
immigrants, and how the system can sometimes fail them. Discuss benefits and
caveats with the immigration system in Canada (using research, provide sources)
(Insert answers here below in full sentences, not in point form. Use references where
required)
Answer
From the given article, it is found that the current year and the succeeding year will face
a million of vacant jobs in Canada. The capital of the country, Ottawa is making
amendments in the immigration policy but it is not being beneficial in any way.
Canada is in demand of more immigrants in a radical manner. A right amount of
immigrants will be able to make Canada an innovative global power. However, a lack in the
number of immigrants is responsible for draining away of power.
The system can tend to be a failure with the arrival of the immigrants. They might fill the
vacant workplaces but their tax payment and investments on personal necessity creates a
ripple effect on the national economy. However, the country admitted that there is no
positive outcome of struggling for increasing the number of immigrants.
The advantage of Canada is that it has the highest per capita rate of immigration all
over the world, which caters to public support. On the other hand, the caveat is the
widespread location which, has resulted in the under population of the country (Friesen,
2012, p. 4).
2. Reitz provides a number of findings from his work in the article pasted above.

a) His first finding is that there are both positive and negative effects to social cohesion of
‘visible’ minority Canadians who maintain a strong ethnic identification. What are the
positive and negative effects of this?
(Insert answers here below in full sentences, not in point form. Use references where
required)
Answer
According to Jeffrey Ritz, increased immigration will have the advantage of population
growth and diversity within the country. A wide range of diversity will be able to affect a fair
behaviour within the society. A diverse population has the power to make the social cohesion
either strong or weak. Social cohesion has the benefit of binding the individuals at both
domestic and national level. It also focuses on the set of common values, a sense of
belonging, equal opportunities, civic order and an independent participation.
On the other hand, the negative effects of social cohesion come in the form of
ghettoization, poor health outcomes and health. The increasing diversity might not be able to
prevent social fragmentation and a declining socio- economic condition. The movement of
Canada towards social cohesion is facing the impact of an international backlash against the
original multiculturalism of Europe. The country might face the negative impact of social
fragmentation. The immigrants will not be able to participate entirely in the country’s economy
and therefore the attachment will be poor (Hiebert, 2016, p. 110).
b) What is the second finding of his work?
(Insert answers here below in full sentences, not in point form. Use references where
required)
Answer
The second findings of the work focused on the inequalities and discrimination
experienced by the minorities as a significant challenge for norms and policies. The policies
and procedures in Canada need to be amended in such a way that it addresses the concern of
finance and economy of the visible minorities. The discrimination faced by the minorities I
comparison to the whites should be mitigated. The minorities in Canada are facing a large
amount of discrimination and inequality. In addition to that, they have the most reduced
household incomes and an increased rate of poverty. This is discrimination on their part, as the
whites do not face the same consequence. Moreover, their poverty rate is half of the visible
minorities. It can be expected that the financial condition of the visible minorities will gradually
improve in Canada. The children of the visible immigrants can have better level of education
with an improved household income levels (Kaushal & Lu, 2015, p. 479- 522).

c) What is the third finding of his work?
Answer
The third findings of the work have focused on the difficult part of immigration system in
Canada. It was found out in the article that the visible minority of Canada have experienced a
large extent of discrimination and the intensity is seen to be gradually increasing. Among the
immediate immigration, which is taking place, around 34% of the entire visible minorities have
complained about their experience in discrimination from 5 years. On the other hand, only 19%
of the whites in Canada have experienced discrimination. The discriminating behaviour
between the whites and the minorities has been continuing from a long time and at a great
extent. The group of visible minorities have often complained about discomfort in the social
scenario. They are afraid of being a potential target of an attack due to the discrimination
aimed at them. Along with the passage of time, the concerns of the visible minorities have
taken a worse shape but improvements were observed in the case of whites. The children of
the visible immigrants were reported to have faced discrimination at 42% and the blacks have
faced 60%. On the contrary, the discrimination rate for the whites is only 10% (Hollifield, Martin
& Orrenius, 2014, p. 48- 52).
d) What are the social results of these three findings?
Answer
The social results of the three findings have highlighted on the experience of
discrimination and exclusion faced by the visible minorities of Canada. The outcome has
considered that the visible minorities are less combined with the society than the white
members of the community are. The blacks and the minorities face a greater discrimination
than the whites do. The factors of the study have shown that the negative impact is more on
the visible minorities than the whites are. The rate of reported discrimination complaints has
reflected the same. For instance, the recent immigration in Canada portrays a powerful sense
of belonging among the minorities than the whites (Razin, 2017, p. 97- 124).
e) What do his findings suggest for future multicultural policy?
Answer
The findings of the study have suggested that there are significant implications for further
multicultural policy. As per the article, the multiculturalism policy should not become a burden
on the probable strengths of diversity. This is because multiculturalism should not be
considered as a stress but an important part for the improvement of the country’s policy. The
multiculturalism policy should be designed in such a way that it considers an authentic and
more socially involved dedication to enhance positive relation among the groups. This will be a
trial for eradicating discrimination among the black, visible minorities and the whites in Canada
(Zhu, 2016, p. 143-156).

f) What were the four objectives of multicultural policy set out in 1971 by Prime
Minister Pierre Trudeau?
Answer
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau set the four objectives of multicultural policy in 1971. He
mentioned about providing support to minority communities, equal accessibility to whole-
hearted participation in the Canadian society, learning an official language and promote
creating encounters to interchange among all the groups in Canada to serve the purpose of
national unity. From the objectives of the Prime Minister, it can be stated that the issues were
identified long before however, no necessary actions were taken. The objectives were set but
those were not implemented in the mitigation of discrimination among the visible minorities,
black and whites of Canada (Paquet, 2015, p. 1815- 1835).
g) What does he suggest all Canadians should be doing to promote positive
multiculturalism and social cohesion?
Answer
The Prime Minister stated that the existing policies were not sufficient to promote racial
equality among the Canadians. Therefore he has suggested to implement the process of inter-
group exchanges which he thought might be helpful in addressing this wide range of issue. It
will not only consist of cultural beliefs and practices but also inequalities and the related
discrimination. He has suggested the same because minority issues regarding inequality is
growing rapidly in Canada and the existing policies have proved to be incapable to combat this
trend. Moreover, many Canadians simply ignore the reports on discrimination thinking them to
be insignificant (Campbell et al., 2016, p. 280- 290).
h) What does he suggest ‘minority’ communities do to promote positive
multiculturalism and social cohesion?
Answer
He suggested that, the visible minorities of Canada need to play a major positive
role in combining the immigrants and the members of the visible minority community
into the wider society. They can exert power to bridge the gap which was created from a
long time. They have the power to act as a social connector between the two groups.
Their word will be paid attention by the two groups and they can use it as an advantage
on their part. The visible minority groups of Canada need to take the responsibility of
diminishing the huge barrier that has been created based on race, caste and color
(Beine & Coulombe, 2018, p. 69-106).
As the visible minority communities in Canada were isolated from the major part
of the society, therefore they need to maintain their internal unity in order to promote
multiculturalism and social cohesion. The different groups of immigrants in Canada can

be influenced by enhancing interchange in the various spheres of social activity in an
effective manner. It can be recommended that if these challenges are met, then it will
result in bringing out a positive effect from diversity in the daily life of the Canadians
(Wang & Kwak, 2015, p. 340- 348).

References
Beine, M., & Coulombe, S. (2018). Immigration and internal mobility in Canada. Journal of
Population Economics, 31(1), 69-106.
Campbell, J., Johnston, J., Cook, V., Sadatsafavi, M., & Marra, F. (2016, December). Is It Time
to Re-think the Post-immigration Tuberculosis Surveillance System in Canada?.
In Open Forum Infectious Diseases (Vol. 3, No. suppl_1). Oxford University Press.
Friesen, J. (2012). Why Canada needs a flood of immigrants. The Globe and Mail, 4.
Hiebert, D. (2016). What’s so special about canada? understanding the resilience of
immigration and multiculturalism. Migration Policy Institute.
Hollifield, J., Martin, P. L., & Orrenius, P. (Eds.). (2014). Controlling immigration: A global
perspective. Stanford University Press.
Kaushal, N., & Lu, Y. (2015). Recent immigration to Canada and the United States: A mixed
tale of relative selection. International Migration Review, 49(2), 479-522.
Paquet, M. (2015). Bureaucrats as immigration policy-makers: The case of subnational
immigration activism in Canada, 1990–2010. Journal of Ethnic and Migration
Studies, 41(11), 1815-1835.
Razin, E. (2017). Immigrant entrepreneurs in Israel, Canada, and California. In Immigration
and entrepreneurship (pp. 97-124). Routledge.
Wang, L., & Kwak, M. J. (2015). Immigration, barriers to healthcare and transnational ties: A
case study of South Korean immigrants in Toronto, Canada. Social Science &
Medicine, 133, 340-348.
Zhu, Y. (2016). Immigration policy, settlement service, and immigrant mothers in neoliberal
Canada: a feminist analysis. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 48(2), 143-156.