An Examination of Social, Ethnic, and Cultural Inequalities in Canada

This essay provides an overview of social, ethnic, and cultural inequalities in Canada. It highlights key issues such as homelessness, wealth inequality, and racism, discussing their impacts on various groups and the broader society. The essay references relevant reports and academic sources to support its claims, emphasizing the negative effects of these inequalities on the quality of life and well-being of Canadians. It also touches upon the experiences of marginalized communities, such as Indigenous peoples and Black youth, and their encounters with discrimination. The essay concludes by advocating for the implementation of strict laws and policies to address these detrimental issues and promote social upliftment and overall well-being within Canada.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY AND CULTURE
SOCIOLOGY AND CULTURE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIOLOGY AND CULTURE
Social and cultural inequality is one of the harshest realities of the world. It has been seen
that there is existence of unequal and inadequate rewards and opportunities for people belonging
from various social status and positions with the society. It can also be witnessed that there are
differences in public recognition and treatment based on the cultural practices, norms, customs
and symbols in the world which is unfair to the human beings and has a negative impact on the
society. This paper is going to shed a light on the several inequalities like ethnic, cultural and
social that prevails in Canada.
Canada is considered to be one of the best countries to live in as the country provides
economic opportunities, high quality education and health and many more. However, there are
social, ethnic and culture inequalities that exist in the country which has a negative impacts on
the society as well as the country.
Social inequality in Canada is becoming a growing concern for the society in the country.
According to reports, there are several social issues that people in Canada face like
homelessness, housing and wealth inequality (Stehr, 2018). Homelessness and housing have
become one of the major and exploding issues in Canada due to the exorbitant price rates of
houses. There is also lack of supply in terms of housing which has been creating this issue and
resulting in high rates of the houses which is unaffordable for many people in the country which
has resulted in homelessness. Reports suggest that there has been 2 percent increase in the count
of homeless people in the country and there has been a 140 percent increase in the death of the
homeless people in the country in one year (CBC, 2019). The reason for so many deaths in the
country was due to poverty and as they were unable to survive in the extreme and difficult
weather conditions.

2SOCIOLOGY AND CULTURE
Another issue which Canada has been facing is the wealth inequality which paves way
for poverty and also poor lifestyle of the people in the country. According to scholars, the loss of
the traditional industries with permanent jobs that were high-paying, automation outsourcing, the
increase in technology that replaces the human beings, explosion of the e-commerce industry and
the rise in contractual employees has contributed to a dicey society in terms of employment and
jobs and has led to wealth inequality in Canada (Fortin & Lemieux, 2015). However, there are
scholars who state that the increase in technology and the explosion of the e-commerce industry
has helped in increasing employment opportunities in the country and has helped in resolving the
issue of poverty and homelessness in the country (Deb, 2014). Bird & Zolt, (2014) states that the
millennials in the country find themselves in a gig economy with unstable low-paying jobs, high
rents that provides very little hope for the people to buy house of their own.
Culture and ethnic inequalities is another issue which has affected the people in Canada
especially the aboriginals living in Canada. The aboriginals face inequalities in all spheres from
education, work to even health facilities. Racism is another issue that very much prevails in
Canada. The black people are excluded and discriminated from the society because of their
ethnic background which has negative effects on their standard of living and also their lifestyle.
According to reports, the black youths in Toronto struggled with very low expectations from the
administrators and the teachers in comparison to their peers who were white and around 42
percent of black students have been suspended from schools (Bero, 2019). Racism not only
discriminates people but has a huge effect on their kinds which often lead to depression.
From my personal experience I have witnessed racism when I was in high school. There
was a black student in my class and most of the students had alienated him and stereotyped him

3SOCIOLOGY AND CULTURE
thus making him lonely in class which affected him so much that he had left the school.
According to me, this was not right as it not only affected his morale but also his education.
Social and cultural inequalities in Canada are exist which hinders the quality of life of the
people and also have a huge impact on the society making it highly unethical. These not only
have a poor effect on the health and their standard of living but also have a huge effect on the
people facing it mentally which is highly unfair to the people. Thus, it is important for Canada to
come up with strict laws and policies in order to overcome this detrimental issue for the
upliftment and the growth of the society in Canada and for the overall wellbeing of the people in
the country.

4SOCIOLOGY AND CULTURE
Reference
Bero, T. (2019). Canada is overdue for a reckoning with its anti-black racism | Tayo Bero.
Retrieved 22 December 2019, from
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/06/canada-overdue-reckoning-
anti-black-racism
Bird, R. M., & Zolt, E. M. (2014). Taxation and inequality in Canada and the United States: Two
stories or one. Osgoode Hall LJ, 52, 401.
CBC. (2019). Vancouver's homeless count rises to highest number since survey began | CBC
News. Retrieved 22 December 2019, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-
columbia/vancouver-homeless-count-2019-number-of-homeless-1.5172332
Deb, S. (2014). Information technology, its impact on society and its future. Advances in
Computing, 4(1), 25-29.
Fortin, N. M., & Lemieux, T. (2015). Changes in wage inequality in Canada: An interprovincial
perspective. Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, 48(2),
682-713.
Stehr, N. (2018). The culture and structure of social inequality. In Nico Stehr: Pioneer in the
Theory of Society and Knowledge (pp. 181-198). Springer, Cham.