The “Just Society” Immigrants, Minorities, Refugees

Immigration & Minorities The Changing Face of Canada’s Population

Immigration by 1950s Prior to 1960s Despite a large wave of multi- ethnic in the early 1900s, most immigrants to Canada were of British descent After WWI, immigration restrictions were tightened, making it very difficult for non- white, non-Christians to come to Canada Immigration from Asia was almost completely stopped There was a large influx of people after WWII, including “displaced persons” from Eastern European countries 1960s Onward… A drain of skilled Canadians moving to the US caused a shortage of skilled workers New, open attitudes, prompted partly by the Universal Declaration Human rights, caused the Canadian Gov’t to change its immigration criteria

Points System: : A “points system” rated immigrants based on – ability to speak English or French – age – education – skill demand It did NOT assign(or detract) points based on ethnicity or religion

Immigration Act of 1978 Trudeau abolished all remaining discriminatory policies and based the immigration system on 3 tenets: – Humanitarian – Economic – Demographic These principles would guide selection of immigrants, NOT  Race  Culture  Religion

What does this graph show us about the impact of the Immigration Act of 1978?

In 1971, Trudeau’s government adopted “MULTICULTURALISM” as an official policy. this meant that the gov’t dedicated itself to: – Promote understanding between cultural groups – Assist groups to maintain their cultural heritage and practices in Canada – Remove barriers that discouraged cultural groups from participating in Canadian society Multiculturalism is the idea that Canadian society is made up of many distinct cultures and that they can be maintained within our society The USA is known as a MELTING POT, which encourages complete assimilation; immigrants are encouraged to adopt the American culture and abandon their own

MULTICULTURALISM = CULTURAL MOSAIC

Strengths/Weaknesses MulticulturalismMelting Pot

Is Multiculturalism WORKING? Read about the following people and determine if they are examples of whether or not multiculturalism is working Baltej Singh Dhillon(61) Andrea Lawrence(100) Sukanya Pillay (100)

LET’S EXAMINE THE MOST POWERFUL GROUP IN CANADA: THE FEDERAL CABINET The Federal Cabinet is comprised of elected Members of Parliament from the elected majority party and is chosen by the Prime Minister The Cabinet is in charge of every aspect of government e.g. foreign policy, immigration, education, aboriginal and indigenous groups, health, the environment, finance etc. Let’s take a look at three different Cabinets to see if things have changed since 1968.

Here are two shots of the members of Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s Cabinet in How many women? How many visible minorities? PIERRE ELLIOT TRUDEAU 1968

Stephen Harper’s Cabinet-2006

PM Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet-2015

A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words Harber’s Cabinet Total Number: ___ # of Women:___ % of Women:___ # of Visible Minorities:___ % of Visible Minorities:___ Number of Aboriginals:___ % of Aboriginals:___ Trudeau’s Cabinet Total Number: ___ # of Women:___ % of Women:___ # of Visible Minorities:___ % of Visible Minorities:___ Number of Aboriginals:___ % of Aboriginals:___

What do these numbers tell us? Is multiculturalism working? Are we achieving the “equity” that Pierre Elliot Trudeau wanted for Canada? Explain your answer.

REFUGEES by the NUMBERS : Canada took in approximately 77,000 refugees from Southeast Asia, who had been displaced by the Vietnamese and Cambodian wars – won the Nasen Medal(highest honour) : Canada took in approx Bhutanese(Hindus of Nepalese heritage) who were living in refugee camps in Nepal

SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS Canada is put to the test… For the past four years, Syria has been in a civil war that has forced 11 million people— half the country’s pre-crisis population—to flee their homes. About 7.6 million Syrians have been internally displaced within the country and 4 million have fled Syria for other countries. This year alone, over attempted to flee to Europe, getting into flimsy makeshift boats Those who can’t flee are living in overrun refugee camps Over the past 2 years, Europe has welcomed over a MILLION refugees Until October of 2015, Canada had done nothing

EXAMINE the EVIDENCE What “face” of the crisis is shown in each of the 5 following photos? – for each photo, describe WHAT you see – break each down into its separate elements Why would these images compel people to want to DO something about it?

POWER IN A PICTURE This was a rally held by Canadians to convince the government to let in Syrian refugees. Examine all aspects of the photo(from the people to the signs) What does this photo reveal about Canadians and our values?

grams/metromorning/mccallum-syrian-plan grams/metromorning/mccallum-syrian-plan Read this article about Canada’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis. What have we done? What challenges still remain? Did we do the right thing?