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Is there a difference between Québec’s interculturalism and Canada’s multiculturalism?: The debate over language, culture, race and power . Paul R. Carr. Overview. Canada is de facto multicultural (diverse racial, cultural, ethnic, linguistic, religious and other identities)
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Is there a difference between Québec’s interculturalism and Canada’s multiculturalism?: The debate over language, culture, race and power Paul R. Carr
Overview • Canada is de facto multicultural (diverse racial, cultural, ethnic, linguistic, religious and other identities) • Multiculturalism can be interpreted in myriad ways: — recognize difference — tolerance — respect (soft multiculturalism) /*/*/*/*/*/*/ — critique — structural change — focus on inequitable power relations (critical multiculturalism) • Québec: one of the “founding nations, and a “distinct society”; separatist presence in parliament; officially and culturally Québec has never agreed with the notion of multiculturalisminterculturalism • Official bilingualism overlapping with official multiculturalism are considered pillars of Canadian identity different interpretations in English-Canada and Québec • Focus: are multiculturalism and interculturalism different, compatible or entirely disconnected? • Approach: critical pedagogy to examine the experience of people of colour (non-Whites) in Canada and Quebec • Ten myths that serve to obscure English-French comprehension + five vignettes highlighting race in Québec • Conclusion: proposing a framework to critically study the problematic, seeking to de-centre the normative understanding of power and multicultural/intercultural relations between majority, dominant White groups and non-Whites.
Some research considerations • My own implication • White power and privilege Whiteness • Socio-linguistics • Majority/Minority relations (who is the majority?) • Normative interpretations of identity • Critical pedagogy • Critical policy analysis • Distinction: • What it is intended to be? • What it should be? • What it is? • Who is defining the what?
Speaking of, with, about and for the “other” • Is it dangerous or ill-advised to discuss the “other”? • Does language present an impenetrable barrier to engaging with the “other”? • How important is race, gender, social class, ethnicity, and language, amongst other markers of identity, in doing research that directly or indirectly relates to intercultural relations? • What are the ethical/cultural/political/scientific implications for those wishing to undertake research on the other? • Can men do research on women, Whites on Blacks, Europeans on Aboriginal peoples, etc.? • Are there TWO or MANY solitudes in Canada? • Bias, insider-outsider status, identity and group “knowledge” • Different approaches and perspectives based on language
“Otherness” • Ringo (2008) elaborates on the notion of “otherness” in examining “issues of racism, identity, and difference”: These developments have ushered in new ways to examine unequal relations in society. Othering not only serves to mark and name those who do not fit the dominant norms of society but involves a process through which people construct their identities in reference to others (Weiss, 1995). By talking about individuals or groups as other, one magnifies and enforces projections of apparent difference from oneself. Othering practices can reinforce and reproduce positions of domination and subordination (Fine, 1994). Consequently, persons who are treated as Other often experience marginalization, decreased opportunities, and exclusion. (p. 231)
Ten myths that serve to obscure English-French comprehension 1. English-Canada is infused with an anti-Québec sentiment 2. Québec is a land of intolerance, hostile to the English language 3. The French language is irrelevant outside of Québec 4. Anglophones are oppressed within Québec 5. Official bilingualism has effectively disenfranchised English-speakers 6. Québécois have little influence within Canada 7. All Québécois are favourable to the independence of Québec 8. Multiculturalism is a well-funded program 9. Multiculturalism is widely practiced in English Canada 10. Since there is a linguistic difference, there is probably a different experience for people of colour living in English-Canada and Quebec
Annual Report on Multiculturalism Act, 2007-2008Diversity in Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs)(Composition of the largest CMAs, 2006) http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/multi-report2008/part1.asp
Toutes les générations et groupes identifiés aux « minorités visibles » – 15 ans et plus – Québec (Recensement 2006)Les enfants d’immigrants : le Canada et le Québec sont-ils des sociétés inclusives? Portrait statistique - Patricia RimokPrésidente, Conseil des relations interculturelles (gouvernement du Québec) Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (Montréal, le 13 février 2009) Le poids démographique des « minorités visibles » = faible : 8 % au total
Diplôme de baccalauréat et certains groupes / toutes les générations – 15 ans et plus – Québec (Recensement 2006)Les enfants d’immigrants : le Canada et le Québec sont-ils des sociétés inclusives? Portrait statistique - Patricia RimokPrésidente, Conseil des relations interculturelles (gouvernement du Québec) Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (Montréal, le 13 février 2009) Les groupes identifiés aux « minorités visibles » ont un taux de diplomation supérieur aux groupes qui n’y sont pas identifiés, et à la population totale
Diplôme supérieur au baccalauréat et certains groupes / toutes les générations - 15 ans et plus – Québec (Recensement 2006)Les enfants d’immigrants : le Canada et le Québec sont-ils des sociétés inclusives? Portrait statistique - Patricia RimokPrésidente, Conseil des relations interculturelles (gouvernement du Québec) Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (Montréal, le 13 février 2009) Les groupes identifiés aux « minorités visibles » ont un taux de scolarité supérieur au baccalauréat plus élevé que ceux qui n’y sont pas identifiés, et à la population totale
Revenus et certains groupes / première et deuxième générations 15 ans et plus – Québec (Recensement 2006)Les enfants d’immigrants : le Canada et le Québec sont-ils des sociétés inclusives? Portrait statistique - Patricia RimokPrésidente, Conseil des relations interculturelles (gouvernement du Québec) Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (Montréal, le 13 février 2009) Certains groupes de le 2e génération identifiés aux « minorités visibles » gagnent moins que la 1ère génération, alors que les groupes qui n’y sont pas identifiés et la population totale de 2e génération gagent plus que le 1ère + _
Revenus et certains groupes / toutes les générations15 ans et plus – Québec (Recensement 2006) Les enfants d’immigrants : le Canada et le Québec sont-ils des sociétés inclusives? Portrait statistique - Patricia RimokPrésidente, Conseil des relations interculturelles (gouvernement du Québec) Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (Montréal, le 13 février 2009) + Les groupes identifiés aux « minorités visibles » ont un revenu inférieur à ceux qui n’y sont pas identifiés, et à la population totale _
Diplôme de baccalauréat et certains groupes / 1ère et 2e générations - 15 ans et plus – Québec (Recensement 2006)Les enfants d’immigrants : le Canada et le Québec sont-ils des sociétés inclusives? Portrait statistique - Patricia RimokPrésidente, Conseil des relations interculturelles (gouvernement du Québec) Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (Montréal, le 13 février 2009) Immigrants (1ère) Non-immigrants (2e)
Revenus et certains groupes / 1ère et 2e générations15 ans et plus – Québec (Recensement 2006) Les enfants d’immigrants : le Canada et le Québec sont-ils des sociétés inclusives? Portrait statistique - Patricia RimokPrésidente, Conseil des relations interculturelles (gouvernement du Québec) Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (Montréal, le 13 février 2009) Immigrants (1ère) Non-immigrants (2e)
Revenus et diplôme inférieur au baccalauréat et certains groupes / toutes les générations - 15 ans et plus – Québec (Recensement 2006) Les enfants d’immigrants : le Canada et le Québec sont-ils des sociétés inclusives? Portrait statistique - Patricia RimokPrésidente, Conseil des relations interculturelles (gouvernement du Québec) Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (Montréal, le 13 février 2009) Les groupes identifiés aux « minorités visibles », même plus scolarisés, ont un revenu inférieur à ceux qui n’y sont pas identifiés, et à la population totale + _
Revenus et diplôme de baccalauréat et certains groupes / toutes les générations - 15 ans et plus – Québec (Recensement 2006)Les enfants d’immigrants : le Canada et le Québec sont-ils des sociétés inclusives? Portrait statistique - Patricia RimokPrésidente, Conseil des relations interculturelles (gouvernement du Québec) Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (Montréal, le 13 février 2009) + Les groupes identifiés aux « minorités visibles », même plus scolarisés, ont un revenu inférieur à ceux qui n’y sont pas identifiés, et à la population totale _
Revenus et diplôme supérieur au baccalauréat et certains groupes / 1ère et 2e générations - 15 ans et plus – Québec (Recensement 2006)Les enfants d’immigrants : le Canada et le Québec sont-ils des sociétés inclusives? Portrait statistique - Patricia RimokPrésidente, Conseil des relations interculturelles (gouvernement du Québec) Institut de recherche en politiques publiques (Montréal, le 13 février 2009) Immigrants (1ère) Non-immigrants (2e)
(Québec) Council of Intercultural Relations (2007) Ainsi, la situation socioéconomique de certains immigrants ne s’améliore pas, même après plusieurs années d’établissement au Québec. Depuis une vingtaine d’années, tant en matière d’accès au marché du travail que de revenus, leur situation s’est même détériorée, si on la compare à celle des immigrants qui ont été admis au Canada avant le début des années 1980. Pourtant, la situation de leurs descendants n’est pas toujours plus reluisante, même lorsqu’ils sont nés au Québec. Cela est sans compter certains problèmes vécus par des individus ou des 2 groupes identifiés aux minorités visibles (voir lexique). En 2001, au Québec, près de 26 % de la population québécoise estimait avoir plus d’une origine ethnique. Si l’on fait état d’intégration, on peut aussi bien mentionner que des processus d’exclusion se développent, notamment à cause de phénomènes comme le racisme et la xénophobie, mais aussi à cause d’une mauvaise préparation avant l’immigration. (pp. 1-2)
Multiculturalism in Canada • Historical underpinning • Attachment to English-Canada obfuscates reality • Differentiated realities and outcomes • Minimalist policy support vs. rhetorical presence • Policy has been conflated to usurp some o tangible educational work
Understanding multiculturalism in Canada • Individual versus group rights • Trudeau, inside and outside of Quebec • language + culture vs. race + class • Neo-liberalism (McLaren) • Cultural pluralism and liberal democracies (Kymlicka) • Critical pedagogy (Freire, Giroux, Kincheloe) • The place of Aboriginal peoples • Race? Religion? Reasonable accommodation? • Fluid, evolving vs. essentialized identity social construction/political definition/group realities
Padolsky (2000): The beginning of multiculturalism “The recurring desire to take stock of the state of Canadian multiculturalism testifies to the continuing salience of social and cultural diversity in Canadian social discourse. Born in the immediate aftermath of a decade of turbulent change in Québec - the Quiet Revolution, the FLQ bombs, the new territorially based Québécois nationalism and the federal gesture of the Bilingualism and Biculturalism Commission (established in 1963) as a response – multiculturalism came into being as a result of ethnic and racial minority Canadians' dissatisfaction with the B & B Commission's original terms of reference (Equality Now! 3). For these minority critics, the establishment of an official bilingual and bicultural framework threatened to cast Canada's other ethnic and racial groups into the permanent role of second-class citizens. These fears grew directly out of the experiences of Canadian minority groups for over a century: immigration policies based on an ethnic/racial pecking order; assimilationist and Anglo-conformist institutional practices (including language suppression); the KomagataMaru incident; the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act; lack of voting rights for some groups; the Japanese-Canadian wartime internment; the rejection of Jewish refugees from Nazi Europe; and a host of other Canadian practices that reflected dominant interests or systemic discrimination.”
From multiculturalism to anti-racism (Carr and Lund, 2008) “Antiracist education, also referred to as antiracism education, has emerged within the broader field of multicultural education. Its explicit focus on power relations, institutional structures, and identity distinguish it from more traditional forms of multicultural education. Antiracist education emphasizes the need to address systemic barriers that cultivate and sustain racism, particularly within educational settings. Similarly, at the theoretical level antiracist education seeks to support social justice and equity by understanding and dealing with the complexity of identity and the intersection of diverse forms of difference and marginalization, including social class, gender, ethnicity, ability, linguistic origin, sexual orientation and religion, among others” (pp. 48-49) • The basic ingredients of antiracism education programs, according to Carr and Lund (2008) include the following: --The notion that good teaching must take into account the varied perspectives and experiences of diverse student-bodies and society --The need for a full analysis of school climate, diagnosing and remedying systemic barriers --The importance of robust involvement and engagement from all sectors forming the school culture, including teachers, principals, guidance counselors, psychologists, lunchroom and custodial staff, parents, and others --The need to problematize how questions of race, culture, and identity in relation to differential educational outcomes and experiences” (p.51)
Interculturalism in Quebec • Various policy documents since the 1970s • Focus on French language and culture • Emphasis on “host society” (“societed’acceuil”) • Notion of groups interacting • Discussion of race is relatively recent • General distancing from multiculturalism • The development of concrete policy instruments has been a challenge • Terminology is in flux
Fleury, B. (2007). Inclusive Québec Schools: Dialogue, Values and Common Reference Points. Report submitted to Québec Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports Michelle Courchesne • This policy confirms the importance that the Ministère attaches to the integration of newcomers into Québec schools. Such integration demands a reciprocal relationship between the implementation by educators of appropriate measures and a willingness by immigrants to adapt to their new society. In particular, the policy sets out guidelines respectingreception and francization services and innovative practices to beimplementedwith respect to studentswho, uponarrival, are three or more yearsbehind in theireducation in relation to the Québec standard. • By makinginterculturaleducationthe other component of itspolicy, the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport isemphasizing the need to focus on multifaceteddifferences in the educational milieu. Interactive openness to diversityisrecognized as one of Québec society’s values and willbereflected in school life in accordance with the rights and responsibilitiesrecognized in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Québec Charter of HumanRights and Freedoms and legislation and regulationsgoverningeducation in Québec. (p. 7)
Fleury, B. (2007). Inclusive Québec Schools: Dialogue, Values and Common Reference Points. Report submitted to Québec Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports Michelle Courchesne • Each year, the Ministère offers the French-language public school system intercultural training sessions (see Appendix C) organized for staff focusing on a number of diversity related themes. The training is intended to enable staff to manage the relationship to diversity in a pluralistic perspective. Some sessions centre on reasonable accommodation and are aimed, in particular, atschooladministratorswho must respond to requests for adaptation of or exemptions fromnorms and practices submitted by students, their parents or staff. Specific training manuals have been developed for sessions devoted to reasonable accommodation. Another session, prepared by the Secrétariat aux affaires religieuses of the Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, proposes relevant material to fosterreflection on questions pertaining to religiousdiversity in the educational milieu. (p. 9)
Québec Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities Diversity: An Added Value policy document (2008) 1. Recognize and combat prejudice and discrimination • The first challenge facing the government is to ensure the human rights education of all citizens and heighten their awareness of prejudice and discrimination and the importance of avoiding them. From this policy direction stem measures to combat prejudice and discrimination and advance intercultural rapprochement. It will lead to concrete measures, including: • – a campaign to heighten public awareness of racism and discrimination and their consequences; • – an integrated awareness-raising and training plan focusing on human rights and freedoms; • – intercultural and antiracist educational activities intended for young people. (p.4)
Bouchard-Taylor Commission (2008) • First of all, they call for a definition of new policies and programs pertaining to interculturalism(legislation, a declaration or a policy statement) and secularism (a proposed white paper). • Several recommendations are linked to the central theme of integration and focus primarily on: a) recognition of immigrants’ skills and diplomas; b) francization programs; c) the need for more sustained efforts to regionalize immigration; and d) the need for enhanced coordination between government departments • From the standpoint of intercultural practices and mutual understanding, our recommendations highlight: a) the need for broader training of all government agents in public establishments, starting with the schools, because of the role they play in socialization; and b) the need to further encourage community and intercommunity action projects. • In keeping with the harmonization policy formulated in our report, our recommendations are intended to foster the accountability of interveners in the citizen sphere (public and private agencies) by ensuring that they have received adequate training. We are asking the government to ensure that the practical knowledge acquired in institutions be recorded, promoted and disseminated in all of the milieus concerned. • Another priority field is the fight against inequality and discrimination. Our recommendations in this respect focus primarily on: a) the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in the public service; b) the urgency of combating the numerous forms of discrimination, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and racism to which racialized groups are subject, especially Blacks; c) the support to be offered immigrant women; d) the need to increase the resources of the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse; and e) the strengthening of economic and social rights in the Québec Charter. (pp. 91-92)
A few vignettes related to how race plays out in Québec society[NOTE: SIMILAR ANECDOTES CAN BE FOUND IN ENGLISH-CANADA] 1. Bye Bye (New Year’s Eve, 2008) 2. (Bouchard-Taylor) Consultation Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences (2008) 3. Doc Mailloux (2005) 4. Jacques Parizeau (1995) 5. Michaelle Jean (2005)
QUEBEC PRODUCERS APOLOGIZE FOR OBAMA JOKES By Melissa Hank 2009-01-13 FRENCH CANADIANS RECANT RACIST REMARK AGAINST BARACK AFTER POKING FUN AT U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA, USING A RACIAL STEREOTYPE, THE QUEBEC PRODUCERS OF A RADIO-CANADA PROGRAM HAVE APOLOGIZED. ACCORDING TO THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, THE NEW YEAR'S EVE TV SPECIAL LE BYE BYE REFERENCED OBAMA'S SKIN COLOR, INCLUDED THE PHRASE "ALL BLACKS LOOK ALIKE" INSINUATED THAT HE MIGHT BE PRONE TO STEALING PURSES FROM THE AUDIENCE. THE SKETCH ALSO INCLUDED AN OBAMA “INTERVIEWER” SUGGESTING THAT A BLACK PRESIDENT IN THE WHITE HOUSE WAS HELPFUL BECAUSE HE WOULD BE MORE VISIBLE AND EASIER TO ASSASSINATE. "WE'RE SORRY THAT WE SHOCKED PEOPLE," CO-PRODUCER AND CO-HOST VERONIQUE CLOUTIER TOLD REPORTERS. ASIDE FROM THE OBAMA SKETCH, THE SPECIAL ALSO SPOOFED NATHALIE SIMARD, A QUEBEC SINGER WHO WAS SEXUALLY ABUSED AS A CHILD BY HER MANAGER GUY CLOUTIER. “RADIO-CANADA RECOGNIZES THIS YEAR'S [BYE BYE] EDITION CONTAINED ELEMENTS THAT MIGHT NOT BE TO EVERYONE'S TASTE," RADIO-CANADA SAID IN A STATEMENT, THOUGH IT DID STAND BEHIND ITS RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH. THOUGHTS? MELISSA@TVGUIDE.CA http://tvguide.sympatico.msn.ca/Quebec+producers+apologize+for+Obama+jokes/TVNews/Articles/090113_quebec_obama_racist_MH.htm?isfa=1
http://www.showbizz.net/articles/20090114150742/bye_bye_2008_ligue_des_noirs_demande_des_excuses_formelles_radiocanada.htmlhttp://www.showbizz.net/articles/20090114150742/bye_bye_2008_ligue_des_noirs_demande_des_excuses_formelles_radiocanada.html «Bye Bye 2008»: la Ligue des Noirs demande des excuses formelles à Radio-Canada Le 14 janvier 2009 - 15:07 | Julie Rhéaume Copier/Coller le code suivant à l'endroit voulu L'animatrice et productrice Véronique Cloutier a fait son mea culpa vendredi dernier. La Ligue des Noirs demande des excuses formelles à Radio-Canada, aux concepteurs et aux acteurs du «Bye Bye 2008», une émission qu'elle qualifie de raciste. L'organisme a aussi demandé au Procureur général d'étudier la possibilité de déposer des accusations criminelles d'incitation à la haine, rapporte La Presse. Une pétition de 2 000 noms destinée à Patrimoine Canada et au CRTC a également circulé afin de dénoncer l'émission. La Ligue des Noirs juge les propos de Jean-François Mercier, disant qu'un Noir à la Maison-Blanche «c'est plus facile à tirer», ainsi qu'un sketch parodiant le président désigné BarackObama et le journaliste Denis Lévesque particulièrement offensants. On y retrouvait évidemment plusieurs clichés sur les Noirs. «On demande des excuses formelles, pas de se dire désolé, ce n'est pas assez. Nous n'acceptons pas des excuses vagues; ce que j'ai lu dans les journaux, ce n'est pas assez», a dit Dan Phillips, le président de la Ligue des Noirs, dont les propos sont cités par La Presse. L'homme n'est pas satisfait des excuses de la productrice Véronique Cloutier et de l'auteur Louis Morissette. Les deux ont fait leur mea culpa la semaine dernière. Par ailleurs, Radio-Canada devait présenter l'intégrale du «Bye Bye» sur son site Internet pendant les 30 jours suivant sa diffusion initiale. Après quelques recherches menées vers 15h mercredi, nous avons constaté que l'émission avait été retirée du site. (sources: La Presse, Journal de Montréal)
Discussion • Do these two political approaches make a difference in fighting racism, consolidating solidarity, enhancing integration and social harmony, and creating a new society? • How is power conceptualized? • What is the experience of non-Whites? • How can material differences between “cultural communities” (interculturalsim) and “ethnic groups” (multiculturalism) be ascertained and measured? • How do political rhetoric and policy documents mesh with tangible multiculturalism and interculturalism? • Do non-Whites seamlessly become Canadian and Quebecois, and how is this related to multiculturalism and interculturalism?
Discussion • Existence of “ethnic” enclaves in both jurisdictions • Racism • Differentiated educational and employment experiences • Generational issues that should normally, given the logic of multiculturalism and interculturalism, disappear • Experience of Aboriginal peoples • Language development • Funding and resources consecrated to M and I • What is the status of the public debate on race, racism and racialization in each jurisdiction?
Discussion • Fundamental role of education: • Can the challenges of inequitable power relations be addressed through education? • What are the implications if they are not? • How fundamental is social justice to the multicultural and intercultural projects? • Funding, resources, staffing, data, curriculum, policies, sensitization, legal framework, and institutional culture • How is education aligned with M and I or is it over-shadowed by neo-liberalism?
Discussion • Kymlicka (2008) discusses three different forms of Canadian citizenship: • immigrant/ethnic group • Aboriginal peoples • francophones/Québecois • the liberal democratic scaffolding infused into Canadian, and other “Western”, societies • “diversity” is less shaped and characterized by specific policies focused on diversity than the existence of liberal democratic policies, conditions and principles • Critical pedagogy (Kincheloe): • How can we make sense of M and I as instruments of a normative societal and policy context? • Can M and I be transformative? • Should they even be the focus of inquiry? • How can we best assess inclusion, oppression, engagement, change and the development of a more “decent society”?
Final thoughts: Attempting to deconstruct the two models • The proposed framework could be used to underpin research on M and I and cultural pluralism, thus producing some data, findings, and questions for further inquiry. • Importance of moving beyond normative interpretations • Kincheloe’s(2008) bricolage methodological approach seeking a richer, more nunaced, critical and relevant assessment of multiculturalism and interculturalism, one that incorporates an indepth understanding of inequitable power relations, Whiteness and the experience of racial minorities
Conceptual framework for analysing the Canadian and Québécois models of cultural integration