Transcending Diversity: Envisioning Shared Citizenship

1. Transcending Diversity:Envisioning Shared Citizenship © Joanna Anneke Rummens Culture, Community and Health StudiesFaculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto anneke.rummens@utoronto.ca

2. Diversity in Canada • Almost 250,000 new immigrants and refugees arrive each year 2.2 million newcomers this past decade - highest inflow this century • Prior to 1961, 90% European-borns -> 25% between 1981-1991 Of the 1.8 million immigrants who arrived between 1991-2001: • 58% from Asia (includes the Middle East) • 20% from Europe • 11% from the Caribbean, Central and South America • 8% from Africa • 3% from the United States • 18.4% of the population is foreign-born, the highest level in 70 years

3. 18% of Canadians speak neither English or French as a first language • Increasing proportion of newcomers speak a non-official language at home • 73% of immigrants between 1991-2001 members of visible minority groups • Canada’s visible minority population will likely account for 1/5 of the total population by 2016 • 249 different ethno-cultural origins indicated in 2001 Census results • 38% of the population reported multiple ethnic origins in 2001 (2001 Canadian Census)

4. Traditional view of Canadian society - “Three Forces”: • two “founding charter groups” - English and French • the “ethnics” - comprised of subsequent immigrant populations • aboriginal and First Nations peoples • Official policy of bilingualismwithin a multicultural framework • also actual existence of “nations within nations”

5. SeekingUnity withinDiversity Canada’s Multiculturalism Policy encourages • strong identification of Canadians with their ancestral ethnic group origins • at the same time, identification withCanadian society Both are seen as vital to social cohesion

6. This apparent contradiction gives rise to a number of important issues …

7. First, is multiculturalism- sociocultural pluralism as opposed to political pluralism - compatible with national unity? national unity multi-cultural Identities ??

8. ‘Italian’ ‘Serb’ ‘Somali’ ‘Vietnamese’ ‘Tamil’ ‘Ukrainian’ Sense of belonging as “Canadian’’?? ‘Pakistani’ ‘Chinese’ ‘Haitian’ ‘Chilean’ ‘Russian’

9. Given diversity: How exactly do you foster a sense of Canadian ‘unity’ ? ethno-culturalancestry territorialidentification defined according to culturalidentity? country of origin national identity? -> ‘nationality’linguisticidentity? religiousidentity? Also linguistic, ‘racial’ ‘racial’ identity? and religious differences other ??

10. Canada’s Multiculturalism Policy sees no incompatibility between • the maintenanceof ethno-culturaltraditions and • its expressed goals of social cohesion and unity However, the actual mechanismby which to achieve a hither-to elusive sense of national unityseems not yet to have been worked out in full

11. Second, where and how does national identityfit in? Given the Policy’s identity trajectory from language,culture, raceand religionto current considerations of their respective intersections with other identity markers … How exactly do we move from our rather complex accommodationof diversity to the social constructionof a common national identity?

12. Cultural Identity ‘Racial’ Identity Linguistic Identity Religious Identity

13. National Identity?? Cultural Identity Linguistic Identity ‘Racial’ Identity Religious Identity

14. Territorial Socio-economic (class) Age Sexual orientation Dis/ability Sex Linguistic Religious ‘Racial’ Cultural Indigenous/newcomer

15. national cultural ‘racial’ religious linguistic age (dis)ability sex; gender sexual orientation socio-economic (class) territorial indigenous/newcomer -> Canadian? -> Haitian, Korean -> ‘Black,’ ‘Asian,’ ‘White’ -> Christian, Muslim, Jewish -> francophone, anglophone -> child, teenager, adult, senior -> able-bodied, x-challenged -> male/female; man, woman -> homo-/hetero-/bi-/trans-sexual -> lower, middle, upper -> Quebec, Westerner, Maritimer -> aboriginal, immigrant/refugee Types of Identity Specific Identities

17. Third, can a policy promoting “cultural diversity within political unity” continue to serve as the foundation of a post-modern nation state …. within the contextof a new multi-national world order characterized by increased economic interdependence, geographical mobility and information flow?

18. European Union NAFTA Mercosur Pacific Rim Challenges and opportunities of trans-national identities

19. In brief, the challenge before us is the location and articulation of unitywithin multiple dimensions of diversity

20. FromCultural Difference toShared Citizenship To-date attempts to achieve “unityindiversity” have often been stymied by two erroneous assumptions: • Thefirst is that while accommodation of pluralism may be useful in maintaining social order and/or cohesion, uniformity - defined as “sameness” – is required to ensure a truly meaningful sense of national unity

21. This assumed inherent tension between unity and diversity arises out of a faulty equation: homogeneity (= uniformity) <≠>heterogeneity (= diversity) therefore unityversusdiversity

22. Forgotten is that while somesocially salient identifications may serve to differentiate among individuals or groups, others seek to establish commonality and may therefore be used to unite What is critical is the selectionand saliency of the respective identification criteria used

23. The second assumption is that primary cultural and national identifications must necessarily intersectif a meaningful sense of national unityis to be achieved However, these respective identifications are actually based on quite different identity criteria that are, moreover, not necessarily mutually exclusive

24. Cultural identifications focus on shared history, values, traditions and lifeways that are usually supported and transferred through language • In contrast, national identifications reflect geographically bound, largely autonomous, self-governing political entities

25. Intersecting Identities Cultural Identity National Identity Japanese Japanese ‘Racial’ Identity Religious Identity

26. OverlappingIdentities Cultural Identity National Identity “Japanese-” “Canadian”

27. The assumption regarding necessary intersectiononly holds true if one remains firmly committed to the notion of a nation state predicated on the belief in “one culture, one autonomous self-governing entity;” it otherwise readily collapses

28. The crux of the matter is whether we really need to fully share an identifiable Canadian culture in order to have a common national identity as Canadians The answer is no: Civil societies do not need to be bound by a complete set of common values, traditions and shared history

29. What they do need: is member allegiance and active commitment to a common politico-economic community that is based on shared core values and principles This in turn forms the foundation of a sense of national unity and social cohesiveness firmly rooted in and expressed throughparticipatory citizenship

30. The solution, in other words, is to simply decouple cultureand nation, and to subsequently re-define nation in terms of shared citizenship This common citizenship then becomes the basis for national unity and ultimately, in time a unique national identity

31. The true mediation between unityand diversity is commonality - not sameness

32. In the state’s management of cultural, linguistic, ‘racial’ and religious pluralism, it is ourcommonalitythat has sometimes received short shrift What we are then left grappling with is what defines,supportsandguidesus as a unique social, political and economic entity

33. While it remains both constructive and morally imperative to continue to accommodate diversity in the interests of social integration, cohesion, equity and justice … it is important to balance official recognition of differences with a consideration of what we in fact have in common as Canadians

34. In short, we need as a polity to move from an at times myopic preoccupation with the various ways in which we are all different, to an examination of what we in fact have in common and to use this knowledge as the foundation for a participatoryshared citizenship that both expresses mutual commitment and fosters a sense of belonging

35. An Overarching Citizenship Charter In brief, the issue is not so much “what is ‘Canadian’?” but rather “what does it meanto be a Canadian?” The answer may be found in an expressed commitment and allegiance to a sovereign entity called Canada that is firmly founded on: • shared societal values and • enhanced participation in collective decision-making

36. What is needed is a Citizenship Charter that both embraces our cultural, linguistic, "racial," and religious differences and transcends the various dimensions of diversity Such a Charter would clearly articulate our society’s overarching core values and locate the veryresponsibilitiesof a common citizenship in our active commitment to them (Rummens 2002)

37. These shared values include: • individual freedom of thought and expression • appreciation and respect for difference • peaceful co-existence • the rule of law • pursuit of equality • negotiation and compromise • support for human rights • social “safety net" provisions • sustainable economic development => all within the context of a parliamentary democracy

38. Participatory citizenship would then be based on • an expressed commitment to these existing core values • as well as a heightened sense of allegiance to Canada • rooted in shared responsibilities for more truly inclusive collective decision-making Enhanced civic participation is critical to the building of social capital – bonding, bridging and linking - and to the fostering of social trust

39. An explicit, consensual social contract such as a Citizenship Charter would move us beyond the definition of our rights and freedoms as outlined in the existing Citizenship and Multiculturalism Acts and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms … to increased public awareness of our commonality and active commitment to the responsibilitiesof a shared citizenship firmly rooted in a clearer sense of our obligations to each other

40. National unity is thus concretely facilitated via a shared citizenship firmly rooted in a joined sense of commonality and collectivity rights and freedoms shared values common allegiance mutual rights and responsibilities within an enhanced participatory framework

41. National Identity Core Values Commitment and Allegiance Rights and Responsibilities Mutual Obligations Enhanced Participation Shared values and beliefs with interaction -> traditions with time -> common history Indigenous/newcomer Civic Identity Linguistic Cultural ‘Racial’ Religious Socio-economic (class) Sexual orientation Dis/ability Sex Age Territorial

42. Redefining the Canadian Demos Shared citizenship need neither begin with a common culture nor require it as a final end-product What it does require is a transitional shift from an exclusive focus on multiculturalism and a renewed diversity discourse tocomplementary discussions regarding a transcending citizenshipas the basis for national unity and - ultimately - a strong national identity

43. This entails a redefinition of the Canadian demos understood both as a shared sense of peoplehood and as a forum for civic debate and collective decision-making

44. It would move Canada beyond an official categorization into four solitudes - English, French, aboriginal and ethnic - based on a largely essentialist notion of “culturalism” towards the articulation of commonalitymore firmly rooted in our shared humanity and lived experiences

45. Only then will a multi-dimensional shared citizenship within a trans-cultural framework be able to contribute not only to the goals of national unity and identity, but also to an expanded commitment to social equality and freedom of cultural expression beyond that originally envisioned within the Multiculturalism Act

46. The challenge is to first incorporate and then transcend the various dimensions of diversity to focus on a common civic national identity defined in terms of a shared citizenship and expressed via shared values firmly embedded in notions of participatorydemocracy

47. This would move us away from an exclusive preoccupation with differencerooted in largely essentialist notion of ‘culturalism’ towards the articulation of a commonalitymore firmly rooted in shared core values and mutual responsibilities

48. Only then will a newly-invigorated participatory citizenship be able to contribute not only to the goals of national unity and identity, but help transform a “deficiency model” of difference to an “asset-building” one better geared to an increasingly transnational, information driven, globalized world order

49. Relevant References • Joanna Anneke Rummens. “Conceptualizing Identity and Diversity: Overlaps, Intersections and Processes.” Canadian Ethnic Studies. (In press, 2004) • Joanna Anneke Rummens. “Overlapping and Intersecting Identities.” Canadian Diversity / Diversité Canadienne. (In press, December 2003). • Joanna Anneke Rummens. “Transcending Diversity: Envisioning Shared Citizenship.” Canadian Diversity / Diversité Canadienne. Volume 2:1 Spring 2003: pp. 77-78. • Joanna Anneke Rummens. “Redefining the Canadian Demos: Towards a Trans-cultural Citizenship Charter.” Canadian Issues, February 2002, pp. 15-18.