Multiculture Wars

There was an interesting op-ed piece in today's G&M on immigration and integration. I tend to agree with the author. Multiculturalism as Canadians typically understand and express it is not a cultural phenomenom but a political one. In fact, it is just one of many policies/initiatives that the Liberal Party of Canada has established over the last half-century in an effort to equate Canadian values with Liberal values. This 'program' has generally met with success.

Universal health care is another example. I do not mean that our health care system is not important to or valued by Canadians. Quite the opposite. But the Canada Health Act is not a 'value'. Generosity and compassion are values. The sense that none of us should have to face largely random catastrophic costs alone is a value. Public health insurance, on the other hand, is merely a vehicle through which those values are expressed.

Federal multiculturalism is a lot like the Canada Health Act. It reflects various realties that exist across the country, but it is not of itself a Canadian value. But by imposing a standard, bureaucratic vision of cultural diversity, the official policies have ultimately undermined, diluted and distorted the expression of actual multiculturalism. I don't agree that official multicultarism has been an "indulgence toward immigrants". I think it more likely that this policy has been a hindrance to immigrants, inhibiting their ability to integrate into Canadian society. If it does anything, federal policy ought to focus on strengthening the (civic) national identity.