SOCI 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Canadian Multiculturalism Act, Pierre Trudeau, Biculturalism

• School: McGill University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOCI 210
• Professor: Peter McMahan

Document Summary

1963: royal commission on bilingualism and biculturalism, recommends official federal policy of bilingualism and biculturalism. 1971: pierre trudeau announces policies of bilingualism and multiculturalism. 1982: multiculturalism enshrined in charter of rights and freedoms. Canadian multicultural policy: motivations, divisions between french and british descended canadians, formal response to existing cultural divisions. Multicultural mosaic: each ethnic group keeps its unique heritage and culture, they contribute to a unified national identity, there is no inherent hierarchy. Implementation: canadian charter of rights and freedoms. Methodology: mixed race women, problematic term race, self identification, political salience. Interviewees are more comfortable talking about issues of ethnic identity with someone who may have shared experiences. Constraints on identity in general: multicultural policy acts to reinforce stereotypes, perpetuates ideas of natural racial differences, purported neutrality hides racialized power dynamics. Ethnicity as identity: multiculturalism encourages identification with a single ethnic heritage, ethnic heritage does not capture identity, especially among mixed race people.