1995 Global Cultural Diversity Conference Proceedings, Sydney
The World on the Move: the International Movement of Peoples
The Hon. Sheila Finestone PC MP
Secretary of State (Multiculturalism) (Status of Women) of Canada
I am delighted to have the opportunity to meet with, listen to and learn from the wide array of participants from so many different disciplines and experiences, at this landmark conference. I am particularly delighted to be here during this centenary of official trade relations between Australia and Canada. The first Trade Commissioner ever posted abroad by Canada was sent here to Sydney in 1895.
The Government of Australia is celebrating 50 years of United Nations' history by hosting this symposium which looks to the future. Such a forward-thinking approach represents the very best of our shared global ideas and responsibilities.
I hope to make a modest contribution to this conference by talking about Canada's attempt to ensure that there is a logical continuum between our approach to migration and multiculturalism. These must be closely linked if we wish to ensure peaceful, stable, safe and harmonious societies.
Both the increasing growth and the increasing diversity of global migration obliges nations to find means of responding to ethnic diversity, in a manner which builds national identity, and allows all citizens to participate as full and equal partners in the mainstream of national life.
Migration is a global phenomenon. There are as many as 100 million migrants in the world every year. There are about 19 million refugees more than double the number ten years ago. Over 20 million people are displaced annually within their own countries. Twice as many people have been forced from their homes in the former Yugoslavia as live here in Sydney.
The striking numbers and statistics are really only the reflection of the drama of dislocation, the forced flight and the determination to survive of people. The numbers are also reflective of the aspirations and needs of individual human beings.
The causes of the phenomenal rise in migration are manifold. Economic, environmental, social and political factors all play a role. Globalization, urbanization, better communications and easier transportation are all intertwined. The search for food, the search for income, the search for human rights, and the search for freedom are individual yet interdependent factors underlying migration.
Some would close their eyes to these changes, others would close their borders. Neither of those actions will solve the problems. Neither of those actions will enable nations to reap the benefits which migration provides. While it is true that migration can cause disruption, breaking cultural and family patterns and often posing special hardships for the first generation of families in a new land, it is also true that economic growth and development benefit from mobility of people. Expansion of trade, diversification of opportunities and broader distribution of economic activity. Migration fosters technological exchange, investment flows, new ideas and new skills. Migration brings new knowledge of languages, new creative impulses and new artistic dynamism. Migration brings new cultural and personal links among communities and among countries. It also brings responsibilities to receiving countries.
For all the variables, it is vital to recognise that migration has two distinct branches: voluntary and involuntary. I certainly would not presume to suggest that Canada has the answers to involuntary migration. Our government appreciates that long-standing forceful advocacy of the "right to leave" oppressive regimes will, in a better world, become advocacy and action to allow people the "right to stay" in their homelands in safety and security, with acceptance and respect for difference.
A better world can only come about by finding the answers to some very difficult questions:
- do we need a new internationally accepted definition of "refugee" to meet today's global reality?
- can we find new means of encouraging economic development, conflict prevention and environmental sustainability?
- how do we stop abuse of refugee systems while helping those truly in need?
- how do we stop the "brain drain"? And how do we use those who join us? How do we ensure accreditation equivalency to enable our receiving countries to use acquired skills and professional abilities?
- how can the international community take measures to empower women so they don't have to flee?
The answers to these questions must lie in international co-operation towards the promotion of human rights, responsible government, and literate and well-fed people throughout the globe.
Canadians are realists. We know that there will not be paradise on earth. There will, unfortunately, always be political and social circumstances which will cause refugee flows. Humanitarian responses will continue to be required.
The Canadian Government is pledged to adopt a more comprehensive strategy toward national and international security including sustainable development, global economic prosperity, support for democracy and multilateralism.
The challenge is not to seek perfection. The challenge is to develop approaches to ensure migration happens in an orderly, positive fashion that serves the self-interest of countries, the self-interest of the world and in particular the interests of migrants and their families. There are no uniform or pat solutions. There is a need for balance between control and compassion, between short term responses and long term vision.
For Canada, management of migration entails transparency in our policies on the number of immigrants we accept and the balance among categories of immigrants. It also means that successful immigration policies cannot end with selection and control. As changing patterns of global migration bring immigrants of many varied cultural and religious backgrounds, it is vital for us in Canada to ensure these immigrants come to understand, accept and reflect the values of Canadian society and that our society in turn, develops an adaptive capacity with a sense of pride in the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
A comprehensive survey released two weeks ago by the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews found that the overwhelming majority of Canadians favour a country in which people "observe different religions and come from diverse backgrounds, but share a common way of life and common values". The survey also found serious concerns among Canadians that racism, economic inequality, isolationism of certain groups and language tensions all are serious barriers to building an even stronger sense of community in our country.
An ongoing challenge for all Canadians is to ensure that we can indeed respond to the evolving dynamic of nation-building which results from global migration. While we don't want to turn people into cookie-cutter Canadians, we do want to give all citizens, new and old alike, a stake and a say in the future of Canada. Our multiculturalism policy helps us do that by recognising that our diversity is part of our reality part of what it means to be Canadian. Our programs and projects are focused on this goal.
Cultural diversity is so much the norm in Canada that it has become one of our core values. Prime Minister Chr‚tien stated recently: "Our country's unity was built in diversity ... This diversity is also our strength. In fact, it is a fundamental characteristic of our nation."
Canada is a young country, shaped by many cultures from the beginning of its history. Before the arrival of Europeans, aboriginal peoples of many nations lived in the land they called Canada. Today, 4% of Canada's population is aboriginal. The Inuit of the eastern Arctic, in cooperation with the federal government, are in the midst of creating a new territory, Nunavat, in which they will form the majority.
Early European settlers came from France and Britain but many groups have roots in Canada of more than a century - Chinese, Italian, Caribbean, Ukrainian, African, German and Polish.
Forty-two per cent of Canadians have origins that are neither British nor French. Visible minorities make up 1/10th of our population. The visible minority population of major cities is greater: 11% in Montreal, 24% in Vancouver and 26% in Toronto.
The continuing evolution of Canada's pluralism requires leadership in building our identity as a people and a country. Canadians face the challenges and the opportunities, the difficulties and the joys of living in a nation that is a microcosm of the global village a nation made up of individuals and groups from the four corners of the globe.
We are building a common heritage from many heritages. We are doing so while retaining the rights to choice within an evolving dynamic society in two official languages. We are also reflecting these changes in the institutions of our country in our elected government members, our judiciary, universities, hospitals, and the media and there is still room to ensure a fairer share to reflect our reality.
Canada's multiculturalism policy is one response to major transformations in Canadian society brought about by migration and one expression of our effort to engender a sense of citizenship and inclusion for all Canadians.
The multiculturalism policy was introduced in 1971 and confirmed through an Act of Parliament in 1988. The policy is consistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which establishes the fundamental freedoms and democratic rights of all individual Canadians, regardless of national or ethnic origin. It is the expression of our value system codified and now being applied both by force of law and the will of Canadians to live together respectful of differences. The policy complements the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Official Languages Act, the Citizenship Act, Employment Equity Legislation and the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights to which Canada is a signatory.
Multiculturalism is not a policy which says that all cultures are equal and will live separately side by side. Rather, it attempts to build a coherent society with common values which can accommodate and respect differences. This approach is designed to develop active and responsible Canadian citizens, whether by birth or by choice. It is designed to create an environment of mutual understanding and a sense of belonging for all Canadians. Research has shown that Canadians have great pride in the quality of life found in the nation they call their home.
Migration has extraordinary advantages for an outward-looking, export-oriented country like Canada but migration is not all a bed of roses. There are challenges and stress as immigrants learn to adapt to Canadian society and as Canadian society learns to adapt to newcomers.
The aim of Canada's multiculturalism policy is to deal with those challenges and to build better understanding amongst all groups that make up Canadian society. The aim is also to make Canada flourish economically, socially and culturally by using diversity for the benefit of the nation and the benefit of individual Canadians. Migration is a reality. Multiculturalism is part of Canada's attempt to fashion a constructive and far-sighted response to that reality.
The task of nation-building in a culturally diverse society is not unique to Canada. In an era of global migration, more and more countries must reconcile cultural diversity with national goals, and the identity of minorities within a national identity.
Every country will address its own situation in its own way. There is no doubt, however, that we have much to learn from one another. That is why I so look forward to hearing from the other speakers and the delegates at this Conference.
There is no doubt that we face common challenges: learning to live with differences; eliminating racism; bigotry and discrimination; ensuring fair access to the workforce for all people; and finding means to work together towards common goals.
There is also no doubt that the opportunities proffered by global migration and cultural diversity are exciting and extraordinary. International business is multi-dimensional, multilingual and multicultural. Nations with cultural diversity possess the capacity to understand the differences and the complexities. Multiculturalism is, in fact, a strategic resource for seeking new trade, opening up new business, and improving the competitive position of nations.
Multiculturalism is also an invaluable resource in providing insight into global problems, and in offering new economic, educational and social advantages for communities and countries, for individual human beings and for human society.
The world is on the move. Migration is an expanding global phenomenon. Cultural diversity is an increasing world reality both in daily life and business life. We must make sure that as the world moves, it moves ahead. We must make sure that as people move, they move upwards. The international community must profit from global trends by using population flows to our common benefit as well as to the benefit of migrants.
The ability of nations to accept and integrate diverse immigrants is one step along the road to a world in which all people are accepted as full members and full partners in future global peace and prosperity.
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