23 Corresponding References

Although Canada’s multicultural policy is liberal and democratic in its goals, there are reasons to be skeptical about its value. Detractors argue that the state should not enshrine differences into policy, but should rather aim to treat everyone the same, or more accurately, provide the conditions such that all members of society can have access to equal opportunities (Barry, 2021). One could even argue that a multicultural policy magnifies cultural differences instead of promoting a homogenous diversity. The policy has also been attacked for promoting the interests of the English-Canadian majority (Day & Sadick, 2002). Mitchell (1996) goes even further with this arguing that it is a policy designed to further the capitalist interests of the “elites”.

References

Barry, B. (2001). Culture and equity: An egalitarian critique of multiculturalism. Harvard University Press.

Day, R. F., & Sadick, T. (2002). The BC land question, liberal multiculturalism, and the spectre of aboriginal nationhood. BC Studies, 134, 5-34. https://doi.org/10.14288/bcs.v0i134.1626

Mitchell, K. (1996). In whose interest? Transnational capital and the production of multiculturalism in Canada. In R. Wilson, & W. Dissanayake (Eds.), Global/local: Cultural production and the transnational imaginary (pp. 219-254). Duke University Press.

Although Canada’s multicultural policy is liberal and democratic in its goals, there are reasons to be skeptical about its value. Detractors argue that the state should not enshrine differences into policy, but should rather aim to treat everyone the same, or more accurately, provide the conditions such that all members of society can have access to equal opportunities (Barry 118). One could even argue that a multicultural policy magnifies cultural differences instead of promoting a homogenous diversity. The policy has also been attacked for promoting the interests of the English-Canadian majority (Day and Sadick 30). Mitchell goes even further with this arguing that it is a policy designed to further the capitalist interests of the “elites”. (225)

Works Cited

Barry, Brian. Culture and equity: An egalitarian critique of multiculturalism. Harvard UP, 2001

Day, Richard F., and Tonio Sadick, (2002). “The BC Land Question, Liberal Multiculturalism, and the Spectre of Aboriginal Nationhood. BC Studies, vol. 134, Summer 2002, pp. 5-34. https://doi.org/10.14288/bcs.v0i134.1626

Mitchell, Katharyne. “In Whose Interest? Transnational Capital and the Production of Multiculturalism in Canada.”  Global/local: Cultural Production and the Transnational Imaginary, edited by Rob Wilson and Wimal Dissanayake. Duke UP, 1996, pp. 219-254.

Although Canada’s multicultural policy is liberal and democratic in its goals, there are reasons to be skeptical about its value. Detractors argue that the state should not enshrine differences into policy, but should rather aim to treat everyone the same, or more accurately, provide the conditions such that all members of society can have access to equal opportunities.¹ One could even argue that a multicultural policy magnifies cultural differences instead of promoting a homogenous diversity. The policy has also been attacked for promoting the interests of the English-Canadian majority.² Mitchell goes even further with this arguing that it is a policy designed to further the capitalist interests of the “elites”.³

1. Brian Barry, Culture and equity: An egalitarian critique of multiculturalism. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001), 118.

2. Richard F. Day and Tonio Sadick, “The BC Land Question, Liberal Multiculturalism, and the Spectre of Aboriginal Nationhood. BC Studies, 134, (2002): 5-34. https://doi.org/10.14288/bcs.v0i134.1626.

3. Katharyne Mitchell, “In Whose Interest? Transnational Capital and the Production of Multiculturalism in Canada.”  in Global/Local: Cultural Production and the Transnational Imaginary, ed. Rob Wilson and Wimal Dissanayake, 219-254 (Chapel Hill, NC:  Duke University Press 1996), 225.

Bibliography

Barry, Brian. Culture and Equity: An Egalitarian Critique of Multiculturalism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001.

Day, Richard F., & Tonio Sadick. “The BC Land Question, Liberal Multiculturalism, and the Spectre of Aboriginal Nationhood.” BC Studies, 134 (2002): 5-34. https://doi.org/10.14288/bcs.v0i134.1626.

Mitchell, Katharyne. “In Whose Interest? Transnational Capital and the Production of Multiculturalism in Canada.”  In Global/Local: Cultural Production and the Transnational Imaginary, edited by Rob Wilson and Wimal Dissanayake, 219-254. Chapel Hill, NC:  Duke University Press 1996.

Although Canada’s multicultural policy is liberal and democratic in its goals, there are reasons to be skeptical about its value. Detractors argue that the state should not enshrine differences into policy, but should rather aim to treat everyone the same, or more accurately, provide the conditions such that all members of society can have access to equal opportunities [1]. One could even argue that a multicultural policy magnifies cultural differences instead of promoting a homogenous diversity. The policy has also been attacked for promoting the interests of the English-Canadian majority [2]. Mitchell goes even further with this arguing that it is a policy designed to further the capitalist interests of the “elites” [3].

References

1. Barry B. Culture and equity: An egalitarian critique of multiculturalism. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press; 2001.
2. Day RF, Sadick T. The BC land question, liberal multiculturalism, and the spectre of aboriginal nationhood. B C Stud. 2002; 134: 5-34. https://doi.org/10.14288/bcs.v0i134.1626
3. Mitchell K. In whose interest? Transnational capital and the production of multiculturalism in Canada.”  In: Wilson R, Dissanayake W, editors. Global/local: Cultural production and the transnational imaginary. Chapel Hill (NC):  Duke University Press; 1996. p. 219-254.