I think that the discussion has turned from "whether there is racism etc.. in Canada" to 'IF we should say anything about it"

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I once made a mistake, but I was wrong about it.

Not at all, Mercury. Nowhere in this post has any body implied that one should not raise their voice against Racism. However, we have to distinguish between true Racism and general events that appear to be racist simply becuase of socio economic factors and an individual's own understanding of the same.

Thx

DT

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Microsoft - Which end of the stick do you want today?

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Orginally posted by mercury6

I think that the discussion has turned from "whether there is racism etc.. in Canada" to 'IF we should say anything about it"

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Are you there?

Some good news... but not from Ontario

few lines from recently published UN report on racism in Canada:

"In his recently released report to the U.N. Economic and Social Council he says despite feelings of "persistent discrimination" in many groups in Canada, there is a "readiness in the country to innovate, especially with regard to the implementation and elaboration of treaties with aboriginal communities."

Whole article can be viewd at:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1081462212129&call_pageid=970599119419

Thanks and regards.
Biomed

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"Change before you have to" : Jack Welch

For those who claim that Canada is very well diversified

Thanks and regards.
biomed
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Ottawa falls short on diversity

ANDREW CARDOZO

The distance between Ottawa and Toronto is increasing rapidly as the diversity of Toronto gallops further and further ahead of the federal government.

Ten years ago, the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment headed by Judge Rosalie Abella, called for a new program of "employment equity."

She observed the considerable under-representation of visible minorities, women, aboriginal peoples and Canadians with disabilities both in the federal workforce and in the private sector.

Now, according to a recently tabled annual report on employment equity, there is modest success in the federal public service for some of these designated groups, but serious failure for visible minorities, just when the racial diversity of urban centres like the GTA is growing by leaps and bounds.

From this perspective, the public sector is becoming less and less reflective of the public that it serves and which pays its wages.

It appears, at first glance, that some of these groups are doing well, at least at the macro level.

Statistics for women, aboriginal and disabled employees reflect fairly accurately their presence in society — although the pattern seems to be that they are better represented in the junior ranks than in the upper echelons.

The global numbers for aboriginal employees look good.

But closer scrutiny reveals a large number work in the Department of Indian Affairs. For aboriginals to progress, it would be preferable for this department to be a training ground or welcoming stop for them on their way into other government jobs.

The prize for the forgotten people goes to visible minorities whose presence is negligible everywhere. Even the target set for minorities is small.

The gap between representation of visible minorities in the public service and their presence in society stands out like a sore thumb, as revealed in the annual report.

On the one hand, they number some 7 per cent of the overall public service. But only 4 per cent are in senior management, that is, the decision-making level. Only one is a deputy minister.

Now compare that 7 per cent or 4 per cent to the 14 per cent visible minority proportion in Canadian society at large. The disparity is even greater when you compare the first two figures with the visible minority populations in large cities like Toronto, where the figure is more like 45 per cent and even higher in cities such as Markham.

As an urban agenda takes root in Ottawa, one has to ask whether the federal public service is in tune with today's cities at a gut level. When the majority of the population are ethnic and visible minorities, and immigrants themselves, one has to consider the need for the "new deal for cities" to reflect the demographics of the cities.

Sensitivity to the cultural and racial diversity then becomes increasingly essential, whether it's immigrant integration or recognition of foreign degrees, public health, skills development and labour, cultural policies, small business programs, transit and travel, crime prevention or anti-poverty measures.

To those who say employment equity is nothing but preferential treatment, I point to the words of the late Wilson Head, the father of the Canadian race relations' movement.

He used to say we have had a preferential hiring policy in this country for 200 years for white able-bodied men and they are still overrepresented across the public and private sectors. Why not give the other 60 per cent a good shot at some of the decision-making power?

Further, arguments of "relevant experience" no longer hold water.

Increasingly, minorities have had decades of Canadian experience, are educated here and are born here. Their work-related credentials also include understanding a growing segment of Canadian taxpayers.

So, whether its the 4 per cent or the 7 per cent figure being considered, one needs to compare it with the 45 per cent-plus visible minority population in large urban centres.

For a rapidly changing GTA, it's a matter of whether the federal officials who make policy decisions for the people of the GTA are even remotely in touch with the dreams, aspirations and concerns of today's Torontonians.

For the last decade, politicians have ignored this issue.

The political right has made it too hot to handle with accusations of special treatment and something called "reverse discrimination."

It's time to see the issue in a new light: urban taxpayers expecting services from people who reflect them and their needs.

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"Change before you have to" : Jack Welch

Attitudes toward diversity

I found these statistics on a site, that I thought were interesting. Racism in evident in Canada, but the degree of racism is not as high as other countries. Canada is also becoming a more tolerant nation as well.


Acceptance of diversity is the norm in the new Canada. Many of the controversies that marked the old Canada are fading as the post-Charter generation increasingly makes its influence felt. While most Canadians consider their ethnic background as an important part of their identity, relatively few - and very few under the age of 30 -- think that a person's ethnic background is an important factor to consider when choosing with whom to socialize, or even to marry.

Specifically, the fact that Canadians, and particularly younger Canadians, are very comfortable with diversity is manifested in the very low levels of opposition to the multi-ethnic character of Canadian society, and the degree of openness to including people from different ethnic backgrounds in their communities and, indeed, in their immediate families.

Only 13% agree that "Canadian children growing up surrounded by people of different ethnic and cultural groups will be left without a solid cultural base."
Only 10% agree that "non-whites living here should not push themselves where they are not wanted."
Only 10% agree that "it is a bad idea for people of different races to marry one another."
Fifty-four percent say that multiculturalism makes them feel very proud to be Canadian, and only 8% say it does not make they proud at all (37% give a neutral response.)
Eighty-eight percent say they would be comfortable, and only 11% would be uncomfortable, if a close relative, such as a sister or daughter, were to marry a person who was black. Similarly, 89% are comfortable, and 11% uncomfortable, with the idea of a close relative marrying an Asian Canadian.
Canadians are less comfortable with a close relative marrying someone who is Muslim, but even here, a large majority (67%) express comfort, while only 31% say they would be uncomfortable.

Eighty-three percent say they feel comfortable when they hear languages other than English or French being spoken on the street in Canada. Eighty-two percent of Anglophones hold this view, as do 84% of Francophones.
In each of these cases, younger Canadians (those between the ages of 18-30) were more likely than their older counterparts to give responses supportive of ethnic diversity. Thus 66% of Canadians in this age group say that multiculturalism makes them very proud to be Canadian, while only 4% say it makes them not at all proud. For those between 18 and 30, the level of comfort with a family member marrying someone who is black reaches 93%. Over 98% of those in this age group are comfortable with having a teacher or a boss who is black. Eighty-one percent are comfortable with a close relative marrying someone who is Muslim.

The extent to which younger Canadians are especially at ease with diversity is also evident in responses to a series of questions about the factors spouses should have in common. All Canadians were virtually unanimous in saying that it is important that spouses have similar attitudes towards family and children, similar moral values, and similar senses of humour. Factors related to religion, ethnicity, economic or class background, and education were deemed much less important. But the level of importance attached to these four factors declines with respondents' age.

The broad base of support


. By way of comparison, interracial marriage is opposed by 30% of non-black Americans - a figure three times as high as that for Canada. (2) In Canada, 12% think that relations between different ethnic and racial groups are a very big problem, compared with 30% to 50% who feel this way in the US, the UK, France, and Italy. Similarly, only 18% of Canadians say that immigrants have a bad influence on their country, compared with 43% of Americans, and 50% of those in the UK. The number of young people (aged 18 to 29) who hold this view is twice as high in the US as in Canada, and three times as high in the UK. (3)

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Orginally posted by sapphire14

Attitudes toward diversity

I found these statistics on a site, that I thought were interesting. Racism in evident in Canada, but the degree of racism is not as high as other countries. Canada is also becoming a more tolerant nation as well.

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