 According to Statistics Canada, in 2002 there were three million visible minorities living in the country, making up 13% of the population. (Comstock photo)
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The questions eschew political correctness and ask Canadians to do the same. The answers reveal some unpleasant truths about ourselves and question our bragging rights as a bastion of multiculturalism. We are, after all, a nation that likes to puff our chest out in pride and congratulate ourselves for being a happy mosaic, unlike our southern neighbours. According to Statistics Canada, in 2002 there were three million visible minorities living in the country, making up 13% of the population.
In a Leger Marketing poll commissioned by Sun Media, we asked Canadians to confront their prejudices and mull scenarios perhaps they'd never thought of before: How would you feel about your child marrying a person of another ethnicity? Are some races more gifted than others? Are cultural communities treated fairly by the police, the legal system and the media? Among a slew of key findings, it was the answer to one question in particular that made the pollster stop what he was reading. According to the Racial Tolerance Report, while the majority of Canadians have a good opinion of all ethnic groups tested, the Arab community elicited the most negative response among Canadians. "What this shows me ... is how easily current affairs can influence our country," said Dave Scholz, VP of Leger Marketing.
"We're walking a fine line ... we like to think as Canadians that we don't fall into traps of portraying a community based on world events ... but that doesn't always ring true." Sept. 11 would forever mar the beginning of the 21st century and become a day of infamy. It would also become a watershed moment in race relations around the world, ill-defining Arab and Muslim populations. "Although we made major inroads in human rights (in Canada), Sept. 11 set us behind and weakened, tarnished our accomplishments," said Ayman Al-Yassini, executive director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. In Canada, the Maher Arar case became the "culmination of the post 9/11 climate," Yassini said, where the Arab and Muslim community faced racism at both the institutional and public level. Arar, a Canadian citizen, was arrested in New York in 2002 and deported to his native Syria where he was tortured into giving false confessions of a link to al-Qaida. An inquiry cleared the Ottawa resident of terrorist links and slammed the RCMP for feeding false information to the U.S.
"The Arar case guides us and indicates how racism works in subtle ways," Yassini said. "Subtle" is a description that recurs often in conversations with experts and pervades the poll results. "There are nuances to how accepting we are," Scholz said. For example, almost half of Canadians polled admit to being at least slightly racist. Yet the majority of respondents also felt that multiculturalism enriches their lives, including 67% of those who admitted to being somewhat racist. And despite some racist leanings, most respondents also said they are indifferent when it comes to dealing with a person of another race in social or work conditions - with the notable exception of one scenario. When asked how they would feel if their child were to enter interracial marriage, 16% responded it would depend on the race and almost one in ten Canadians said they have a negative reaction.
But interracial marriage is a growing trend in Canada which, according to 2001 census figures, is more multicultural than at any other time in history. The number of mixed unions rose 35% between 1991 and 2001, paving the way for phenomenons known colloquially as "yellow fever " and "jungle fever" - a preference for Asian or Black partners. Mixed unions also raise a host of sociological questions that would be frowned on by the school of political correctness: Does interracial marriage and the product of mixed children threaten to dilute race? Can we really call ourselves a mosaic of individual pieces or are we more of a melting pot than we thought?
Immigration also drew a strong response among Canadians polled. The majority of respondents agreed control over the immigration system needs to be strengthened. In 2004, Canada admitted 262,236 permanent residents in Canada who chose to settle mainly in Canada's three major urban
centres: Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.
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But when newcomers arrive in Canada bringing with them their cultures and ideas, they also bring residues of their own racist attitudes, experts said, a notion seldom talked about. Instead, racism is often attributed to the host society. When a judge ordered the removal of a Christmas tree in a Toronto courthouse last year for alienating other religions, the ensuing furor brought back the question: How much do we accommodate ethnic groups? According to the poll results, more than half of Canadians believe it's important, but not essential, that cultural communities adopt the lifestyle habits of the city they live in. But one expert goes so far as saying Canada has become a "victim of our own tolerance" by overextending ourselves in the name of political correctness. For the next five days, Sun Media will talk to the experts seeking answers to gauge the pulse of Canadian tolerance today. And like the questions we asked, we too will put aside political correctness for the truth. vivian.song@tor.sunpub.com
