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 Canada's Immigration minister Jason Kenney in Calgary. (Lyle Aspinall, QMI Agency) |
CALGARY - The children of immigrants must join mainstream society if Canada is to avoid the multicultural collapse now plaguing parts of Europe.
That was the notion presented by Jason Kenney, federal minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, Tuesday in a meeting with QMI Agency's editorial board, where he said Canada needs to focus on reducing the amount of ethnic enclaves locked out of mainstream society for generations.
"I would say by and large Canada's approach to managing diversity has been pretty successful," he said, but added: "We can't take that success for granted."
With Britain and Germany recently declaring multiculturalism at failure in their countries, Kenney said it is crucial immigrants to Canada be provided the education and opportunities needed to integrate themselves into society here.
"There's a natural, inevitable pattern in the settlement of newcomers," he said.
"It only concerns me if we end up seeing ethnic enclaves persist into two or three generations.
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"Eventually, you've got to see those enclaves dissipate."
An influx of Somali immigrants to Canada in the late 1980s and early 1990s was not approached properly, and though there are success stories stemming from some of those newcomers, assured Kenney, many have remained separate to mainstream culture or became involved in crime.
He said there is also a big push from the government for immigration via private sponsorship.
Churches and organizations sometimes spearhead bringing certain individuals or families to Canada, but the work does not stop at filing the papers, said Kenney.
The sponsors often help take care of clothing, language barriers, education opportunities, etc. for the newcomers, which is ideally what all immigrants would have to help them adjust to Canadian society, he said.