Multiculturalism has a down side
Thu, October 11, 2007 Multiculturalism has a down side By LORRIE GOLDSTEIN Politicians like to pretend they lead public opinion, but they don't. They follow it. In the case of the legitimate reservations ordinary Canadians have long had about whether government-driven "official multiculturalism" is uniting Canadians or, in fact, dividing them along cultural, religious and ethnic lines, mainstream politicians have finally come to the party -- more than 30 years too late. Throughout the 1970s, '80s and '90s, average Canadians who expressed any doubts about whether government-imposed multiculturalism and its many offshoots were working in Canada's best interests, were likely to be labelled as bigots and racists by mainstream politicians of all stripes -- Liberals, of course, but also New Democrats and Progressive Conservatives -- and by much of the Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal intelligentsia. But today, more than three decades later, concerns about the potential downsides of state-sanctioned multiculturalism have finally reached the long-deaf ears, and are now being given a voice by, Canada's elite chattering classes. In Quebec, long advertised as Canada's most socially progressive province, it's being called the debate over the "reasonable accommodation" of minorities, with political parties and many non-government organizations (NGOs), academics and media now raising alarms the pendulum has swung too far in favour of accommodating immigrants and minorities. In the Ontario election, Conservative Leader John Tory snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, despite facing a promise-breaking Liberal premier, by proposing public funding for the faith-based schools of other religious minorities, similar to how Ontario already funds Catholic schools. Premier Dalton McGuinty, desperate to talk about anything other than his record of broken promises, successfully seized on Tory's proposal and accused him of wanting to "segregate"children by religion, thus attacking, McGuinty claimed, Ontario's "social cohesion." And it worked. On CBC's Rick Mercer Report -- perhaps the most reliable indicator of what Canada's elites consider safe, politically correct humour these days, Mercer ridiculed Tory's idea by showing a mock video of Osama bin Laden endorsing his faith-based school funding plan, acknowledging through humour what the premier had only suggested in code -- that it was the public funding of Muslim schools, more than Jewish, Sikh, Hindu or Christian ones, that was driving public concerns about the policy. My point is not to claim everyone who opposed Tory's policy did so because of religious bigotry. Many opposed it because they believe in one, strong, secular, publicly funded school system and would prefer to achieve this by melding the Catholic system fully into the public one, rather than by funding more faith-based schools. Moderate organizations such as the Muslim Canadian Congress, also criticized Tory's policy as socially divisive. Ironic, isn't it? What I am pointing out, however, is the breathtaking irony that in the two provinces that like to think of themselves as the most "liberal" and "progressive" in Canada, Quebec and Ontario, the debate over the reasonable accommodation of minorities is raging and, ironically, is being led by the very political elites who for more than 30 years, were preaching a far different message to Canadians. That was that any questioning of official multiculturalism and its offshoots was likely indicative not of genuine concerns about the impacts of the policy on the cohesiveness of Canadian society, but of darker motives such as bigotry and racism. Funny, isn't it, how the worms have turned? . You can e-mail Lorrie Goldstein at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Have a letter for the editor? E-mail it to <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Goldstein_Lorrie> Columnists <http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Goldstein_Lorrie> <http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Goldstein_Lorrie> Home <http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Goldstein_Lorrie/2007/10/11/45670 13.php> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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