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FOR OVER THE LAST DECADE, MOST CANADIANS HAVE BELIEVED THAT CANADA WAS A 'MODEL MULTICULTURAL AND DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY' IN WHICH ALL CITIZENS COULD PARTICIPATE FULLY IN THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL LIFE OF THE COUNTRY. THE LOFTY PRINCIPLES AND GOALS EXTOLLED WITHIN THE CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, THE MULTICULTURALISM ACT, THE EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT AND THE CANADIAN RACE RELATIONS FOUNDATION ACT, ATTESTED TO THE COUNTRY'S ABILITY TO PROTECT TRADITIONALLY DISADVANTAGED GROUPS FROM DISCRIMINATION AND TO EMPOWER THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN CANADIAN SOCIETY AS EQUALS. MOST RECENTLY, THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT REAFFIRMED THIS VIEW DURING ITS PREPARATIONS FOR AND PARTICIPATION IN THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM THAT TOOK PLACE IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA LAST AUGUST. FOR EXAMPLE, IN AN OFFICIAL (AUGUST, 2001) DOCUMENT PRESENTING CANADA'S APPROACH TO THE WCAR, THE GOVERNMENT AFFIRMED ITS POSITION THAT THE COUNTRY HAD "REACHED A UNIQUE BALANCE BETWEEN NURTURING DIVERSITY AND ENSURING AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY, BASED ON EQUALITY AND THE ABILITY OF ALL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL."
Despite this confidence in Canadian multiculturalism, the representatives of the Canadian government went to South Africa oblivious of one of the country's 'dirtiest secrets.' Behind the veneer of multicultural policies and legal protections for racialized groups was (and still is) concealed the suffering, widespread poverty and inequity faced by a significant group in Canada: Black Canadians. Most attempts to account for this problem have relied on "culturalist" explanations. For example, Black community organizations have been exhorted to focus on providing group members with the 'social capital' necessary to compete effectively on the job market. The possibility that racial discrimination is part of the problem is often dismissed on the grounds that the existence of various legal statutes and recourses for victims of racism demonstrate that racism no longer exists in Canada. In other words, with Canada's commitment to multiculturalism, how could racism persist today?
The recent publishing of an extensive study on the demographics of Montreal's Black community demonstrates the fallacy of these assumptions and raises serious questions about Canadian multiculturalism as an effective framework and tool to promote cultural diversity and empower minority groups to participate fully in the shaping and evolution of the country. Despite its admirable values and meritorious commitments, Canadian multiculturalism has clearly...