Myth of Multiculturalism & The Culturalization of Race
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Before adopting multiculturalism as an official policy in 1971, Canada had immigration policies that favoured Europeans and excluded or restricted non-European immigrants. After World War II, “hypercapitalist” countries needed labour. Immigration from the “Third” world, was then the supplier of this labour shortage (Thobani 146). Canada’s adoption of multiculturalist “attitude” and policies allowed the Canadian government to benefit from immigrant labour, while simultaneously seemingly aligning with progressive values (Thobani 146). Multiculturalism in Canada was never concerned of furthering progression, its focus was on increasing production.
Thobani also critiques multiculturalism’s role in the “culturalization of race”, where racism is attached to cultural traits and not biological characteristics (Thobani 159). By focusing on culture, modern racism denies being "racist", while still marginalizing certain groups (Thobani 159). This allows for people to dismiss the discrimination of cultural characteristics and their associations with race, as well as systemic racism.
Language and culture have a symbiotic relationship, where language produces culture, and culture shapes language. A province that heavily defines itself by its culture, and the necessity of preserving it, is Quebec. I would argue that a defining aspect of Quebec culture is its continuous effort to preserve itself, particularly evident in Quebec's language politics. In Das’s article Linguistic Rivalries, her study of the Montreal Tamil communities illustrates how the culturalization of race plays out in the context of language , and its social implications. Das observes that nonstandard Québec French, while common among white Québécois from rural areas, is often perceived as a marker of ‘otherness’, or lack of complete integration when spoken by immigrants (Das 68). Here, the culturalization of race ensures that even when immigrants to Quebec adopt aspects of Québécois culture, they are still perceived as outsiders.
Doing this reading, I thought a lot about Canadian culture, and whether it could ever be clearly defined. As a child, I prided myself on Canada’s supposed multiculturalism and diversity. As I get older, the fallacy of this becomes more and more pronounced, making me question my standing in this country. I wonder if transience will be an eternal state for me in Canada, where belonging is conditional, and my identity is continuously framed as foreign, even if it is unspoken.