ARCHIVED – Annual Report on the Operation of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act 2008-2009

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Part I: The Multiculturalism Program 2008-2009

Mathieu Da Costa Challenge National Writing and Artwork Contest

2009 Winner: 13 to 15 years of age category

PHOEBE XINYI CHANG
Title: Made in Canada
Sir Winston Churchill High School
Calgary, Alberta

Pencil crayon and crayon drawing depicting three hands all reaching for a sweater. The sweater is made of colourful flags representing various countries. A tag labelled “Made in / Fabriqué au Canada” is attached to the sweater.

Introduction

Diversity is one of our greatest strengths—the contributions of Canadians and newcomers of all religions, ethnicities and cultures have made Canada the country that it is today. In 2008–2009, CIC’s Multiculturalism Program promoted the full and equitable participation of individuals and communities in Canadian society by supporting initiatives that identify and remove barriers to that participation, foster intercultural understanding and promote Canadian values at home and abroad.

This section highlights the key achievements of the Multiculturalism Program. Activities during the 2008–2009 fiscal year are organized under three broad themes.

1. Promoting Economic, Social and Cultural Integration: The Multiculturalism Program assists in promoting intercultural understanding through public education and outreach initiatives, historical recognition programs and Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism (CAPAR), and by supporting civil society organizations through the Grants and Contributions Program. Activities range from reaching out to the community through diversity education programs and the Mathieu Da Costa Challenge to anti-discrimination and anti-racism education through the “Racism. Stop It!” National Video Competition and CAPAR.
2. Supporting Federal Institutions: A key goal of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act is to ensure that the government is both sensitive and responsive to the multicultural reality of Canada. The Multiculturalism Program assists federal and public institutions in their efforts to integrate multiculturalism into the development of their policies, programs and services through various activities, including the Government of Canada’s Multiculturalism Champions Network, coordinating the production of results-based reports submitted by federal institutions on the operation of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, and the production and dissemination of multiculturalism research and other products.
3. Promoting Multiculturalism Abroad: The activities of the Multiculturalism Program also extend beyond Canada’s borders. By participating in international forums such as the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research, hosting international delegations, and participating in international policy dialogues and research initiatives, Canada is able to learn from and contribute to international policy dialogue on diversity.

1.1 Promoting economic, social and cultural integration

Public Education and Outreach

The public education and outreach activities of the Multiculturalism Program include initiatives that raise awareness of and inform public discourse on multiculturalism. In collaboration with public and private partners in the educational sector as well as community groups, the Program produces and disseminates educational materials and organizes events geared toward combating racism and strengthening cross-cultural understanding. It engages youth through activities such as the “Racism. Stop It!” National Video Competition and the Mathieu Da Costa Challenge. It also reaches out to the general public through culturally diverse and inclusive initiatives, such as Black History Month, Asian Heritage Month, and the newly created Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism. Some highlights of the outreach and promotion activities carried out in 2008–2009 include the following initiatives.

Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism

Born near Estevan, Saskatchewan, in 1913 of ukrainian immigrant parents, Paul Yuzyk was a member of the Canadian Senate from 1963 to 1986. During this time, Senator Yuzyk was a key figure in telling the story of Canadians of ukrainian origin and in encouraging Canadians to learn about all the cultures that make up this country. In a speech to the Senate, Mr. Yuzyk suggested that Canada’s future depended not only on the exploitation of natural resources, but on the proper development of its human resources. According to Mr. Yuzyk, Canada could succeed in building a strong nation through adherence to the principles of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the Canadian tradition that he described as “unity in diversity.”

The newly created Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism commemorates the late Senator Yuzyk’s pioneering legacy in recognizing multiculturalism as one of the fundamental characteristics of Canadian heritage and identity. The award will be presented each year to an individual or an organization that has demonstrated excellence in promoting multiculturalism, either through lifetime or outstanding achievement. The Lifetime Achievement Award honours an individual who has demonstrated lifelong dedication to promoting a strong multicultural society in Canada. The Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes an individual or a group that has made a significant contribution to Canadian multiculturalism within the last five years.

“… with the setting up of other ethnic groups, which now make up almost a third of the population, Canada has become multicultural in fact … In keeping with the ideals of democracy and the spirit of Confederation, Canada should accept and guarantee the principle of the partnership of all peoples who have contributed to her development and progress …”

Paul Yuzyk, Speech to the Senate of Canada, 1964

The first award was presented by CIC’s Multiculturalism Program to John Yaremko in the Lifetime Achievement category in June 2009. Nominations for the 2009–2010 Paul Yuzyk Award for Multiculturalism will be accepted until March 1, 2010. Find out more at www.cic.gc.ca/paulyuzyk.

Mathieu Da Costa Challenge: National Writing and Artwork Contest

Launched in 1996, the Mathieu Da Costa Challenge: National Writing and Artwork Contest (MDC) encourages youth to discover how diversity has shaped Canada’s history and the important role that multiculturalism plays in Canadian society.

Mathieu Da Costa was a navigator and an interpreter of African descent who travelled extensively throughout the Atlantic ocean in the late 1500s and early 1600s. His interpreting skills were integral to bridging the cultural and linguistic gap between early French explorers and the Mi’kmaq people.

The Mathieu Da Costa Challenge seeks to engage youth aged 9 to 18 in strengthening national identity by recognizing and celebrating outstanding Canadians of diverse origins. It also aims to increase their awareness and knowledge of the important role that multiculturalism plays in Canadian society.

To reach as many youth as possible, the Multiculturalism Program used social media tools, such as Facebook. Interested youth only needed to look for Le Défi / The Mathieu Da Costa Challenge on Facebook to join the group.

The Multiculturalism Program’s 2008–2009 outreach activities resulted in more than 500 entries from youth across Canada. The 2009 MDC award ceremony was held at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People in Winnipeg where more than 200 youth gathered to celebrate the winners.

A new award category, the Public Choice Award, was added this year. The top preselected entries were posted on the Mathieu Da Costa WordPress page for one week, allowing the public to vote for their favourite entry.

The success of the 2009 Challenge is partly due to collaboration with the Multiculturalism Program partners, including the Parks Canada Agency, the Canadian Library Association and the Historica Foundation of Canada.

“Racism. Stop It!” National Video Competition

The “Racism. Stop It!” National Video Competition is part of Canada’s March 21 campaign against racial discrimination. March 21 was designated by the United Nations as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It is a day observed all around the world to focus attention on the problems of racism and the need to promote racial harmony.

The competition encourages youth aged 12 to 20 to create a video that expresses their thoughts on eliminating racism.

The 2008–2009 competition was highly successful. Fifteen anti-racism workshops designed for educators and youth were held in partnership with the National Film Board of Canada. This year’s outreach activities to promote participation in the national contest also included new social media tools, such as Facebook. The Facebook page is accessible by searching for Racism. Stop It! – Mettons fin au racisme!

As a result, more than 1,200 youth participated in the National Video Competition, resulting in 340 video entries from across Canada. This represents the second highest participation rate since the competition began in 1996.

A new award category, the Public Choice Award, was established this year. The top preselected videos were posted on the National Video Competition YouTube Channel for one week to allow the public to vote for their favourite video. The contest was a success based on the high number of total views and votes. For example, the winning team, Une seule race : l’humanité, garnered over 4,800 views, 252 votes and four out of five stars. By making announcements and sending messages through as many networks as possible, the winning team received resounding support from their school, school board, local businesses and community at large for their video. All videos since 2000 can now be viewed on this YouTube channel.

“… The whole group conversation in the morning provided insight for students of all races and for me as a teacher. I think a lot of positive healthy communication took place. It was a good forum and an avenue to explore some feelings the students were harbouring. I wish more students could have participated; the students asked if they could come back at another time, we could have used more time.”

Anonymous teacher, 2009 workshop

The winners of the competition were awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to the National Capital Region, including engaging educational activities such as a scavenger hunt in downtown Ottawa, a multicultural dinner and participation in the award ceremony. The scavenger hunt allows participants to discover landmarks in Ottawa on foot while being guided by key questions whose answers would provide hints to the next location. The winners were given the opportunity to discuss the importance of expression through video and art with a few videographers while attending workshops on break dancing and the spoken word. The 10 winning videos were edited into 30-second public service announcements that were broadcast on CBC/Radio-Canada. The winning schools received a digital camcorder.

The video competition was made possible through ongoing collaboration with Multiculturalism Program partners, such as CBC/Radio-Canada, Panasonic Canada Inc., the National Film Board of Canada, the Canadian Museum of Civilization and Les Suites Hotel Ottawa.

Black History Month

Black History Month is celebrated every year in February. It commemorates the many achievements and contributions of black Canadians to making Canada the culturally diverse, inclusive and prosperous nation we know today. It is also an opportunity for the majority of Canadians to learn about the experiences of black Canadians in our society and the vital role this community has played throughout our shared history.

In February 2009, a photo exhibit entitled On the Road North travelled to Calgary, Edmonton, Moncton and Charlottetown. It told the story of Canada’s black communities through the lens of people, places and events recognized as nationally significant to Canada’s history. The exhibit was developed by the Parks Canada Agency in collaboration with the Multiculturalism Program. It was also showcased in Halifax from May to September 2009.

On February 4, 2009, a one-day workshop entitled “Planning for Succession: Preserving Black Canadian Museums” took place at the Canadian War Museum in ottawa. The workshop brought together curators, historians, practitioners and youth from across the country to share creative ideas to preserve and promote black Canadian heritage as an integral component of Canadian identity. The key objective was to facilitate an intergenerational transfer of knowledge between the current custodians and administrators of black Canadian museums and youth so as to develop a cadre of enterprising young managers for these museums in the medium term.

The participants of the succession planning workshop were very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting and pledged to work together and learn from each other. To that end, they exchanged contact information to establish an informal online network of leaders of black Canadian museums.

Find out more about Black History Month.

Asian Heritage Month

The month of May marks Asian Heritage Month. In acknowledgment of the diversity and the long, rich history of Asian Canadians, the Multiculturalism Program develops a series of activities each year with key cultural groups and other partners. The activities provide an opportunity for Canadians across the country to reflect on and celebrate the contributions of Asian Canadians to the growth and prosperity of Canada.

In collaboration with the Ottawa Asian Heritage Month Society, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney hosted a reception on Parliament Hill for approximately 300 invited guests. The regional offices of CIC participated by partnering with Asian-Canadian associations in their areas, including the Keshen Goodman Library in Halifax, and organizing events such as Many Faces One Voice in Prince Edward Island and Roots Soil Blossom Exhibit in Calgary.

The Multiculturalism Program also hosted youth film screenings at local schools in the National Capital Region. The two movies for this activity were Sleeping Tigers: The Asahi Baseball Story directed by Jari Osborne and produced by the National Film Board, and Just a Little Red Dot by Mitra Sen from Sandalwood Productions Inc.

Find out more about Asian Heritage Month.

Historical Recognition Programs

The Government of Canada works to ensure that Canadians develop a strong sense of their Canadian identity through public engagement and inclusion initiatives, such as the Historical Recognition Programs.

Historical Recognition Programs respond to the Government of Canada’s commitment to recognize and commemorate the experiences of ethnocultural communities affected by historical wartime measures or historical immigration restrictions or prohibitions that were applied in Canada, and to educate Canadians in this regard. The Government of Canada believes that these programs, particularly the Chinese Head Tax Initiative, the Community Historical Recognition Program and the National Historical Recognition Program will help to engage the affected communities who have made significant contributions to shaping this country.

Chinese Head Tax Initiative

The year 2009 marked the final year of operation of the Chinese Head Tax Initiative announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in June 2006. At that time, the Prime Minister apologized to Chinese-Canadians for the imposition of the Head Tax between 1885 and 1923 on most immigrants from China, and expressed deep sorrow for the virtual ban on all immigration from China between 1923 and 1947. A Head Tax was also imposed on Chinese immigrants to Newfoundland and Labrador between 1906 and 1949.

The apology acknowledged the stigma and hardship caused to the Chinese-Canadian community and recognized that although the Head Tax and subsequent restrictions were legal at the time, they are not in keeping with the values Canadians hold today.

In addition to the apology, the Government of Canada provided symbolic ex gratia payments of $20,000 to eligible living Head Tax payers and people who had been in a conjugal relationship with deceased Head Tax payers. In total, 856 applications were received and 785 ex gratia payments totaling $15,700,000 were made. Of the 785 payments, 49 were made to Head Tax payers and 736 to people who had been in a conjugal relationship with a now-deceased Head Tax payer.

Find out more about the Chinese Head Tax Initiative.

Community Historical Recognition Program and National Historical Recognition Program

In 2008–2009, the Government of Canada officially launched the Community Historical Recognition Program (CHRP) and the National Historical Recognition Program (NHRP) to help commemorate and educate Canadians, particularly youth, about the historical experiences and contributions of cultural communities affected by wartime measures and immigration restrictions that were applied in Canada.

In May 2008, the CHRP established the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund, a $10 million endowment fund to support projects related to the internment of Ukrainian-Canadians and other communities during the First World War. In June 2008, the CHRP also began accepting funding applications for community-based projects related to other experiences, such as the internment of Italian-Canadians during the Second World War and immigration restrictions imposed on Jewish, Chinese and Indian people. Community-specific advisory committees composed of representatives of affected communities were appointed to provide advice to the Government of Canada on projects received by the CHRP. Under the NHRP, funding was provided to Parks Canada to begin a project related to First World War internment operations on Parks land.

Find out more about the Community Historical Recognition Program and National Historical Recognition Program.

Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism

Released on March 21, 2005, A Canada for All: Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism is a horizontal, coordinated approach to address issues of racism and discrimination across 20 federal departments and agencies. While all the federal departments involved undertook ongoing antiracism program initiatives over the reporting period, this section highlights only initiatives that received new funding under CAPAR. CIC is responsible for horizontal coordination and reporting among the institutions receiving additional funding.

Activities undertaken in 2008–2009 continued to achieve results in the key areas of workplace discrimination, newcomer integration, hate crime reporting, race-based issues in the justice system and institutional change within public institutions to remove systemic barriers. The following will describe the activities for this reporting period under the new initiatives funded by CIC, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and the Department of Justice Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada

CIC’s 2008–2009 contributions to Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism are focused on three initiatives—the Welcoming Communities Initiative, the Nationally Standardized Data Collection on Hate-Motivated Crime Initiative, and the Inclusive Institutions Initiative.

Welcoming Communities Initiative

As part of CIC’s settlement program, the Welcoming Communities Initiative contributes to Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism by supporting the development of more inclusive and welcoming communities for newcomers in Canada. The objectives of the initiative focus on creating connections between newcomers and Canadians, eliminating barriers to integration and reducing racism. A broad range of partners and stakeholders are involved in this initiative, including provinces and territories, municipalities, newcomers to Canada, local service providers, researchers, volunteers, youth and local communities.

In 2008–2009, funding focused on the continuation and expansion of existing projects that witnessed an increase in demand for tools and services. The projects aimed to achieve the following:

• Provide information and tools for use in combating racism and discrimination, such as the Intercultural Association of Greater Victoria “Small Centres” tool kit project, which was presented to 14 new communities.
• Offer training and awareness building on the importance of addressing racism and discrimination in various spaces, such as the Integrating Anti-Racism into Settlement Work project of the Halifax Immigrant Learning Centre and the British Columbia Anti‑Racism and Multiculturalism Program.
• Encourage interaction between different community groups through special events such as the Diversity Basketball Tournament with the Peel Regional Police of Ontario.
• Engage youth in settlement issues, crosscultural understanding, leadership training and mentoring, such as the Peace Ambassadors Initiative by the Northern Alberta Alliance on Race Relations.

A number of new national projects were also funded, including:

• The DiverseCity onBoard campaign of the Maytree Foundation—to encourage and support the inclusion of visible and ethnic minorities on various agencies, boards and commissions. Find out more about DiverseCity onBoard.
• The Welcome Here project of the Canadian Association of Family Resource Programs—to increase the participation of immigrant parents in community-based programs where they gain knowledge about Canadian life, form new and supportive peer relationships and have opportunities to contribute in meaningful ways to their communities. Find out more about Welcome Here.
• The Settling into Schools video package by Pink Dog Productions—to produce and share messages of tolerance to Canadian youth through an educational video created by youth to celebrate diversity in schools.

These projects allowed for 350 members of visible minority and immigrant communities to be screened and recruited as civic leaders, and made possible the “Welcome Here” website for immigrant parents and community agencies; three 30-second public service announcements; online messages created by youth posted on YouTube; and a curriculum plan for high school and junior high teachers.

Nationally Standardized Data Collection on Hate-Motivated Crime Initiative

The Nationally Standardized Data Collection on Hate-Motivated Crime Initiative is delivered by CIC’s Multiculturalism Program in partnership with Statistics Canada’s Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics. The initiative continued to promote and increase standardized reporting and monitoring of hate crimes by Canada’s police forces.

In 2008-2009, on-site training was provided to 17 police services, one RCMP office and a First Nations municipal police service. Two regional workshops were held in Ontario and Alberta.

The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics collected hate-motivated crime data from 2007 covering close to 90 percent of the Canadian population and released its report Police-Reported Hate Crime in Canada 2007 in May 2009. To date, the report has been downloaded over 1,400 times. As in the 2006 data, the report indicates that the main victims of hate crimes are Blacks and people of the Jewish faith.

Inclusive Institutions Initiative

The Inclusive Institutions Initiative provided matching funds to federal institutions to develop tools to support the elimination of systemic barriers and to respond to cultural diversity. Fiscal 2008–2009 marked the final year of this initiative. Projects undertaken over the life of the initiative include research to increase the knowledge of and responses to Canadian ethnocultural communities across the government, various projects to enhance the cultural competency within the corrections system, and a pilot project to address homelessness among newcomer women.

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

The Racism-Free Workplace Strategy continues to develop and expand workplace tools and to build partnerships between employers, labour, community organizations, visible minorities and Aboriginal peoples. In doing so, the initiative aims to raise awareness of the strategy, engage partners in supporting racism-free workplaces and improve the recruitment, retention and participation rate of visible minorities and Aboriginal peoples.

In 2008–2009, the initiative continued to build partnerships to share information and expertise. New relationships were formed with the Canadian Labour Congress, the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

The regional racism prevention officers delivered activities through educational and networking sessions with employers and other stakeholders. Break the Barriers sessions were held in Calgary, Montréal, Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver. These sessions provided solutions to workplace barriers for Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities.

In collaboration with the Aboriginal Human Resource Council, the Racism-Free Workplace Strategy held Mastering Aboriginal Inclusion sessions on discrimination encountered by Aboriginal peoples in the work force. These sessions, held in Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver, were attended by employers under the jurisdiction of the Legislated Employment Equity Program and those under the Federal Contractors Program. To find out more about the sessions, visit the Mastering Aboriginal Inclusion web page.

Department of Justice Canada

The Department of Justice Canada’s contributions to Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism are focused on three themes: Race-Based Issues in the Justice System, Interventions for the Victims and Perpetrators of Hate Crimes, and Countering Internet-Based Hate Crimes. The African Canadian Legal Clinic received funding for its Anti-Black Hate Crimes Awareness and Education Project. This project aims to increase awareness of issues related to anti-Black hate crimes and helps to address race-based issues within the justice system. The project held a forum to raise awareness and develop strategies to combat anti-Black hate crimes. The organization will build on this forum to develop an anti-Black hate crimes manual to assist African-Canadian victims in responding to hate crimes and to educate police, prosecutors, lawyers, educational institutions and community advocates on the specific needs and concerns of African-Canadian victims and their communities.

The Department also worked in 2008–2009 on the development of a number of programs to be delivered in 2009–2010. The projects developed include the Aboriginal Justice Education Project to support the participation of Aboriginal peoples on juries; a symposium to share information on the over-representation of Aboriginal peoples in the justice system; and training sessions for youth workers and student success teachers to promote understanding of the justice system through curriculum links. Find out more about the Aboriginal Justice Education Project.

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