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

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Part II: Implementation of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act across federal institutions

2.4 Promoting intercultural understanding and embracing diversity

In response to Canada’s multicultural reality, the Government of Canada supports the building of bridges between ethnocultural communities.
 
Federal institutions undertake many initiatives that encourage intercultural and religious understanding and support the preservation, enhancement, sharing and promotion of multiculturalism in Canada. This section highlights the client-centred activities of federal institutions in this area during the reporting period.

The Art Bank of the Canada Council for the Arts (Small~240) collects works of original contemporary Canadian art and rents them to private and public organizations across Canada. During the reporting period, the Art Bank made its first special purchase of art works exclusively by culturally diverse artists. A total of 530 works were offered in response to the Art Bank’s call for submissions. These were reviewed by a committee of six art professionals who recommended works for purchase on the basis of artistic excellence, significance to current art practice and suitability for rental.

In all, the Art Bank acquired 55 new works by Canadian artists of African, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and other cultural and racial backgrounds, for a total value of more than $230,000.

This purchase will help increase awareness of the cultural diversity of artists supported by Canada Council programs and ensure that the Art Bank’s collection continues to reflect the increasing cultural diversity of Canada’s population.

This purchase will help increase awareness of the cultural diversity of artists supported by Canada Council programs and ensure that the Art Bank’s collection continues to reflect the increasing cultural diversity of Canada’s population.

The Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation (Small~250) organized a major event during 2008–2009 entitled Celebrate Canada. As part of this event showcasing Canada’s diversity, and in collaboration with CIC, the museum hosted a citizenship ceremony where a number of new Canadians took the oath of citizenship.

The museum also mounted a special exhibit called Food for Health. The exhibit promoted Canada’s Food Guide with reference to different types of diets in different cultures, including special attention to First Nations’ nutrition.

Downsview Park Incorporated (Small~60) hosted two new events that offered user groups an opportunity to experience multicultural programming that may not otherwise have been accessed.

• Exodus was a theatrical performance aimed at teaching school children the Jewish story of Passover. This was a community event open to school children and the general public. Complete with stage sets and music, the interactive performance was incorporated into Downsview Park’s school programming and March Break Camp.
• Another theatrical performance entitled Amakhosi: The Kings of Africa was inspired by ancient and diverse African cultures and fused time-honoured traditions with modern life to create a vivid and exhilarating spectacle.

The National Battlefields Commission (Small~120) offered visitors something new with the presentation of a number of shows at its parks under the theme World Music.

The National Battlefields Commission plans to make the World Music shows a regular feature, allowing artists from various backgrounds to make their culture and music known to park users and visitors.

The shows introduced park visitors to various musical cultures, including those of Africa, Brazil and Algeria. The institution plans to make the World Music shows a regular feature, allowing artists from various backgrounds to make their culture and music known to park users and visitors.

The Cape Breton Development Corporation (Small~15) initiated a Rails to Trails program where a former rail line will be converted to an active transportation trail. Signs along the route will pay tribute to and provide information associated with the important cultural and industrial history of various communities.

The Cape Breton Development Corporation installed interpretive panels at the former Princess Colliery and Princess Wash Plant sites commemorating the industry and the ethnic origins of those who were employed there.

In addition, the institution installed interpretive panels at the former Princess Colliery and Princess Wash Plant sites commemorating the industry and the ethnic origins of those who were employed there.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization (Small~500) presented a major exhibition in Beijing during the 2008 Summer olympic Games. The exhibition, entitled First Peoples of Canada: Masterworks, exposed an international audience to the history, diversity and creativity of Canada’s First Peoples. Developed and presented in conjunction with and at the invitation of the National Museum of China, First Peoples is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of its kind ever sent abroad by the museum. The exhibition is now on a tour of three continents.

In 2008–2009, VIA Rail (Large~3,550) provided a complimentary round trip to Ottawa for approximately 60 children from the Toronto Children’s Breakfast Clubs to celebrate Black History Month on Parliament Hill. The Children’s Breakfast Clubs serve children from diverse backgrounds and, in many cases, families with very modest financial means.

Among the organized activities, the children visited Parliament where their presence in the public gallery was recognized by the government from the floor of the House of Commons. The children also attended a reception where they presented Cabinet ministers and members of Parliament from across Canada with copies of the 2009 Black History Month poster (a new poster is designed each year to showcase and recognize the great contribution that members of the African-Canadian community have made to Canada).

The Department of National Defence and Canadian Forces (Large~128,300) use the contributions of their combined work force from various ethnic backgrounds to support operations and services across Canada and missions around the world.

As an example from the current reporting period, Captain Amir ElMasry established an important spiritual connection with Afghan staff, foreign workers and other NATO soldiers when he put his spiritual and cultural knowledge of Islam to work while deployed to Afghanistan.

When he started attending Friday prayers in the chapel at Kandahar Airfield, Captain ElMasry felt he could help the hundreds of Muslim workers and soldiers who gathered to pray every week. Although not an imam, he offered to help prepare the prayers and give the sermon in both Arabic and English. The congregation accepted the offer and from then on, preparing for the weekly informal prayer service took up all the personal time he had in camp.

While the prayer room at Kandahar Airfield is identified as a chapel, it is a place of worship for all religions. Captain ElMasry quickly met the few special requirements of the Muslim congregation, such as floor space for the worshippers’ prayer mats, by moving some furniture, which he then moved back after prayers.

In 2008–2009, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (Large~4,400) continued to enhance its delivery of settlement services to newcomers by improving program flexibility, efficiency, planning and accountability, and focusing on the assessment of needs and the enhancement of outcomes for newcomers.

A major policy change during the reporting period was the extension of settlement services to include some prospective immigrants and refugees, including certain applicants overseas who are likely to obtain permanent residency in Canada but have not yet received their permanent resident visa.

By increasing access to integration and settlement services, CIC is helping to build an integrated and socially cohesive society.

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (Large~5,250) staff provided significant policy and logistical support for the Prime Minister’s Statement of Apology to Former Students of Indian Residential Schools, which took place in the House of Commons on June 11, 2008. This was a highly publicized event that brought awareness of the history of residential schools to the broader Canadian public.

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