The Colours of Canada
Written by Dominique Houle on 27/06/11
Photo by Julia on Flickr
Following National Aboriginal Day (June 21st) and Saint-Jean Baptiste Day (June 24th), the next event scheduled for Celebrate Canada will take place on June 27th: Multiculturalism Day. Canada is indeed a multicultural country and is known in history as a nation comprised of many cultures coming from all over the world. But did you know that culture does not only refer to ethnic groups?
One country, over 34 million people
Culture is the combination of our knowledge, background, experiences, customs, traditions, humanism and way of life. Multiculturalism represents cultural diversity. The world does not consist of only one person and subsequently there is not only one way of being or thinking; in fact there are tons of different ways to do so!
But the willingness to accept, acknowledge and understand these differences is another story completely. We don’t always comprehend those who are not “like us” and it is possible that we may feel uncomfortable around them. It becomes an issue when you make fun of or exclude someone who seems different from you, or that doesn’t have the same religion or customs as you. This is what we would call racism and/or discrimination.
From one extreme to the other…
On the other hand, it is not necessarily better to ignore the differences around us. We shouldn’t pretend that differences don’t exist or regard everyone the same way; instead we should celebrate them! Think about the movie Equilibrium, a story that takes place in a society where the citizens have to take regular injections of a drug that takes away all emotions, therefore eliminating uniqueness and the possibility of a multicultural society. Wouldn’t it be boring if everyone shared the same beliefs and acted the same way?
It’s important to recognize that we are all unique. Diversity is therefore not dangerous nor is it invisible, it’s one of Canada’s greatest qualities; one we are all lucky to experience.
Links
Canadian Heritage: Celebrate Canada
DEAL.org: Under a Microscope
Statistics Canada
