Canada has often been cited internationally for its success as a multicultural society and for its ability to manage this diversity through a federal constitution. The strands of diversity include the constitutional relationship between English and French Canada, federalism more generally, the status of Aboriginal peoples, Canada’s immigration and integration strategies, affirmative action, and a general guarantee of equal protection for men and women. Together they tell a complex story of pluralism, consolidated through a long and incremental period of constitution-building. Multiculturalism and the Canadian Constitution brings together scholars of cultural diversity from backgrounds in law, political science, and history to address key components of the changing Canadian story: the evolution over time of multiculturalism within Canadian constitutional law and policy; the territorial dimension of Canadian federalism; and the role of constitutional interpretation by the courts in the development of Canada as a multicultural state. Wide-ranging and provocative, the essays illustrate how deeply multiculturalism is woven into the fabric of the Canadian constitution and the everyday lives of Canadians.

Together, the strands of Canada's diversity tell a complex story of pluralism, consolidated through a long and incremental period of constitution-building. This book brings together scholars of cultural diversity to address key components of the changing Canadian story: the evolution over time of multiculturalism within Canadian constitutional law and policy; the territorial dimension of Canadian federalism; and the role of constitutional interpretation by the courts in the development of Canada as a multicultural state. The essays illustrate how deeply multiculturalism is woven into the fabric of the Canadian constitution and the everyday lives of Canadians.

Consolidated as of April 17, 1982.

Canada's policy of multiculturalism has been the object of ongoing debate since it was first introduced in 1971. Decades later, Canadians still seem uncertain about the meaning of multiculturalism. Detractors insist that government has not succeeded in discouraging immigrants and their descendants from preserving their cultures of origin, undercutting a necessary identification with Canada, while supporters argue that immigrant groups' abilities to influence their adjustments to Canada has strengthened their sense of belonging. Beyond what often seems to be a polarized debate is a broad spectrum of opinion around multiculturalism in Canada and what it means to be Canadian. The Multiculturalism Question analyzes the policy, ideology, and message of multiculturalism. Several of Canada's leading thinkers provide valuable insights into a crucial debate that will inevitably continue well into the future.

Marking the Sesquicentennial of Confederation in Canada, this book examines the growing global influence of Canada's Constitution and Supreme Court on courts confronting issues involving human rights.

After decades of extraordinary successes as a multicultural society, new debates are bubbling to the surface in Canada. The contributors to this volume examine the conflict between equality rights, as embedded in the Charter, and multiculturalism as policy and practice, and ask which charter value should trump which and under what circumstances? The opening essay deliberately sharpens the conflict among religion, culture, and equality rights and proposes to shift some of the existing boundaries. Other contributors disagree strongly, arguing that this position might seek to limit freedoms in the name of justice, that the problem is badly framed, or that silence is a virtue in rebalancing norms. The contributors not only debate the analytic arguments but infuse their discussion with their personal experiences, which have shaped their perspectives on multiculturalism in Canada. This volume is a highly personal as well as strongly analytic discussion of multiculturalism in Canada today.

The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics provides a comprehensive overview of the transformation that has occurred in Canadian politics since it acheived autonomy nearly a century ago, examining the institutions and processes of Canadian government and politics at the local, provincial and federal levels. It analyzes all aspects of the Canadian political system: the courts, elections, political parties, Parliament, the constitution, fiscal and political federalism, the diffusion of policies between regions, and various aspects of public policy.

Canada’s history, since its birth as a nation one hundred and fifty years ago, is one of immigration, nation-building, and contested racial and ethnic relations. In Immigration, Racial and Ethnic Studies in 150 Years of Canada: Retrospects and Prospects scholars provide a wide-ranging overview of this history with a core theme being one of enduring racial and ethnic conflict and inequality. The volume is organized around four themes where in each theme selected racial and ethnic issues are examined critically. Part 1 focuses on the history of Canadian immigration and nation-building while Part 2 looks at situating contemporary Canada in terms of the debates in the literature on ethnicity and race. Part 3 revisits specific racial and ethnic studies in Canada and finally in Part 4 a state-of-the-art is provided on immigration and racial and ethnic studies while providing prospects for the future. Contributors are: Victor Armony, David Este, Augie Fleras, Peter R. Grant, Shibao Guo, Abdolmohammad Kazemipur, Anne-Marie Livingstone, Adina Madularea, Ayesha Mian Akram, Nilum Panesar, Yolande Pottie-Sherman, Paul Pritchard, Howard Ramos, Daniel W. Robertson, Vic Satzewich, Morton Weinfeld, Rima Wilkes, Lori Wilkinson, Elke Winter, Nelson Wiseman, Lloyd Wong, and Henry Yu.

The concept of environmental justice has offered a new direction for social movements and public policy in recent decades, and researchers worldwide now position social equity as a prerequisite for sustainability. Yet the relationship between social equity and environmental sustainability has been little studied in Canada. Speaking for Ourselves draws together Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal scholars and activists who bring equity issues to the forefront by considering environmental justice from multiple perspectives and in specifically Canadian contexts.