2] In this lesson I say that it should be clear that the discourse on nationalism is also about ethnicity and ideologies of “race.” If you trace the historical overview of nationalism in Canada in the CanLit guide, you will find many examples of state legislation and policies that excluded and discriminated against certain peoples based on ideas about racial inferiority and capacities to assimilate. – and in turn, state legislation and policies that worked to try to rectify early policies of exclusion and racial discrimination. As the guide points out, the nation is an imagined community, whereas the state is a “governed group of people.” For this blog assignment, I would like you to research and summarize one of the state or governing activities, such as The Royal Proclamation 1763, the Indian Act 1876, Immigration Act 1910, or the Multiculturalism Act 1989 – you choose the legislation or policy or commission you find most interesting. Write a blog about your findings and in your conclusion comment on whether or not your findings support Coleman’s argument about the project of white civility.
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The CanLit Guide gives an overview of Canada’s nationalism. For most of Canada’s history, being a perfect nation meant being, what the CanLit Guide calls, “homogenous” (Introduction to Nationalism). Being of one culture and therefore one nation. This has not changed to move toward a multicultural and diverse Canada until a very recent 40 years ago.
On the 21st of July in 1988, Canada instated the Multiculturalism Act. This act is to recognize that Canada is diverse, but more importantly to give recognition that Aboriginal people are, in fact, part of Canada (Canadian Multiculturalism Act). Interesting that this needed to be stated in 1988 when Aboriginal people were here before any of the Europeans who created these laws.
The first thing I noticed in the Multiculturalism Act is that it does not capitalize the word ‘Aboriginal’. Professor Patterson clearly stated that Aboriginal and First Nations should always be capitalized. In such a large scale important document, one would think the proper grammar would be clarified and used.
Something I found positive about the Act is that it states the need for preservation AND enhancement of multiculturalism. I find it important that enhancement is encouraged as it is not just an issue of acknowledging communities of minority one time. Our society needs to actively work to include all diverse communities even to this day.
In conclusion, I don’t understand how this Act possibly came to be. It doesn’t make any sense. It is not an acknowledgement that Europeans came in to the land and took it away, it is instead Europeans inviting minorities and Aboriginal people to be apart of the Nation that the Europeans stole to create. This Act that is meant to minimize racism is racist in itself. Aboriginal peoples were living in this land before anyone else and yet when Canada became a nation it was European centered. The CanLit Guide points out that some people found the act to be pointing out those, being minorities, that are different than the ‘rest of Canada’.
Works Cited
“Canadian Multiculturalism Act (R.S.C., 1985, C. 24 (4th Supp.)).” Legislative Services
Branch. Government of Canada, n.d. Web. 5 July 2016.
“Introduction to Nationalism.” Canadian Literature Guide. University of British
Columbia, n.d. Web. 4 July 2016.