Understanding Interculturalism and Multiculturalism for the Successful Integration of Immigrants

Project Report from the year 2012 in the subject Cultural Studies - Basics and Definitions, grade: 82%, McGill University, language: English, abstract: Multiculturalism grew straight out of a rejection of "biculturalism" proposed by Liberals in 1963 as a means to protect Québec's distinct national country in the same country as Anglophones also had been developing a culture of their own. Québec nationalists see multiculturalism as a threat to their unique position within Canada. Sovereignists introduced Bill 101 as their cultural charter and compelled Quebeckers to choose between French and English while sacrificing any distinct and different culture of their own. Québec realized that it needed newcomers even more desperately than other Canadian regions because of its low birth rate. However, welcoming newcomers and integrating them in the Canadian society are another story. Many controversies have arisen over the past few years about the accommodations and integration of immigrants in Québec. In 2007, Premier Jean Charest appointed the Bouchard-Taylor Commission to inquire about the issue of reasonable accommodations. This essay will present a case-study on Canadian multiculturalism and Québec interculturalism, which the author has undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission. To do so, I will compare and contrast the achievements of interculturalism with the Canadian federal policy of multiculturalism in helping immigrants integrate in Québec by looking at a series of interviews from English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians and immigrants vis-à-vis multiculturalism and interculturalism.