Talk:Cultural mosaic

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This doesn't really seem to be a very NPOV article. In fact this term is now being taught in many American classrooms. The idea of cultural pluralism isn't a Canadian vs. American thing as the first sentence seems to state. --okieman1200 02:44, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

In it's origin, it may not have had any exterior political motive. However, Canadian government officials (a PM, even) have publicly stated that it's a superior system to the American 'melting pot'. But yes, the definition should not be necessarily comparative. I may work on it.--Jonashart 17:50, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Origin of term

Victoria Hayward described the cultural changes of the Canadian praries as a "mosaic" as early as the 1920s:

"New Canadians, representing many lands and widely separated sections of Old Europe, have contributed to the Prairie Provinces a variety in the way of Church Architecture. Cupolas and domes distinctly Eastern, almost Turkish, startle one above the tops of Manitoba maples or the bush of the river banks. These architectural figures of the landscape, apart altogether of their religious significance, are centers where, crossing the threshold on Sundays, one has the opportunity of hearing Swedish music, or the rich, deep chanting of the Russian responses; and of viewing at close hand the artistry that goes to make up the interior appointments of these churches transplanted from the East to the West…It is indeed a mosaic of vast dimensions and great breadth, essayed of the Prairie."

Day, Richard J.F. Multiculturalism and the History of Canadian Diversity. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000. Pp. 149-150.--Jonashart 22:19, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Influence

There should probably be some clarification here. Porter's work was key to pointing out, via quantitative analysis, the inequities (most importantly, economic) among different ethnic groups in Canada. Specifically, he focused on those of British, French, Southern, and Eastern European ethnicity. This was a serious blow to the idealized equality of the "mosaic". At the same time the B&B Commission was working on tension between the Anglo and French Canadian communities. Both were a bit shortsighted in who was included in their studies. The B&B Commission, as they quickly learned, had not taken into account groups like Italian and Ukrainian Canadians. Porter, unfortunately, did not take into serious account any non-European groups. The B&B Commission, in part due to the pressure of other European groups, eventually progressed into a "multicultural" platform. Similarly, Porter's work has been expanded to be more inclusive. By the time his work and that of the B&B Commission were underway, Canada was vastly multicultural. Peoples from Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East (for example) have been in Canada for decades, but were barely accounted for prior to the 1980's.

Nonetheless, Porter's work was crucial to the developement of Canadian Multicultualism policy.--Jonashart 18:23, 25 July 2006 (UTC)