
A Handbook on Anti-Racism Parenting -
Illustrated handbook, Summer 1997, 30 pages.
The handbook is for parents of young children who are concerned
about racism and want to do something about it. It can be adapted
by anyone who works with children such as teachers and caregivers.
The handbook discusses how we learn racism and how we can recognize,
reduce and eliminate it. It also suggests actions parents can
take to help children respond to racism.
Child Abuse in Minority Ethnocultural Communities
An Exploratory Study, Study submitted
to Multiculturalism Program, Canadian Heritage and Family Violence
Prevention Division, Health Canada, 1995, 35 pages.
This study explores the complexity of issues and suggested strategies
to help service providers assist and prevent child abuse (physical,
emotional and psychological) in minority ethnocultural communities
in Canada. It has two distinct sections; the first, a result of
consultations amongst key people from different communities; and
the second, involving literature review and in-depth interviews
with community informants.
An extensive bibliography of various international
and Canadian literature on this subject is appended, as is a summary
of issues from a review of the same literature. Also as an appendix,
can be found the final report from the initial consultation and
the key informant interview schedule. The document concludes with
a review of the issues, some suggestions for prevention and identifies
directions for further research.
CONSTITUTION / FUTURE OF CANADA
Canadian Unity and Identity: The Advantages of Diversity,
October 1997, 24 pages, in English and French.
This paper was prepared by the CEC to contribute positively and
creatively to the current debate on the future of a united Canada.
It is the product of national extensive consultations with 187
individuals representing 38 ethnocultural communities.
One definite result of these consultations was a stated belief among ethnocultural minority Canadians that Canada remain united and that Quebec be treated as a distinct but equal member of the federation. The participants also believed that respect for diversity, including linguistics, cultural, ethnic, regional, religious, is vital to ensuring good relations at all levels of Canadian society.
The paper elaborates on the discussion at
the consultations and includes suggestions of initiatives that
government, individuals and ethnocultural groups can take to strengthen
Canadian identity and a sense of Canadian nationhood.
In Support of the Aspirations of Aboriginal
Peoples, Brief submitted to The
Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, August 1993, 40 pages.
This succinct submission prepared for the Royal Commission on
Aboriginal Peoples by the CEC begins with a list of recommendations
based on the project. The project itself comprised of consultations
with CEC member organizations and a literature search on the issues
of aboriginal peoples and possible solutions for these concerns.
A good document if you are looking for information
on the background of the First Nations Peoples or their current
circumstances. Their experiences are specifically highlighted
in the areas of land rights, education, discrimination, women's
issues, economy, employment inequity, language and culture, health
and social services, justice, housing and others.
Canada for all Canadians: Building a Strong
Canada Through Respect for Diversity,
Brief submitted to the House of Commons and Senate Special Joint
Committee on a Renewed Canada, February 1992, 12 pages.
This is a more substantive and detailed follow up to a preliminary
brief presented by the CEC to the Special Joint Committee on a
Renewed Canada in October 1991. Based on an ongoing series of
consultations amongst its member organizations, this report examines
various clauses contained in the body of the proposed amendments
to the Canadian Constitution starting from a Canada Clause, to
Senate Reform, the Council of the Federation, House of Commons
Reform, the Social Charter, Aboriginal Rights etc.
The main purpose of this project has been to try and ensure that the interests
of all Canadians are responded to and safe-guarded within the proposed amendments
to the Constitution.
CULTURE
Healthy Aging in Caring Communities: A Cross-Cultural Approach, May 1998, 45 pages.
The report addresses the need for improved social support networks and the education of health workers and community leaders on the elements of culture as a health determinant. It deals with training and dialogue sessions conducted in Vancouver, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, St. John's and Toronto using the recently developed "Our Nations' Elders Speak" training model to enhance the skills of a hundred community health workers, community leaders and seniors working with ethnocultural and aboriginal seniors.
The report includes valuable directions for the future and the list of trainers
and organizations that participated in each of the five centres.
Comments on Structural Hearing (Notice 1992-13), Submitted to the Canadian
Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), March 1993, 11 pages
This brief comments on the CRTC Notice of Public Hearing to review and consider
changes to the existing policies and regulations of the CRTC. It urges the CRTC
to ensure that Canadian broadcasting is fully reflective of the multicultural
and multiracial reality of Canadian society through their programming and employment
practices. Various needs and concerns of ethnocultural communities, such as
employment equity, improved race relations etc. should be considered when reviewing
current practices.
It is a valuable brief that contains a list
of some of the key issues that the CEC recommends for discussion
at this Public Hearing for e.g. protection from unfair competition,
alternative broadcast and distribution practices to accommodate
multicultural programming and new licensing and authoring for
programs.
The 78% Factor: Multiculturalism Enriches
Canadian Culture, Brief submitted
to the Standing Committee on Culture and Communications on The
Implication of Culture for Canadian Unity, January 1992, 7 pages
This brief specifically addresses the cultural aspects of multiculturalism
as separate from its social, economic and political aspects. It
talks about how the Multiculturalism Policy builds understanding
and tolerance amongst Canadians and enriches society and arts
and literature.
The brief lists examples from some agencies
that have included and implemented multiculturalism in their mandate.
It highlights the role of various ethnocultural organizations
in building linkages and actually strengthening the sense of unity
among Canadians and comments upon the achievements of official
and heritage languages and other diversities amongst Canadians.
DEMOGRAPHY
Comments on the 1996 Census Consultation Guide, Report
submitted to Statistics Canada, May 1993, 13 pages
The main purpose of this report is to help maximize the utility of Census data on ethnicity for all research, policy and community planning needs and processes. It attempts to define the concept of ethnicity in its broadest sense as related to national origin, religion or racial differences. Various terms and response categories on the Census form are discussed to highlight and analyze how relevant they may be as indicators of ethnicity and how sensitive they could be toward this diversity.
The report addresses various criteria based
on which Canadians may be categorized, and though it recognizes
the realistic constraints faced by Statistics Canada, it places
strong emphasis on the research potential for cross-tabulation
of such data.
ECONOMY
Ethnocultural Diversity: A Source of Competitive Advantage
Conference (Summary Report), Presented by CEC, The Conference
Board of Canada, and Canadian Heritage, February 1996, 23 pages
in English and French
This conference is part of an ongoing process undertaken to explore how businesses, government and ethnocultural communities can work together to create jobs, develop new markets for Canadian products and services both in Canada and abroad, and enhance Canada's competitiveness in the world.
The report reflects comments and views of
the Conference participants on specific potential business opportunities
that arise from Canada's ethnoculturally diverse population, provides
a networking forum and presents a valuable feedback on CEC's background
discussion paper. It concludes by recognizing that ethnocultural
diversity has a significant economic dimension which if properly
addressed can suggest specifics on how to create a culture that
values this diversity, cross cultural negotiations and international
human resources management to assist business.
Ethnocultural Diversity: A Source of Competitive
Advantage (Background discussion paper) ,
Presented at the Conference Jointly sponsored by CEC, The Conference
Board of Canada, and Canadian Heritage, December 1995, 36 pages
in English and French
In consultation with key stakeholders from government, ethnocultural
communities, bilateral trade groups and business, the CEC talks
about the potential of Canada's ethnoculturally diverse population.
It proposes concrete initiatives designed to help Canadian business
identify and tap into the cultural and linguistic skills and expertise
of this diverse population.
These initiatives range from a national inventory/database
of resources, to a series of regional workshops, to the importance
of networking and development of a standardized presentation kit
designed to help companies enhance their international trade,
domestic marketing and human resource management activities. The
two appendices at the end of the paper are a rich source of titles
and brief outlines of related initiatives and documentation on
the same subject.
Economic Renewal and the Ethnocultural
Communities, A conference report
by the CEC submitted to the Multiculturalism Programs, Canadian
Heritage, November 1993, 23 pages.
As the Federal Government focuses on improving the economy of
Canada, a proper understanding of how to develop partnerships
within the ethnocultural communities and how to prepare the nation
to meet the challenge of globalization can go a long way in facilitating
collective work between business, government and Canada's culturally
diverse population.
This report contains the main highlights of
a CEC Conference covering key speeches and workshop sessions.
These sessions addressed a wide range of issues from trying to
define what makes a successful business enterprise, to how new
models and partnerships can be created, and how a heritage languages
program, the employment of women and effective networking can
all help in building the economy.
Untapped Resources,
A report submitted to the Steering Group on Prosperity, Government
of Canada, July 1992, 29 pages.
To enhance and ensure the prosperity of Canada, businesses need
to learn to target the ethnocultural minorities within Canada
who can help them expand their share in domestic and international
markets. This Report is the result of four workshops on how to
eliminate barriers to employment, how to improve Canadas
education and training system, how to maximize use of international
skills and training of immigrants and how to best enhance the
role of ethnocultural communities in trade.
The report has detailed observations and a
list of key issues addressed at each of the workshops, and it
concludes by making recommendations regarding accreditations,
employment equity, education and language programs and so on.
Challenge Paper for the CEC Forum on Multiculturalism
and Canada's Prosperity, May 1992,
10 pages.
This paper is a backgrounder for a Forum that aims to identify
strategies and opportunities for action to ensure that Canada
can optimize the achievements of its multicultural workforce.
Canada is a highly diverse nation, and by
going international in the complete sense of the term, Canadian
business can take advantage of the varied cross cultural skills,
languages and knowledge offered by its ethnocultural minorities.
A thought provoking paper that is a must read along with the report
'Untapped Resources' in the context of the immense potential of
Canada's ethnoculturally diverse population.
EDUCATION
Equality of Access and Equality of Outcome, Brief to the
Ontario Royal Commission on Learning, January 1994, 13 pages.
Ethnocultural minorities represent a substantial proportion of
Ontario's population and it is necessary that this reality be
reflected in every aspect of the education system of the province.
The CEC believes that the education system must provide working
models to ensure equity of access to education in terms of physical
and intellectual environments; social, emotional, cultural and
moral experiences and opportunities so that all Ontarians have
the same opportunity to succeed in life as their fellow graduates,
irrespective of their ethnocultural and racial backgrounds.
This brief makes some specific recommendations for the Government of Ontario,
the Ministry of Education and the Immigration Minister to follow such as amending
the curriculum to ensure it has an international orientation, focusing on heritage
language programs, ensuring access to telecommunications and new technology
for all educational institutions alike, improving immigrant and refugee settlement
services and continuing to include English as Second Language and French as
Second Language programs for the province.
EQUALITY RIGHTS
Factum of the Intervener and Fact Sheet: The Legal Argument, February 1998.
This deals with the Supreme Court Intervention on Denial of Charitable Status
as a Charter Challenge by the Canadian Ethnocultural Council, the Centre for
Research-Action on Race Relations and the Minority Advocacy and Rights Council.
The Vancouver Society of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women was denied charitable
status because its activities were not deemed charitable under Revenue Canada's
definition of charity.
Taking Stock: The Jurisprudence on the Charter and Minority Rights (An analysis
of the application of the Equality Rights & Multiculturalism sections of
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms), Submitted to the Equality
Rights Committee, CEC, Summer 1992, 186 pages
The Equality Rights Committee came into being to complement CEC's various advocacy
activities, specifically covering the legal aspects. This report examines judicial
decisions under Section 15 (the Equality Rights Clause) and Section 27 (the
Multiculturalism Clause) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In an attempt to involve citizens from all
sectors of Canadian life in judicial processes, to promote public
information and information sharing, this report has two detailed
and seemingly technical papers that examine each Section of the
Charter and the case law to date on each of these Sections.
FOREIGN POLICY
Brief to the Senate and House of Commons' Special Joint Committee
Reviewing Canada's Foreign Policy, July 1994, 5 pages
This is a brief presented by CEC to the Special Joint Committee
reviewing Canada's Foreign Policy, specifically discussing the
benefits of working with ethnocultural communities in developing
a coherent Canadian foreign policy.
It indicates the number and potential of Canada's ethnocultural population
which constitutes more than a third of its total population. Specific recommendations
are made and substantiated by actual examples on how to best utilize this natural
resource of people to further the interests of Canadian foreign policy in the
areas of business, foreign affairs, negotiations on bilateral and multi-lateral
affairs, determining funding for international aid programs and overcoming linguistic
barriers.
IMMIGRATION
Response to the Report of the Legislative Review Advisory Group entitled 'Not Just Numbers: A Canadian Framework for Future Immigration', March 1998, 13 pages.
This brief focuses on the recommendations in the following chapters of the
Report: Community Participation: Active Integration, The family: Essential for
Success; Offering Canada's Protection. Other recommendations, for example, on
compliance and review procedures have been addressed in the brief, to some extent.
Response to an Independent Review of Canada's Immigration Act, Brief
submitted to the Legislative review Advisory Group, July 1997, 10 pages.
It is important to review and shape Canada's immigration policies to ensure
that their direction is in keeping with the principles of equality and justice
contained in the Canadian Constitution and various international instruments
to which Canada is a signatory.
This independent review by the CEC and the
Carleton University Research Resource Division for Refugees discusses
the management of the immigration system and processing issues,
family re-unification, independent immigrants, refugees and other
issues, and makes recommendations to ensure that Canadian immigration
law and policy incorporate a vision of immigration that is facilitative,
inclusive and integrative, as opposed to being exclusionary and
punitive.
Bill C-44: Proposed amendments to the Immigration
Act and Customs Act, Brief submitted
to the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology,
May 1995, 6 pages.
This submission on proposed amendments to the Immigration Act
and Customs Act voices concerns of the CEC that Bill C-44 may
threaten certain clauses in the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms and may jeopardize Canada's position on various International
Conventions to which the country is a signatory.
As a caution that Bill C-44 not infringe on
human rights, the CEC urges that the consequences of the Bill
be closely re-examined, and adherence to international conventions
be considered while implementing any changes to the Bill. This
submission also stresses the important role played by the Immigration
and Refugee Board that should maintain its independence from other
political and departmental influences.
Submission to the Minister of Citizenship
and immigration on Canada's New Immigration Policy,
August 1994, 11 pages.
In this submission the CEC commends the efforts of the Office
of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to include the
Canadian public in the democratic process of policy development
and at the same time, cautions against the current public backlash
to immigration policies.
The submission begins with an expansive list
of specific recommendations that are a result of ongoing CEC consultations
and CEC's past and present position on immigration issues. Each
of these recommendations are examined in the latter half of the
submission and pertain to a vision of Canada, public education,
Canada's international obligations, access to information, integrity
of the Immigration Program itself and so on.
Brief to the Senate Committee on Social
Affairs, Science and Technology on Bill C-86 (Immigration Act) ,
August 1992, 15 pages.
Canada has one the most generous immigration and refugee systems
in the world and this brief addresses the positive and negative
aspects of the Immigration Act and the latest amendment to it
(i.e. Bill C-86).
The CEC observes that one major concern about
the amendment has been the total lack of public input or consultations.
Canadian immigration policies should maintain a balance between
economic and social needs of Canada and of the immigrants themselves.
This brief is very informative on various components and clauses
of the Immigration Act and closely examines the pros and cons
of various provisions under the Act.
INTEGRATION / EMPLOYMENT
Remedy for Employment Inequity for Visible Minorities in the
Federal Public Service: CEC Recommendations, August 1997,
4 pages.
The federal Public Service has not been effective in improving
its employment equity record related to visible minorities and
therefore this position paper was submitted to various Federal
Cabinet members and Government officials.
Some of the measures proposed by the CEC are
to involve the Privy Council Office and Treasury Board to mandate
improved visible minority representation in the Public Service,
to include employment equity records in the performance evaluations
of managers, to urge the Prime Minister's Officer to be a role
model, and to provide sufficient resources to the Canadian Human
Rights Commission in order to perform equity audits.
Governor-in-Council Appointments: Ensuring
Participation, June 25, 1997, 6
pages.
This paper was prepared by the CEC and sent to the Prime Minister
of Canada with a view of increasing the number of Governor-in-Council
appointments. The paper includes: the result of a CEC survey of
current appointments and other observations; information about
the importance of ethnocultural minority appointments; and recommendations
to make the appointment process more transparent and to assist
the Government in ensuring that future appointments are more representative
of the diversity of Canada's population.
Response to the Mackenzie Report to the
Legal Education Committee of Upper Canada on the Accreditation
of Lawyers with Foreign Training and Experience,
January 1997, 5 pages
This brief to the Law Society of Upper Canada is a response to
the issues raised and recommendations made in the May 1996 Mackenzie
Report on the Accreditation of Lawyers with Foreign Training and
Experience.
The mandate of the National Committee on Accreditation
(NCA) is to ensure that Canadians are well served by accredited
lawyers with an appropriate level of skill and knowledge. This
Brief addresses some clauses of the Mackenzie Report that may
result in systemic barriers reducing access to the Canadian legal
profession for some ethnic and racial minorities. It stresses
on the importance of cultural awareness and understanding, and
comparative perspectives that members of the ethnocultural community
may bring to the legal profession.
Response to the Consultation Paper on Racial
Equality by the Canadian Bar Association Working Group on Racial
Equality, January 1997, 14 pages.
Respect for the justice system comes when justice is seen to be
done. This brief to the Canadian Bar Association Working Group
on racial Equality in the legal profession looks specifically
at four areas within the profession (i.e. access to justice, entry
into the profession, practice issues and the judiciary as a whole).
The CEC stresses the need to provide legal
access to minority ethnocultural and racialized communities, to
make efforts to recruit minorities into law schools, to diversify
the demographic make-up of the legal profession to include minority
representation and to improve cultural awareness training for
members of the judiciary.
Regulations and Compliance Mechanisms Under
the New Employment Equity Act,
Comments submitted to Human Resource Development Canada and Canadian
Human Rights Commission, July 1996, 4 pages.
These comments on regulations and compliance mechanisms for Bill
C-64 were presented to the Canadian Human Rights Commission and
Human Resources development Canada in a letter form.
This letter begins by recognizing the achievements to date of the Employment Equity Act and goes on to suggest further measures to help extend its coverage and optimize its efficacy. It stresses the need for sufficient resources to be provided to the CHRC to manage compliance audits, public education, a standardized questionnaire for collecting data, validity time-spans for this data.
The concluding note of this letter is the
suggestion that a formalized, ongoing consultation process be
initiated to monitor the implementation and achievements of the
Employment Equity Act.
Presentation on Bill C-64 (Employment Equity
Bill) to the Standing Committee on Human Rights and Status of
Disabled Persons, February 1995,
6 pages.
This presentation to the Standing Committee on Human Rights and
Status of Disabled Persons about Bill C-64 (Employment Equity
Bill) addresses key aspects of the Bill and its application, followed
by an expansive list of very specific recommendations.
The CEC highlights the need for extending
the coverage of Bill C-64 to more federal and private employers
and to clarify and tighten reporting requirements. It urges for
open access to an Employment Equity Review Tribunal and the enforcing
of financial penalties for non-compliance. It also stresses that
all four designated groups according to the Bill (i.e. women,
aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities),
should be adequately represented on an Employment Equity Tribunal.
Integration from the Ethnocultural Communities'
Perspective: A study of the main indicators of integration into
Canadian society, Brief submitted
to Multiculturalism Program, Canadian Heritage, June 1994, 57
pages.
This study identifies integration into Canadian Society from the
perspective of ethnocultural communities as an on-going, multidimensional
process. According to representatives of CEC member organizations
and ethnic community members, there are various indicators of
this integration and several challenges to this process of integration.
Research on this issue is relevant because it attempts to clearly
define integration and discuss its specific aspects such as psychology,
language, economy, social/cultural, education and politics.
Attached as appendices are the list of participants
who formed the sample, the detailed interview schedule used for
data collection, and the main issues as discovered in a review
of relevant literature. The study lays down a framework for proposed
further in-depth research on integration from the ethnocultural
perspective.
Towards Equity: Review of the Canadian
Judicial Process, Brief submitted
to the Department of Justice on the Review of Federal Judicial
Appointments, October 1993, 4 pages.
This brief represents the position of the CEC on federal judicial
appointments which have a gender and ethnic bias, thereby resulting
in an under-representation of women and visible minorities as
federally appointed judges.
The CEC recommends that such nominations should
reflect the composition of Canadian society (i.e. they should
include women, ethnic and visible minorities, aboriginal peoples,
groups of different sexual orientation and so on).
Limited Visibility: The Representation
of Visible Minorities in Federally-Regulated Corporations from
1988 to 1990, CEC study released
in April 1992, 41 pages, in English and French.
This bilingual report and its appendices are a treasure trove
of data and graphs on the representation of visible minorities
in federally-regulated corporations. The statistical figures that
are examined and compared in the report are from 1988-1990 and
serve as a marker for charting the achievements of the Employment
Equity Act in its fourth year.
The various sectors covered under this study
are banking, communications and media, and transportation. The
study of each individual sector covers an overall analysis, specific
sample analysis, data on minority representation in managerial
and professional positions and its hiring and promoting trends.
Employment Inequity: The Representation
of Visible Minorities in the Federal Public Service 1988-1991,
April 1992, 47 pages in English and French.
This bilingual report evaluates the achievement of the Canadian
Government's Employment Equity Act four years after it came into
effect. A detailed analysis of data on visible minority representation
within various departments reveals wide disparities with respect
to their employment status in various sections.
The CEC recommends certain amendments to the
Employment Equity Act to extend its coverage to all federal departments
and to create an Employment Equity Commission to enforce the Act.
It also requests for an annual report to help monitor achievements,
provide for management accountability and public education campaigns
to help support and enforce employment equity. The entire report,
and specially its appendices are an excellent compilation of data
sourced from documents of the Treasury Board and the Public Service
Commission.
Brief to the Special Committee on the Review
of the Employment Equity Act, March
1992, 15 pages.
CEC believes that employment equity makes sense from a legal,
economic and social justice standpoint. This brief based on the
first National Meeting of the National Employment Equity Network
(NEEN) suggests solutions for various issues affecting the four
designated groups within the Employment Equity Act: women, aboriginal
peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities.
The suggested resolutions range from amending
the Employment Equity Act to optimize its coverage; extending
its applicability to cover part-time and contract employees; including
compliance reviews, audits and accountability mechanisms within
the Act; creating an independent Employment Equity Commission
to effectively enforce the Act and the need for public education
campaigns and in-depth studies on Employment Equity.
Brief to the Office of the Employment Equity
Commissioner, February 1992, 10
pages.
This brief is an excellent comment on the proposed Employment
Equity legislation by the Government and it closely examines the
various alternative approaches suggested by the Government to
legislate the Act. A very illuminating and thorough read along
with the original text of the legislation.
MULTICULTURALISM
Multiculturalism, Citizenship and the Canadian Nation: A Critique
of the Proposed Design for Program Renewal, Paper submitted
to Multiculturalism Program, Canadian Heritage, March 1997, 9
pages.
In this paper, the CEC expresses some serious doubts and concerns
regarding both the thinking and orientation that informs the proposed
design for renewal of the Multiculturalism Program - outlined
in a draft document produced by the federal Department of Canadian
Heritage.
The 42 Percent Solution: Making Equality
a Reality: A Response to the Strategic Review of the Multiculturalism
Programs of the Department of Canadian Heritage,
November 1995, 18 pages.
This report is a good source for information and issues pertaining
to multiculturalism and the related programs of the Department
of Canadian Heritage in light of a growing myth that multiculturalism
is divisive.
Based on an extended consultation process with its member organizations, the CEC suggests various means to ensure involvement of ethnocultural communities at the policy level in the workings of the Canadian Government.
This report recommends a framework of action
for mainstreaming multiculturalism through the implementation
of the multiculturalism policy and the equality provisions of
the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Brief on Bill C-53: An Act to establish the Department of Canadian Heritage and to amend and repeal certain other Acts Submitted to the Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology, March 1995, 8 pages.
This brief on Bill C-53 focuses mainly on the most important aspect of the proposed Department of Canadian Heritage's mandate - the multiculturalism policy, and its benefits. For example, the influence on public opinion, economic benefits of diversity, and special interest group funding provisions.
The CEC has suggested some amendments to the
text of the Bill to ensure that the Department of Canadian Heritage
can fully take on the responsibilities and mandate of the former
Department of Multiculturalism and Citizenship. CEC believes that
multiculturalism is about practicing democracy and ensuring that
Canada remains one of the best countries in the world to live
in.
Brief to the House of Commons' Standing
Committee on Multiculturalism and Citizenship on the Implementation
of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act,
April 1992, 35 pages, available in English and French.
The CEC believes that the Canadian Multiculturalism Act requires
all federal institutions to take specific action to implement
the Multiculturalism Policy. The report begins by listing priorities
for effectively implementing the Act and the recommendations are
listed specifically under various categories such as cross-government
implementation, cultural affairs and national identity, economic
affairs, health and social policy, international trade, foreign
and defence policy, justice and legal affairs and so on.
The second half of this report closely examines
the achievements of 27 federal departments in their efforts to
implement the Act and accurately represent the multicultural reality
of Canada. The report has detailed lists of the multicultural
initiatives of each of theses 27 departments from 1989-1991 that
are very informative.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Social Security Reform, Brief submitted to the House of
Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources Development, December
1994, 9 pages.
The CEC believes that social security is a reflection of fundamental
Canadian values of equity and social justice. This submission
is based on a series of consultations between CEC members and
other ethnocultural and immigrant communities across Canada and
is a valuable feedback from them on Social Security Reform and
the Government's Discussion Paper.
There are various concerns about the public
consultation process such as access to funding for organizing
such research and consultation, a need to include issues effecting
ethnocultural minority communities, a need to link concerns of
such minority communities to those of the mainstream and so on.
This submission considers such concerns when it concludes by listing
some alternative options for building Canada's new Social Security
System.