Question

1. Bannerji states that "multiculturalism is itself a vehicle for racialization" (p. 78). What evidence does she present to support this claim which disparages a characteristic that many Canadians are very proud of?
2. According to Bannerji, what legitimating practices are used in order to justify the "obliteration" of Canada’s Indigenous people?

Answer 1

The debates on Cosmopolitanism, that is, the idea of a shared morality and the construction of societies where cultural (and religious) plurality is the social norm are predicated on two fundamental “values”: One, locally, for a diverse society to exist it is necessary that the population learns to respect the cultural boundaries of each other’s neighbours. And two, globally, the population ought to recognize their collective moral responsibility for every human being—the citizens of the world, including some distant others who are also our global neighbors. Anthony Appiah identifies these two values as two different chronologically sequential strands of cosmopolitanism. In a somewhat idealized way, he notes that these two values together make it possible for the realization that we can learn from each other’s differences.

The cosmopolitan nature of Canada is no accident. For over 50 years now, Canada has opened the door for immigrants because of its low birth rate. In order for Canada to thrive immigrants are necessary. It is this part of the story that is emphasized and for which Canada is portrayed as a welcoming and kind country. Also, officially Canada is described as a multicultural-cosmopolitan nation, with three founding nations: The First Nations, the French and the British. On the ground, it operates within a bicultural and bilingual frame.It is Canada’s multicultural Act and policy of increased immigration that have created the conditions for the emergence of multi-cultural cosmopolitan social environments in their various expressions in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

Canada’s multicultural and cosmopolitan vision has not gone unchallenged, particularly its depiction as a benevolent state. In its present configuration it is structurally ethnocentric. It forces minoritized groups to adopt the dominant cultures (French and English) and accompanying cultural implications (values, custom, religion