Getting Rid Of The Cultural Hyphen...

Chris Selley’s Full Pundit: Our time to follow

The meaning of Canadian citizenship

Multiculturalism was never supposed to be a “celebration of ethnic foods and dances — … of what makes us different,” The Globe and Mail’s editorialists argue. The original concept “had four pillars: the need to respect diversity; to also promote integration by having newcomers learn French or English; to participate in cross-cultural exchanges; and to engage in mainstream institutions.” But the debate has since become too “fraught” to salvage, in their opinion. So, it being their time to lead, the editorialists demand the term “multiculturalism” be expunged from the Canadian conversation — poof! — and replaced with the term “pluralism,” which presumably has no potential to become similarly “fraught.” This shall be accompanied by a serious discussion about the responsibilities of citizenship, they decree. The Globe has spoken!

Speaking of which, the Edmonton Journal’s editorialists are pleased to hear the next edition of the Canadian citizenship guide will acknowledge same-sex marriage — which, they note, hasn’t even been a minor social catastrophe since becoming the law of the land five years ago. “It’s always a victory,” says the Journal, “when a government catches up to its citizens.”

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