In a democratic society the will of the majority, with a few checks and balances to prevent the abuse of minorities, is supposed to prevail.
Alas, this is not the case in Canada. When Pierre Trudeau set Canada on the road to multiculturalism, the majority of Canadians let it be known that they wanted no part of it. And even today, with multiculturalism, multilingualism and multi-everything going full blast, that majority watches in alarm as Canada forges ahead in trying to accomplish the impossible dream of creating a successful multicultural nation. Most people would agree that it's a plus to adopt the foods, music and festivals of the various ethnic groups that make up the Canadian mosaic. Speaking for myself, I like German beer, Italian food, and Latin music, the Caribana Parade and, like everyone else, most things American. I'm also aware that we got most of our Christmas traditions from Germany and England, and that the Irish gave us "Trick or Treat."
Still, Canada has a basic culture that is a combination of things brought here from both the United States and the British Isles. Quebec, of course, has its own traditions. While it's perfectly understandable that new Canadians would want to keep their cultures and languages, so as to communicate with their children, and grandchildren, the various ethnic groups should fund these activities themselves. Besides, languages other than English and French are temporary things that will disappear in a generation or two. If history teaches us anything, it teaches us that there has never been a successful multicultural or multilingual state. We need only read a little history, or keep up on current affairs, to see that the biggest problem facing multicultural and bilingual states is their inability to blend their various tribes into a cohesive whole.
In Belgium the problem is language, in Germany it's race, in Indonesia it's religion. In the former USSR it's all three of these divides. Even a well-established unilingual state like the U.K., has failed to create a "British Nationality." In fact, Scotland and Wales become more independence-minded with each passing year. And, you wouldn't think that the English would have an identity problem, seeing they have always considered British and English to be interchangeable. Nevertheless, English intellectuals are debating what it means to be English in the face of an ever-increasing non-white population. The Japanese who claim to be simon-pure, and they do have a point, seeing they have been a single ethnic group for a thousand years, don't allow Koreans, who have been in Japan for generations, to become citizens. And Japan's aboriginal people, the Ainu, suffer discrimination in every field.
The U.S., which has succeeded in nation building to the extent that it is the world's only military and financial superpower, still has the twin problems of white versus black. And the separate nationalism of the Old Confederacy, which still clings to its own emblems and heroes. While it is true that most nations are a blend of disparate tribes, the assimilation process took hundreds, even thousands of years, and in a much simpler world than we have today.
Canada, because of its proximity to the U.S. finds it difficult to project a distinctive culture. This is understandable considering that
American culture is swamping the world from Albania to Zimbabwe. But we do have a culture, with the exception of Quebec, that we recognize, and that's what counts. Quebec, of course, will remain a province that is different from the rest of Canada, though, it too will turn from its ethnocentric navel gazing as time goes by, and as it copes with increasing numbers of newcomers from the third world.
Switzerland is often held up as an example of a successful multi-cultural state, but even there, the different ethnic groups are separated into their own respective cantons. (provinces). Canada can only succeed in building a strong nation-state, one in which our most prominent citizens won't prize a foreign title over Canadian citizenship, and where others won't yearn to join the U.S., by persuading everyone to sing from the same Canadian song sheet. If, on the other hand, we persist in trying to establish a multicultural nation, we might end up with no nation at all.
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