With Canada Day this Sunday, here’s a timely reminder of just one of the many reasons each and everyone of us should stand in celebration.
Multiculturalism is increasingly valued by Canadians:
– According to the “Canada’s World Survey 2018,” multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion are increasingly seen by Canadians as the country’s most notable contribution to the world.
– The Centre for International Governance Innovation “Diversity Dividend: Canada’s Global Advantage” special report found that, viewed across all Canadian sectors, a one percent increase in ethnocultural diversity was associated with an average 2.4 percent increase in revenue and a 0.5 percent increase in workplace productivity.
However, despite this, hate crimes against people of colour are rising:
– From Statistics Canada: Between 2015 and 2016, the number of police-reported crimes motivated by hatred of a race or ethnicity increased 4 percent. In all, 48 percent of all police-reported hate crimes in 2016 were motivated by hatred of a race or ethnicity. Much of this increase was a result of more hate crimes targeting South Asians (+24 incidents) and Arabs and West Asians (+20 incidents). Despite posting a decrease in 2016, crimes targeting Black populations remained one of the most common types of hate crimes (15 percent of all hate crimes).
Best-selling author and journalism professor Kamal Al-Solaylee will give the 2018 Milton K. Wong lecture— Today—at the BMO Theatre Centre on Wednesday, June 27.
The Milton K. Wong Lecture is Canada’s premier lecture on multiculturalism. It is named after Milton K. Wong, one of the founders of The Laurier Institution, in recognition of the remarkable contribution he made to the understanding of the value and complexity of Canadian diversity and to the advancement of pluralism in Canada.
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