Address by Minister Dion at the High-Level Panel on Inclusion and Diversity

September 21, 2016 - New York City, New York

Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the Government of Canada’s official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance with its communications policy.

Thank you for joining us to talk about why we should embrace diversity, why inclusion must defeat exclusion. This is a central issue for the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and I welcome you on his behalf.

Yesterday, before the General Assembly, he said, “In Canada, we see diversity as a source of strength, not weakness. Our country is strong not in spite of our differences, but because of them. Because what is the alternative? To exploit anxiety? To turn it into fear and blame? To reject others because they look or speak or pray differently than we do?”

These days we see a resurgence of xenophobia, discrimination and fear of the “other.” The opposite of inclusion is persecution, and at no time since the Second World War have so many refugees—21 million—fled persecution.

Some politicians want to gain popular support by exploiting and painting them as a threat. Justin Trudeau has told Canadians that we are one of the most diverse countries in the world and that this is what makes us strong. He has said that we should not accept fewer refugees, but more. He has said that every wave of refugees makes us stronger than before.

With leadership, a message of inclusion can resonate.  

Diversity in Canada is a fact. Canada is home to people of every race, religion, sexual orientation, shape and size.

Inclusion is a choice. This choice is guided by the many benefits that diversity can bring.

I believe that diversity in our communities and countries can lead to higher rates of economic growth, better social cohesion and tremendous cultural and civic benefits.

It has taken years of hard work to get Canada to where it is today. Inclusion does not happen by accident, it happens because of choices:

• Decades ago, Canada chose to embrace a policy of multiculturalism and official bilingualism.
• The Government of Canada chose to welcome more refugees.
• Prime Minister Trudeau chose to have gender parity in his Cabinet.
• The Government of Canada has chosen to introduce new legislation to protect transgender Canadians.

Choosing inclusion requires leadership from every individual, every business and every community.

Of course, Canada’s path to inclusion has not been seamless: we have struggled, and we continue to face challenges.

There are dark pages in Canadian history: we cannot deny it.

There was a time, in the 1930s, when Canadian authorities took a look at a boat full of Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis and said no, you are not welcome: “None is too many.”

A few years ago we established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Indigenous Canadians who were sent to residential schools, places where the most brutal kind of assimilation was actively pursued. We are trying to learn from this ugly history.

Canada’s francophones, too, have struggled. An anglophone majority tried to assimilate them. That mostly failed, especially in Quebec, so Canada had to come up with a new model. First, Canadians learned toleration, then we built mutual respect, and now, Canada welcomes newcomers from around the world. We chose bilingualism and multiculturalism, which we embedded in our constitution.

Multiculturalism is sometimes criticized on the basis that it means closed ghettoes of people who import their home cultures without any adaptation. This is not multiculturalism.

In a multicultural society, the people you pass on the street are virtually all fellow citizens, with full and equal rights, whether their families have been in a country for a hundred years or they recently arrived in their new home.

When newcomers arrive in Canada, help is provided for them to integrate into their new schools, new jobs and new communities. The universal aspect of each culture enriches the whole country and makes each of us more complete as human beings and better equipped in this global world.

Canada’s counsel to the world is this: Try multiculturalism—it can work.

Now I say this with some humility, because Canada has some advantages other countries do not have. Namely, we control our immigration. To make it to Canada you need to cross vast oceans or come from our vast southern neighbour, the richest country in the world.

Canadians are conscious that other countries are in more difficult situations, which is why we have to talk about how to make inclusion work everywhere, and why I will be listening very attentively to the experience of others. Canada has much to offer, but we also have much to learn.

We cannot, of course, pretend that inclusion is easy. Fear is a powerful and persistent force, and it is easily exploited. But we cannot let it win. We cannot let it close our minds and our hearts. We simply cannot let fear and division tear societies apart.

Our answer must be even more powerful, and I believe it is this:

Diversity is strength. And we must choose inclusion.

Contacts

Chantal Gagnon
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
343-203-1851
chantal.gagnon@international.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
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