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Article Excerpt
INTRODUCTION
The value of multiculturalism has been an almost consistent concern in Canadian newspapers since the establishment of the policy in 1971. Writers periodically express strong opinions about how well or how poorly it has performed. The nature of the arguments are usually shaped by the commentators' respective interpretations of the policy's objectives, including the following: the complete assimilation of minorities into the mainstream and the abandonment of their cultural traditions; the integration of immigrants into Canadian society as they continue to retain aspects of their own cultures; the fostering of Canadian citizenship; the elimination of racism; the establishment of equality; encouraging better inter-cultural relations; funding minority cultures; privileging minorities; promoting cultural relativism; and curbing Quebecois nationalism. At the two ends of the discursive range are arguments that insist, on the one hand, that multiculturalism is leading to the disintegration of Canadian society (e.g., Brigitte Pellerin, Gazette, March 8, 2006) and, on the other, that it is strengthening the nation in which Canadians of various backgrounds have a sense of belonging (e.g., Giles Gherson, Toronto Star, June 24, 2006).
Habermas's (1991) model of the public sphere offers a conceptual framework within which to understand media debates (see also Dahlgren 1995). Whereas his original ideas have been criticized for privileging only middle and upper dass European males (Calhoun 1992), the notion of <
Of course, this does not provide an ideal public sphere where anyone wishing to express an opinion is able to do so. Press content carries only a certain range of (privileged) voices. Editorial staff and regular columnists have the greatest access to print space. Op-ed contributors generally have to convince newspapers of the value of their contributions in order to get published, as do letter-writers. Editors retain the upper hand in being able to filter the views that are presented to them - this may operate according to rational-critical criteria or ideological ones. Therefore, the examination of press content does not provide insight into the entire spectrum of opinions that exist on a topic. However, due to the place they have in the public sphere, newspaper materiais contain among the most prominent set of expressions in a given society. Documentary and call-in programs of mainstream broadcasters also enable the public voicing of opinions, as do the "public sphericules" (Cunningham and Sinclair 2001; Karim 2002b; Karim 2003b) of ethnic media. Similarly, online material has the advantage of drawing Internet users' attention. However, the scope of this paper is limited to the examination of large-circulation dailies.
METHODOLOGY
A Lexis-Nexis search was conducted using the keyword "multiculturalism" for the period January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006. Eight large-circulation English-language dailies located in seven metropolitan areas and one nationally-distributed paper were selected for the search: the Calgary Herald, the Edmonton Journal, the Globe and Mail, the (Halifax) Chronicle-Herald, the Ottawa Citizen, the (Montreal) Gazette, the Toronto Star, the Vancouver Sun, and the Winnipeg Free Press. They represent the largest Canadian media corporations with English-language print holdings: CanWest Global, Bell Globemedia, Torstar, FP Canadian Newspapers, and Halifax Herald Limited. In order to ensure that the analysis was manageable for the purposes of the present study, only editoriais, journalists' columns, op-eds, and letters to editors were chosen for examination. This yielded a total of 92 items (excluding those republished in sister newspapers).
The Toronto Star was found to have the largest number of pieces on multiculturalism in 2006 with 27. The Globe and Mail had 20; the Ottawa Citizen, 15; the Gazette, 8; the Calgary Herald, 8; the Vancouver Sun, 5; the Winnipeg Free Press, 5; the Chronide-Herald, 3; the Edmonton ]ournal, 1. An initial examination of the content of the 92 pieces led to the identification of several thematic categories.
* National values, national identity and citizenship - 33
* Muslims- 19
* Multiculturalism and other countries - 17
* Societal integration and disintegration - 10
* Terrorism - 5
* Multiculturalism as a target - 2
* Immigrant homelands - 2
* Politics - 3
* Race relations - 1
Several of the write-ups had more than one of the above themes; they were categorized according to their respective primary themes. It is not possible to discuss all of the 92 articles. In order to facilitate a coherent and substantive discussion of the print media sample, the qualitative content analysis was carried out under the following four categories:
1. Values, identity, citizenship
2. Societal integration, and disintegration
3. Terrorism, multiculturalism, and Muslims
4. Multiculturalism and other countries
The analysis makes occasional comparisons to the author's previous study of Canadian print coverage of multiculturalism in the 1980s (Karim 2002a).
"Values, identity, and citizenship" brings together three issues which often overlap in discussions of issues of national import; the critics of multiculturalism often view it as unsettling Canadian norms. "Societal integration and disintegration" is another major theme which consistently appears in media coverage of the policy. Differing viewpoints see multiculturalism, on the one hand, as helping to integrate newcomers into Canadian society and, on the other, as serving to unravel the country's social fabric. The composite category of "Terrorism, multiculturalism, and Muslims" brings together a prominent set of themes in the 2006 sample. The commentary on terrorism was largely connected to the Muslims arrested in June. "Multiculturalism and other countries" lists the pieces that broach the experiences of the assimilation or integration of immigrants outside Canada. Several writers used what were perceived as the failures abroad to criticize Canadian multiculturalism.
VALUES, IDENTITY, CITIZENSHIP
Public debates on multiculturalism have frequently touched upon issues of national values, identity, and citizenship (Hage 2002; Jacobs and Swyngedouw 2002; Karim 2002a; Prins and Slijper, 2002). This is not surprising since multiculturalism has been a way for states to incorporate diversity into national governance. But problems arise when the perceived values of the nation and those of minorities come into apparent conflict. The examination of the press material making reference to multiculturalism highlighted several threads of these arguments, which are generally followed below in a chronological sequence.
On February 8, Michael Valpy's column, "Why the global rage hasn't engulfed Canada" in the Globe and Mail addressed the controversy regarding the Danish cartoons about the prophet Muhammad. He sought to explain the non-militant response of Canadian Muslims compared to those in other countries. Valpy stated that Canadian multiculturalism was complex, and the possibilities for political participation for Muslims had facilitated their integration.
However, two other political commentators published in the same newspaper, Margaret Wente and Lysiane Gagnon, as well as Daphne Bramham of the Vancouver Sun, were less sanguine about the policy. Wente wrote in "End of the multicultural myth" (March 18) that "in Canada, we can afford to cling to our multicultural illusions--that differences are to be celebrated, and make our land a better place... But, secretly, we don't really believe that differences are okay." She stated that festivais, folk dances, turbans, and kirpans were tolerable, but chadors were not. Gagnon's March 13 piece, commenting on a Supreme Court ruling, was headlined, "The kirpan decision isn't welcome in Quebec." In that piece she commented on the potential for balancing individual religious rights and the secular values of Canadian society as follows:
There should be a rational way of balancing individual religious rights with the mainstream values of a secular society whose main pillar is the separation of church and state. There should be a middle way between, for instance, the overly rigid French model, that forbids students to wear hijabs, kippahs or prominent crucifixes in public schools, and the Canadian model, which is at the opposite end of the spectrum. As it is taking form through a series of Charter decisions, it is about to become a case of multiculturalism gone mad.
This columnist's solution was that persons representing the state through their occupational office should not be allowed to wear or display religiously-ordained apparel or symbols while on duty. Bramham echoed Wente's and Gagnon's sentiments in her May 13 Vancouver Sun column, "Citizenship as a values test;' asserting that "in our desire to accommodate and embrace all people, we may have sacrificed a national identity and common cause." These three writers saw the policy as a threat to mainstream values in contrast to Valpy's...
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