MINORITY REPRESENTATION AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION OF ETHNIC MINORITIES: A Case Study of Chinese Canadians in Democratic Canada
A Thesis
Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
Master of Arts
In Political Science
University of Regina
By
ZHA, Yan
Regina, Saskatchewan
June, 2009
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1+1 Canada UNIVERSITY OF REGINA
FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH
SUPERVISORY AND EXAMINING COMMITTEE
Yan Zha, candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in Political Science, has presented a thesis titled, Minority Representation and Political Participation of Ethnic Minorities: A Case Study of Chinese Canadians in Democratic Canada, in an oral examination held on May 4, 2009. The following committee members have found the thesis acceptable in form and content, and that the candidate demonstrated satisfactory knowledge of the subject material.
External Examiner: Dr. Henry Chow, Department of Sociology and Social Studies
Supervisor: Dr. Yuchao Zhu, Department of Political Science
Committee Member: Dr. Joyce Green, Department of Political Science
Committee Member: Dr. Dongyan Blachford, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research
Chair of Defense: Dr. Liming Dai, Faculty of Engineering ABSTRACT
Citizenship, minority rights and political participation are interrelated critical elements in modern democracy. Citizenship entitles people to basic rights and obligations of members of state. Minority rights, based on the political equality principle, are indispensable to the development of democracy. Successful practice of citizenship and minority rights is achieved through the meaningful political participation of citizens. A comprehensive review of the existing academic studies on the above topics sets the framework of this thesis. Through a case study on Chinese Canadians, this thesis discusses the theories and exercise of political participation of ethnic minorities in
Canada. It concludes that the continuing development of Canadian democracy requires the existing participatory democracy be enhanced with increased political equality, multiethnic representation and inclusive politics.
A liberal democracy, based on majority rule, adopts political equality to reduce the possibilities of minority's subjection to majority "tyranny". Ethnic minority rights are crucial in the discussion of political equality in the Canadian context where diversity penetrates into social and political spheres in many ways. The political participation of ethnic minorities is a key indication of their exercise of citizenship rights.
Chinese Canadians are studied here as a typical case of an ethnic minority group in political participation. Their role in Canadian democracy is unique and important. Prior to the mid 20 century, Chinese Canadians and other Asian Canadian groups were disenfranchised both provincially and federally. Their historical exclusion resulted from anti-Asian racism in Canada. Through decades of struggles for inclusion via advocacy of minority rights, the Chinese group has developed from "aliens" to "participants" with
ii improved social-economic status and active political involvement. However, the core
values and group identification of voters from the Chinese Canadian community may still
differentiate their voting behaviour from that of other groups. The voting behaviour of
Chinese Canadians is linked to their political concerns. Despite a continuous increase in
the naturalization rate, there has been little improvement in their overall electoral turnout
at the federal level. Similar to other ethnic minorities, the Chinese Canadians' ethnicity, possession of social capital, knowledge of politics and socio-economic status are all
crucial factors that influence their political participation. But in-group differences do
exist between generations and among different social strata, which is partially attributed
to differences in immigration experiences.
This study emphasizes that the concept of a multicultural citizenship recognizes the distinctiveness of ethnic minority groups in political resources, interests and preferences. Multicultural citizenship encourages the participation of ethnic minority
groups in Canada, and it strengthens the main access for ethnic minorities to exercise their citizenship rights. Aiming at the inclusion and empowerment of historically disenfranchised groups, multicultural citizenship can facilitate the citizens' sense of belonging and encourage ethnic voters to become more confident "exerters". Minority participation and a more inclusive politics, such as better parliamentary representation of ethnic minorities in Canada, will provide a healthier political environment for all ethnic groups and will strengthen Canadian democracy.
in ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the faculty of the University of Regina for their assistance in
developing this thesis, and my family and friends for their support and encouragement.
My special gratitude firstly goes to my supervisor, Prof. Yuchao Zhu, for sharing his
research experience and academic resources with me. I am indebted to him for his
invaluable suggestions on theory, style and the scope of explanatory capability in
composing this thesis. Some of the ideas in this thesis were inspired from his lectures and
advice.
My special thanks also go to Prof. Joyce Green in the Dept. of Political Science and
Prof. Dongyan Blachford in the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research at the
University of Regina. Their critiques and comments have provided me with opportunities
to improve this thesis and with important clues for future studies.
I am also grateful for the scholarship and teaching assistantships received from the
Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research and the Department of Political Science at the
University of Regina. The financial assistance from these programs enabled me to concentrate on my study and earn valuable experiences in teaching.
I must thank the Dr. John Archer Library and the University of Regina for their bountiful resources that benefited my research, particularly the Data Library at the Archer
Library and the Data Liberation Initiative of Statistics Canada for access to relevant statistic resources.
Finally, I want to thank my colleagues and classmates for their support and discussion on my thesis topic; my parents and my brother for their love and confidence in me.
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section: Page
ABSTRACT ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES vii
LIST OF APPENDICES vii
ACRONYMS viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER TWO: CITIZENSHIP, MINORITY RIGHTS AND POLITICAL 5 PARTICIPATION: MULTICULTURAL CITIZENSHIP IN CANADA 2.1 Citizenship 5 2.1.1 Conception of citizenship 5 2.1.2 Access to citizenship 8 2.1.3 Citizenship rights 10 2.1.4 Ambiguities of citizenship 13 2.1.5 Citizenship and integration 16 2.2 Minorities, Nations, and Ethnic Groups 18 2.2.1 Minority and minorities 18 2.2.2 Nation 21 2.2.3 Ethnic group 22 2.2.4 Distinguishing nation from ethnic group 25 2.3 Political Participation and Representation in Western Liberal Democracies 27 2.3.1 Political participation 28 2.3.2 Representation 29 2.3.3 Proportional representation and differentiated representation 31 2.4 Minority Rights and Multicultural Citizenship in Canada 32 2.4.1 Distinguishing national minorities and ethnic minorities in Canadian context35 2.4.2 Internal restrictions and external protection 36 2.4.3 Multicultural citizenship 37 2.4.4 Political participation and representation of minorities in Canada 39 2.5 Summary 41
CHAPTER THREE: CHINESE CANADIANS AND DEMOCRATIC CANADA: 43 THE CHINESE COMMUNITY 3.1 The Early Chinese Community 46 3.1.1 Associations: the extended "Family" 46 3.1.2 A community in need 48 3.2 An Isolated "Family" 49
v 3.2.1 Omnipotent elders 50 3.2.2 External resistance 52 3.2.3 Politically impotent 55 3.3 Later Development 57 3.4 Summary 62
CHAPTER FOUR: CHINESE CANADIANS AND DEMOCRATIC CANADA: 63 POLITICAL PARTIES AND THE CHINESE CANADIAN CANDIDATES 4.1 Chinese Canadian Candidates and MPs of the 2006 and 2008 Federal Elections 63 4.1.1 Chinese Canadian candidates in 2006 and 2008 65 4.1.2 Chinese Canadian Members of Parliament elected in 2006 and in 2008 69 4.1.3 Characteristics of the Chinese Canadian MPs 72 4.2 New Party Formation 73 4.3 The Voters' Choice 75 4.3.1 Core values 75 4.3.2 Group identification 78 4.4 Leadership in Ethnic Minority Groups 80 4.4.1 The stable leader image 80 4.4.2 Ethnic leadership and motivating the voters 81 4.5 Summary 83
CHAPTER FIVE: CHINESE CANADIANS AND DEMOCRATIC CANADA: 85 FACTORS RELATED TO THE VOTING BEHAVIOURS OF ETHNIC MINORITIES AND CHINESE CANADIANS 5.1 Social Capital 85 5.2 Special Influences on the Voting Behaviour of Ethnic Minorities in Canada 87 5.2.1 Ethnicity 88 5.2.2 Knowledge of politics 90 5.3 Socio-Economic Conditions of Ethnic Minority Groups 92 5.3.1 Lower strata; higher unemployment 92 5.3.2 Lower income; less political participation 93 5.4 Features of the Chinese Community in Socio-economic Conditions 97 and Voting Pattern 5.4.1 Differences on socio-economic conditions within the Chinese ethnic group 97 5.4.2 Differences of participation rate within the Chinese ethnic group 98 5.5 Summary 99
CHAPTER SIX: CHINESE CANADIANS AND DEMOCRATIC CANADA: 101 CANADIAN MULTICULTURAL CITIZENSHIP —THE APPLICATION OF THEORIES 6.1 Minority and Minority Problems in Canada: Fischer's View 101 6.2 What to Include When We Study Ethnic Minorities? 103 6.2.1 Variables of ethnic minority groups 103 6.2.2 Variables outside ethnic minority groups 104 6.3 Multicultural Citizenship: Inclusiveness in Canada 105 6.4 Summary 108
VI CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION 110
BIBLIOGRAPHY 114
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1 Partial List of Federal Candidates of Chinese Descent (2006 Election) 65-66
Table 4.2 Partial List of Federal Candidates of Chinese Descent (2008 Election) 67-68
Table 5.1 Voting Rate by Period of Immigration 98
Table 5.2 Citizenship Rates and Voting Rates Comparison I: 98
Whites and the Visible Minorities
Table 5.3 Citizenship Rates and Voting Rates Comparison II: 99
Specific Minority Origins
LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX I 2008 CHINESE CANADIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL 128
ELECTION QUESTIONABLE
APPENDIX II 2006 CCNC ELECTION PRIMER 130
APPENDIX III INTEGRATION OF VISIBLE MINORITIES, BY PERIOD OF 133 IMMIGRATION AND GENERATION
vn ACRONYMS
CCBA Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association
CCNC Chinese Canadian National Council
CIC Citizenship and Immigration Canada
CPR Canadian Pacific Railway
EDS Ethnic Diversity Survey, 2002, Statistics Canada
IRPA Immigration and Refugee Protection Act of Canada
NAP Nation Alliance Party
MP Member of Parliament
UN United Nations
viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
From J.S. Mill's criticism on the tyranny of majority,1 to the Declaration on the
Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities
of the United Nations (UN), there have been ongoing efforts to protect liberty through
both theory and practice. Usually, the liberal justification of minority rights depends on
the two fundamental principles: universal individual freedom and equality and that
individual freedom and equality should be free from unlawful infringement. However,
support of minority rights is often challenged as a potential violation of the equilibrium
among social members and an implication of infringement into individual equality. In
countries built on immigration, like Canada, the U.S. and Australia, there are issues
related to minorities and minority rights. The different historical experiences of
indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and visible minorities3 influence their relations with
dominant groups and arouse different political concerns regarding their rights. Some of
these issues result from the historical displacement of indigenous peoples; some are
related to visible minorities who were segregated because their skin colour and culture
differed from those of white society influenced by racist ideology. In the Canadian
context, ethnic minorities are formed mainly by large numbers of immigrants who do not belong to majority groups and who have been isolated and marginalized by the dominant
society because of their "alienness" and "otherness". It is recognized that the debate on
1 See Mill, J.S., On Liberty and Considerations on representative government. Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1947. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, together with the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities are three main treaties on human rights and minority rights of the UN. In order, resources are
1 minority rights and the political participation of minorities reflect the innermost demand
of democracy to develop itself. To redress minority rights, including the political
participation of minorities, is an effort to build universal equality in the Canadian society
and to complement majority rule. As far as minority rights are concerned, notions of
citizenship, political participation and political inclusiveness are ready to be endowed
with new interpretations. In countries that are highly diversified in race, ethnicity,
language, and culture etc., minority rights are also discussed along with these social
characteristics.
To some extent, the exercise of minority rights could help minorities to be less
manipulated by the power distribution based on majority rule—one of the corner-stones
of democracy. However, it is necessary to build up strong theoretical and practical
support for effective procedures that can properly rectify the disadvantages that
democracy creates for minority groups. In order to accomplish this, we need to review the basic conceptions of democracy: citizenship, nation and state, representation and political participation.
The starting point of this thesis is to re-read the conceptions related to the rights that
democratic "citizenship" bestows upon the individual. Citizenship and citizenship rights
are constantly challenged by the increasing diversity among the Canadian population.
Such a diversified population also requires Canadian representative democracy to update the roles and functions of its political representatives. Minority groups, such as ethnic and visible minorities, are demanding inclusion in democratic debate and decision-making.
The theoretical review in Chapter Two helps outline that the Canadian multiethnic environment requires more strategic agendas and measures so that minority rights can be
2 better recognized in the larger society. The works of Barbalet (1988) and Marshall (1964) on citizenship and citizenship rights, the discussion of Castles and Davidson (2000) on the ambiguity of citizenship and Carens' (2001) argument on access to citizenship provide the basis for the discussion on minority rights in this chapter. In addition, Chapter
Two also discusses theories of representation and participation. It distinguishes minority, nation and ethnic groups. In Canada, Kymlicka (1995; 2001) and Moore (2001), etc. innovate these conceptions to multicultural citizenship.
Political participation is one of the key factors to measure the extent to which citizenship rights are actually exercised. A case study on the political participation of a typical ethnic minority group could provide more details to understand the environment for ethnic minority groups to access the nucleus of power. Chapters Three, Four and Five combine a case study of the Chinese Canadians with the current discussion on political participation of ethnic minorities. Based on a retrospection of the political participation of the Chinese community in Canada, Chapter Three looks into the unique community characteristics of Chinese Canadians: their particular history, community formation and social status.
Chapter Four focuses on the political participation of Chinese Canadians. More specifically, it discusses the participation of this ethnic minority group in recent federal elections, including analysis on the candidates as representatives from this group and
Chinese Canadians as electorates. On one hand, Chinese Canadians have struggled in their interactions with the mainstream political and social environment once characterised by racism and the exclusion of ethnic minorities. Their political concerns are similar to many other ethnic minority groups in Canada. But the Chinese Canadian community
3 distinguishes itself by many other characteristics, such as leadership styles and socio economic status. On the other hand, the Canadian state began to rectify historical wrongdoings to ethnic minorities and provide the institutional and structural guarantee of equal opportunities for political participation. It is the right time for ethnic minorities and the Canadian state to formulate measures that are more oriented in promoting political equality and reducing the inertia of ethnic minorities such as the Chinese community.
Chapter Five argues that the socio-economic status of a specific group and the accommodation provided by the state are two important elements for the further integration of minority groups in political terms. Lower income, lack of political knowledge and ethnicity are all related to the low political participation rate among ethnic minorities.
Chapter Six discusses the general guidelines for the accommodation of diversity and the inclusive politics in Canada. Finally, the thesis summarises that multicultural citizenship and advocacy of minority rights are not just for the benefit of minority groups, but that of all Canadians. Ongoing interactions between the Canadian state and ethnic minorities in Canada will promote the positive development of Canadian democracy.
Chapter Seven gives a brief conclusion and possible topics for future studies.
Advocacy of minority rights requires more vigorous debate on the political
participation of minority groups. The author tries to infer the whole from the very
specific case of the Chinese community in Canada. We need to continue our efforts to
improve understanding on minority rights and find more flexible and functional
approaches to problems related to minority groups and minority rights.
4 CHAPTER TWO: CITIZENSHIP, MINORITY RIGHTS AND POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION: MULTICULTURAL CITIZENSHIP IN CANADA
2.1 Citizenship
In order to specifically discuss citizenship, minority rights and political participation
in Canada, this chapter will review the current theoretical discourse on these important
conceptions and interpret them within the Canadian context. The conception of
citizenship will be reviewed first, and then the second part differentiates concepts like
minority, nation, and ethnic group, and their usage in this thesis. The third part is a
general reflection on theories of political participation and representation in liberal
democratic society. And finally, this chapter discusses theories on minority rights and
multicultural citizenship in Canadian context. The purpose of this chapter is not to
develop or complement the existing theories on citizenship, minority rights or political
participation; instead, it will limit its focus to applying relevant theories to the Canadian
multicultural context in order to examine whether these theories, or part of them, suit the
Canadian situation.
2.1.1 Conception of citizenship
Originating from the ancient Greek city-state, citizenship is regarded as one of the
foremost tenets of democracy. It is an entitlement for societal members to participate in public decision-making process4. Modern citizenship in western liberal societies is
4 "For the Greeks, citizenship - that is, the active participation of all citizens in politics - was considered to be the supreme creative art. In essence, the city-state was synonymous with its citizenry. Like a sculptor, the citizen moulded a fully rounded society to his preconceived notion of what that society ought to be."
5 recognized as being based on membership in a community. It is viewed as essential to
entitle the individual members with a series of rights and responsibilities.
"Citizenship can readily be described as participation in or membership of a
community" (Barbalet, 1988: 2). The status as "member of community" and the action of
"participation" define citizenship, combining the recognition of the individual as social
member and the entitlement that is endowed to this individual. From the perspective of
access to social conditions, Thomas H. Marshall argued: "the claim of all to enjoy these
conditions is a claim to be admitted to a share in the social heritage, which in turn means
a claim to be accepted as full members of the society, that is, as citizens" (Marshall,
1945, 1964: 69-70). However, what "full members" means depends on the context in
which it is interpreted. National identity or sovereignty is not a high priority in both
Barbalet's and Mashall's conceptualizations of "citizenship." In his later discussion on
social rights and social class, Marshall further states that "Citizenship requires...a direct
sense of community membership based on loyalty to a civilization which is a common possession" (Marshall, 1964: 92). His notion of civilization as a "common possession" is not necessarily equal to "national belonging," which we have presumed to be the
foundation of a modern understanding of citizenship. He sees the "common possession" of civilization as growing with the struggle for rights of the working class. According to
Marshall, a sense of community is cultivated during the process of collective struggles for rights and the sharing of enjoyment of these rights. In other words, a sense of community is gained through participation in a community. Participation, therefore, is key for an individual to be fully accepted by the community and recognized as a member.
6 From a sociological perspective, citizenship is seen as the relationship between the
individual and macro societal structures, the relationship between human beings and
nature, as well as the relationship between social members.5 In Bryan S. Turner's words,
"Citizenship may be defined as that set of 'practices' (juridical, political economic and
cultural) which define a person as a competent member of society." (Turner, 1993: 2) It
is important to emphasize the "practices" of citizenship in order to understand "the
dynamic social construction of citizenship which changes historical consequence of
political struggles"6 (Turner, 1993: 2). Turner argues that it is reasonable to suggest the
existence of "many diverse and different formulations of the citizenship principles in
different social and cultural traditions" (Turner, 1993: 9). So it is possible that "different
historical circumstances give rise to radically different forms of citizenship
participation"7 (Turner, 1993: 9). This idea is shared by Joyce Green in her discussion on
citizenship and Aboriginal people in Canada. She states that citizenship is "the
relationship between members of a state polity and the government of that polity, which
is, in turn, obligated to guarantee fundamental human rights to all within its jurisdiction."
(Green, 2005: 230)
5 Turner, Bryan S. "Contemporary Problems in the Theory of Citizenship" in Turner, Bryan S. ed. Citizenship and Social Theory. London; Newbury Park: SAGE Publications, 1993: 1-18. Turner suggests that "citizenship is concerned with (a) the content of social rights and obligations; (b) with the form and type of such obligations and rights; (c) with the social forces that produce such practices; (d) with the various social arrangements whereby such benefits are distributed to different sectors of a society. The content of citizenship refers to the exact nature of the rights and duties which define citizenship.. .The type of citizenship refers to whether citizenship is passive or active; the form of citizenship participation consequently defines the nature of subject in modern politics." Turner, Bryan S. ed. Citizenship and Social Theory. London; Newbury Park: SAGE Publications, 1993: 5. 7 Turner also suggests that different notions of citizenship are related to the differences in the national cultures and the concepts of citizenship of regions or states. In the Western notion of citizenship, "status" and "membership" are crucial ideas. Turner, 1993: 9-12.
7 Castles and Davidson view citizenship as the empowerment of the individual to fight against the subjection from the environment in which they are born (or "living" as in our times) (Castles & Davidson, 2000: 26). The context will decide what a citizen needs to be endowed with to protect him/her from being subjugated by the environment.
Citizenship, hence, is an assertion of mastery of humankind over the environment to protect the citizen against any subjection to the outside world. That is why citizenship tends to be expansive and inclusive because of the uncertainty of the environment
(Castles & Davidson, 2000: 26-27). This proposal of an expansive and inclusive citizenship reflects Turner's argument of diverse citizenship notions resulting from
"different historical circumstances." Currently, expansion in citizenship rights and entitlements is required by the changing context in many states as well as globally.
Subjections to inequality in social, economic and political conditions force individuals to claim expansion of citizenship. Modern citizenship sets forth challenges on traditional definitions, but the environment and the context will define citizenship accordingly.
2.1.2 Access to citizenship
In modern western liberal democracies, access to citizenship is primarily realized under three principles: ius sanguinis, ius soli, and ius domicile, which mean the law of blood, the law of soil and the law of residence.8 Countries where there is a strong sense of belonging to a nation but a high mobility among its people adopt the law of blood. Ius sanguinis will help these countries to retain the allegiance of its widespread bloodlines.9
8 See Castles and Davidson, 2000: 84-94 9 For example, Germany used to emphasize the law of blood, but now Germany also adopts ius soli, and ius domicile. Especially after a recent reform of Germany citizenship law in 1999, children who were born in Germany in 1990 or later (even from non-German family), entitled to be naturalized as German citizens. In general, dual citizenship is not accepted - the applicant for naturalization must be willing to give up his/her former citizenship.
8 Countries that have a strong sense of territory, such as the UK10, usually apply the law of land. Ius soli usually applies to immigration countries and "is particularly useful for integrating immigrants of diverse national origins into a new nation" (Castles &
Davidson, 2000: 85). However, the complexity of supranational demographical landscape causes most countries to combine both ius sanguinis and ius soli. Gradually, an extension of citizenship entitlement via ius domicile, the law of residence, is implemented to legitimate access to citizenship through residence in the territory of a country.
J.H. Carens promotes the law of residence to be as authoritative as ius sanguinis and ius soli. He argues that residents should be granted rights—including entitlement of citizenship—which may expand with their residence.11 He holds the opinion that rights can be "derived from one's social location" (Carens, 2001: 21), such as the rights enjoyed by, and only by, citizens and residents. Based on the assumption that residents participate in social and economic life in a community as fully as citizens do, residence in a territory should be regarded as important as birth in the same territory. The longer the residence, the more acceptable it is for the resident to be a full member of a community, and hence more rights should be granted to the resident. Carens is concerned with the citizenship rights of immigrants, especially the rights of the children of temporary or permanent, legal and illegal residents in countries such as the U.S.A.12 He strongly argues that a
9 certain length of residence is enough for legal claim of citizenship and the endowed rights of this status. In the case of Canada, ius domicile is a very important justification for citizenship entitlement to immigrants. Naturalization is based largely on the law of residence. A 5-year residence is required in Canada as eligibility for a permanent resident to apply for citizenship. Other countries that practice naturalization have similar
1 3 residence requirement ranging from 3-12 years .
2.1.3 Citizenship rights
However, residence itself cannot justify entitlement to citizenship and its corresponding rights because without actual involvement in the community, citizenship is but a concept without substance. The involvement in local community is a manifestation of the fulfillment of a citizen's obligations, and therefore is recognized as an effective support for the legitimacy of the law of residence. In addition, it is a process in which the community members participate and exercise their rights. Different aspects of participation may constitute different elements of citizenship rights. For example, in
Marshall's triad, civil, political and social rights correspond to individual freedom, claim to citizenship as a matter of right. The nationality laws of every democratic state ought to recognize that right without imposing any more restrictions or requirements on these children than it imposes on the children of those who are already citizens (presumably, none at all). Furthermore, the immigrants themselves (i.e., those who arrive as adults) also acquire a moral claim to citizenship as time passes. After an initial residence of some years, they ought to be admitted to citizenship with at most the satisfaction of a few modest requirements regarding language and knowledge of the country's history and institutions. As more years pass, even these modest requirements should be dropped. At no time should they be required to renounce previous citizenships to acquire a new one." 13 For example, the UK has a 3 years residence requirement for spouses of the UK citizens to apply for naturalization, and 5 years for other naturalization. See
10 political participation and social welfare respectively (Marshall, 1964: 71). Individual
freedom is the right of an individual to have freedom of speech, faith and possession of
private property. Political participation ensures the individual's rights to share political
authority and to be capable of making accountable decisions in the electoral process.
Political rights thus enable a citizen to be active in forming the authority by which s/he
chooses to be governed. Social welfare includes basic personal security in health and
wealth, and in living a "civilized" life according to prevailing social standards. However,
Marshall does not further discuss how the three elements of citizenship rights are
embodied and where they gain their legitimacy to become essential to citizenship rights.
According to Carens, there are three dimensions of rights14. The first is congenital,
"general human rights" required by the survival needs of human beings, such as access to
the conditions of having sufficient food and clothes and a peaceful space to live. Carens
relates it to the notion of "cosmopolitan" which means such rights are universally justified. The second is "rights derived from one's social location." These rights are
limited to residents and citizens in a certain state or region; therefore, they tend to
embody "nationalism." If interpreted in a context of an immigration country, it is close to
localism. The third is "membership-specific human rights" or "rights of membership" which entitle people to more specific rights in relation to language, culture, gender,
custom and religion, etc. Group-specific rights are mainly demanded by minorities in heterogeneous states. Advocacy of such rights is brought by "immigration" and the ethnic diversity created by immigration. In general, being a human being, a social member and a member of a specific group will grant people with different rights.
Accordingly, basic human rights should be given priority and be ultimately ensured.
14 See Carens, 2001 for detailed description.
11 Access to certain conditions, such as economic well-being and political entitlement, rather than the conditions required by fundamental human rights, requires individuals to have corresponding "status" or "social location." Social location should not be limited to being a citizen or resident, but should be extended to include the socio-economic position of an individual. Differences in socio-economic situations will alter an individual's social
location.15 The realization of the former two types of rights usually raises a further claim
of "membership-specific human rights," which can be justified by equality in pursuing
individual ways of life in a liberal framework. Carens's three dimensions of rights are perceived as existing hierarchically in our society and each of them requests different
social, economic and political specificity for its legitimacy.
Focusing on citizenship rights, Barbalet seems more interested in interpreting the political element. In his view, "in the modern democratic state the basis of citizenship is the capacity to participate in the exercise of political power through the electoral process"
(Barbalet, 1988: 2). Barbalet sees influence in decision-making as the very core of citizenship. He bases his notion of citizenship rights on a "status" that is citizenship by itself, while citizenship rights will attach capacity to a person and thus provide the subject with certain opportunities and powers. Furthermore, citizenship rights also set ultimate boundaries to what an individual is allowed to do within a given social order. Violations of the rights that are set as minimum capacities to a social member should be corrected, even with force. Barbalet thus claims:
Citizenship can be characterised as both a status and a set of rights....the political importance of rights derives from the social nature of status. In the most general terms rights are significant because they attach a particular
15 For instance, immigration by investment is typical case of social location change resulted from higher socio-economic status. The applicant changes his/her social location because of his/her mobility provided mainly by his/her actual capital, including properties, human capital, social capital etc.
12 capacity to persons by virtue of a legal or conventional status. That is, persons may have certain capabilities or opportunities for particular actions—certain powers—as a consequence of their status. A person's rights derive from their attachment to a status because in a meaningful sense one's status indicates what one can do, what capacities one has. .. .rights therefore define for those who accept them the essential limits of social order, an ultimate boundary beyond which social existence itself is under threat. This, then, is a second aspect of the political importance of rights which is a consequence of the conventional nature of status.. ..directly associated with the idea that rights provide a minimum of social capacities and entitlements is the notion that the violation of a right is sufficient justification for the use of force in correcting the situation. (Barbalet, 1988: 15-17)
The rights that go with citizenship are the rights derived from a status—being
citizen, both politically and socially. Therefore, to obtain a certain "status" is crucial for a
member of a community to be able to enjoy and exercise the rights to which s/he is
entitled. Because rights have the function of setting boundary of individual capacities,
they tend to be of more importance to those who are without, or without enough, social
and political powers (Barbalet, 1988: 18). This is particularly true when rights are closely
related to access to certain political opportunities and status. It is the claims of equal
access to rights, Marshall believes, that are the claims of being accepted as a full social
member. Rights also set boundaries for the state, so the state has no legitimacy to infringe
upon individual freedom (Barbalet, 1988: 20), and in order to guarantee individual rights,
the state must provide an environment where these rights are carried out free from violation.
2.1.4 Ambiguities of citizenship
When Marshall uses the phrase "claims to conditions," he did not foresee globalization which brought tremendous changes to western liberal democracies. People are now more familiar with terms like "diversity," "multiculturalism," "equality," "social
13 justice," "self-determination," and "minority rights," rather than Marshall's notion of
"civilization as common possession." But Marshall's "claims to conditions" will still
lead to "claims to status" and then "claims to rights." In the era of globalization, social
changes such as migration create the expansion of modern citizenship.16 Castles and
Davidson argued it is very important to note the ambiguities of citizenship that are
reinforced, and sometimes even distorted, by the increasing diversity in no-longer- homogenous nation-states (Castles & Davidson, 2000). To put it more accurately, the
vanishing of traditional nation-state seems inevitable, and notions of citizenship need new
interpretations, especially when naturalization includes non-citizens to citizens.
According to Castles and Davidson, four main ambiguities of citizenship are worth noting. First, citizenship implies not only "inclusion " but also "exclusion." A primary
function of citizenship is to set a dividing line between the "citizen" and "non-citizen".
Such "formal exclusion" from citizenship applies, above all, to immigrants who are denied full political participation (Castles & Davidson, 2000: 10-11). Besides the formal exclusion, there is de facto exclusion in which citizens are denied full political participation because of their race, ethnicity, or being indigenous people (Castles &
Davidson, 2000: 105).
Often these people are entitled to the right to vote and to claim their entitled rights from the state, but are restricted by their socio-economic status. Cultural differences may also prevent them from having effective participation. Their inclusion requires an improved recognition of their differences and the rights they are entitled to.
16 See Barbalet, 1988: 32-37. He suggested that parallel development with capitalism, upper class shared common capitalist interests with the rising industrialists of the period; the rise of the working-class movement, condition of the international order; and modern social change such as war and migration are all determinants of the rise and expansion of modern citizenship.
14 The second ambiguity of citizenship is the relationship between rights and
obligations (Castles & Davidson, 2000: 11). The status of being a citizen is a
combination of both rights and obligations. The advocacy of minority rights is not only to
redress the rights of citizens in certain groups but also to request that they fulfill their
obligations.
The third ambiguity is between citizenship and nationality, "or between the notion
of the citizen as an individual abstracted from cultural characteristics, and that of the
national as a member of a community with common cultural values" (Castles &
Davidson, 2000: 12-14). However, mixed identities of individuals, sometimes being both
nationals and citizens, usually may lead to the assumption that citizens' cultural identity
and political identity are interchangeable—which is not necessarily the case. "An
understanding of societal communities and citizenship that is completely independent of
one's descent has still not been developed in most of the European nation states" (Munch,
2001: 4). Democratic citizenship belongs to the political sphere and should be universal.
Cultural differences, like ethnicity or religion, should not affect the entitlements of
citizenship and therefore should be restricted into "non-public identity."
A fourth ambiguity lies in the concept of naturalization. Naturalization, referring to "the administrative act whereby a foreigner is accepted as a citizen" (Castles &
Davidson, 2000: 14), usually depends on the length of residence in a host country,17 which is an exception from the normal rule of lifelong membership. Naturalization is
For example, in the Swiss naturalization requirements, "integration into the Swiss way of life" is the first of the list, followed by "familiarity with Swiss habits, customs and traditions", "compliance with the Swiss rule of law", and "no danger to Switzerland's internal or external security", in addition to the residence and language requirements,
15 based on ius domicile—the law of residence, and is mainly implemented in traditional
immigration countries such as Canada and Australia. Castles and Davidson emphasize
that citizenship be interpreted as having no claim to cultural identity, but they also point
out that in a world of migration and a country of multi-ethnicity, "citizenship cannot be blind to cultural belonging...The political mechanisms that make people into citizens
must take account both of their equal rights as individuals and their needs, interests and values as members of social and cultural collectivities" (Castles & Davidson, 2000: 24).
Moreover, Castles and Davidson argue that, as important complementary elements,
gender rights and cultural rights should be regarded as essential citizenship rights. It is
important to separate "citizenship" and "citizenship rights" when discussing ethnicity,
gender and other social aspects. Civil and social rights, and part of political rights, are
enjoyed by the non-citizen residents even before they are entitled to be citizens in some
countries. For example, in Canada, permanent residents enjoy nearly the same rights as citizens except that they can neither vote nor run for public offices.19 Citizenship rights are more than political rights, but political rights may remain as the most important part.
2.1.5 Citizenship and integration
Barbalet defines integration as follows:
The degree to which political and social actions conform with established practices and are consistent with the actions of others (rather than in conflict with them) is the extent to which it can be said that there is political and social integration. The individuals and groups implicated in such processes are thereby 'incorporated' or 'integrated' into a unified social system. (Barbalet, 1988:80)
18 See Castles& Davidson, 2000:121-123 on gender rights; 124-127 on cultural rights; 105-9. 19 Castles and Davidson mentioned that not all social members are citizens or to be entitled as citizens: only those who meet the requirements could be accepted by the host society. And those who are not, would be excluded, or represented by others who were. Castles & Davidson, 2000:104.
16 For its function of inclusion, citizenship is supposed to be an important institution
to create social cohesion and integration. Thus universal suffrage becomes the core of the
integrative process as it is the core of political rights (Barbalet, 1988: 82). "Yet
citizenship also assumes inequality between insiders and outsiders" (Green, 2005: 230).
Excluded from the right to vote and run for office, non-citizens tend to hold back in political integration. Therefore, when naturalized citizens finally have the rights to vote or to run for office, they may lack experience or knowledge and fail to participate
effectively. Barbalet also thinks that Marshall's common possession is not ready to integrate "culturally distinct migrant groups," because Marshall's notion "does not
emphasize normative integration but integration based on the satisfaction of material interests" (Barbalet, 1988: 93). W. Kymlicka compares Marshall's argument for working class integration with the case of immigrants, and finds Marshall's idea inspiring but not sufficient (Kymlicka, 2001:179-180).
Naturalization as a means to transform non-citizens to citizens functions as a mainly formally integrative institution in Canada. However, actual integration demands more substantial participation of naturalized citizens. Usually immigrants have distinct cultural and social backgrounds. Therefore, their integration cannot be realized solely by citizenship. Citizenship as an integrative institution may also need corresponding improvement for the inclusion of ethnic and cultural minorities. There is a request to reinforce the integrative function of citizenship by expanding citizenship rights and promoting inclusive politics. For instance, the distinctions between citizens and non- citizens fall short in explaining inequality among citizens—between majority and minority groups. The de facto exclusion of certain minority groups goes against
17 democratic citizenship rights and obligations that aim at including each social member
into decision-making. Therefore, discussions of minorities, nations and ethnic groups will
help clarify the unbalanced power relation among citizens and the different claims of
being "included."
2.2 Minorities, Nations and Ethnic groups
2.2.1 Minority and minorities
Minorities cannot exist without a corresponding "majority." The distinction of the
dichotomy of "minority" and "majority" in a state is often related to power relations and
differences. Minorities are sometimes defined by numerical differences; however, the
identification of minority groups should not be limited to numbers. Instead, in relation to
majority groups, minorities in the discussion of this thesis refer to groups that are
disadvantaged in power distribution due to their differences in national belonging or
social characteristics such as language, race or religion. Political differences also create
minorities. Even in a nation-state that is completely homogeneous, views on social affairs
or political decisions are not always unanimous among all members of society. Minority
groups may have different approaches to the interpretations of political relations. For instance,
Minority members may have different ideas on the relationships between representatives and electors, compared with majority groups. Participation in political parties may not be seen in terms of the beliefs of individual citizens, but rather as a community activity, based on social networks within a group. (Castles & Davidson, 2000:152)
In contrast with the "majority," minorities in politics will always face the danger of being subjugated to the majority rule. If minorities want to co-exist or even compete with
18 the majority, they have to form "communities." Otherwise, they might be assimilated into
the majority willingly or unwillingly. In terms of opportunities for political participation,
most democratic states value equality among members of the society, no matter which
group they belong to—majority or minority. But inequalities resulting from size of
population will usually cause disadvantages to minorities' access to economic and
political resources. Moreover, "the formal possession of political rights does not
guarantee genuine political participation for members of minorities that have a marginal
economic and social situation. Minority status in a liberal, quantitative sense may also
exclude certain groups from effective political participation."(Castles & Davidson,
2000:108). Even worse, if minorities have less power and influence in political decisions,
the exercise of their political rights may be ineffective.
The state in the liberal conception is supposed to be neutral, and political decisions
should be in the hands of the state members. However, "the state is not, and cannot be,
neutral concerning conceptions of the good and ways of life... [and the state] is complicit
in the reproduction of particular cultures and groups in society" (Moore, 2001:177-178).
Generally, the state will privilege certain groups (usually the majority) and marginalize
others (usually the minority or minorities). So minorities are also formed by historical
and institutional preferences of the state toward certain groups. The un-preferred peoples
and cultures will be marginalized as the "minority". Thus minorities suffer from double disadvantages in power distribution and state's preference, which will reinforce their inability in decision making as long as majority rule is applied.
The nation-state, in Moore's opinion, has a tendency to create differences and to racialize minorities (or "ethnicize" in context of multiethnic societies). Along with the
19 dichotomy of minority and majority, we have notions of "Us" and "Other," the
"mainstream" and the "marginalized," the "included" and the "excluded," the "dominant"
and the "subordinate" and so on.
The state creates, what Moore calls, "legitimately" different others who are
institutionally made powerless (Moore, 2001:185). Historically, institutionally
disadvantaged groups, or "minorities," include women, indigenous peoples (as in Canada
and Australia), ethnic groups (especially in immigration countries) and some religious
sects, etc. In countries that have a long history of immigration, such as the United States
and Canada,
...immigrants and indigenous peoples have become ethnic minorities who are partially excluded from mainstream society. This is not a phenomenon that will be overcome simply by the passage of time: many descendents of immigrants remain marginalized over generations, while indigenous peoples are still outsiders after centuries. (Castles & Davidson, 2000: 83)
Nowadays, minorities are more eager to "seek the right to recognition of their identity in the public sphere" besides universal citizenship, and even demand
"institutional recognition of their distinct identities" (Moore, 2001:184). Their awareness of the liberal state is lack of neutrality between cultures and group identities leads to their requirement for equal recognition. Cultural and political differences of indigenous peoples and immigrants become a vital part of their political claims for recognition. In this thesis, minorities are generally interchangeable with politically "disadvantaged" groups of people; they may be groups of a certain race, ethnicity, gender, or religious beliefs. They are not necessarily "against" the dominant groups, but they are at least different and not as powerful as majority groups.
20 2.2.2 Nation
For a very long time, "citizen" and "national" were interchangeable in many western states. This only changed recently when people began to distinguish "nation" from "state" intentionally.20 State is a political community which is limited to political sphere; however, nation is mainly regarded as a cultural embodiment with some element of being a political body. A state is fully loaded with sovereignty, while nations do not directly relate to sovereignty (rather than rights to live in and govern the nation's historical territory of residence) in political terms. Or we can say that nation has politically overlapped with the state in part, but in no way can its political mechanisms.
For instance, a nation may live cross-border when the state's official borders cut across the nation's historical territory.21
Nation is more related to history, culture, territory and common values. It is necessary for people to "form" a nation, which means a nation has time and space limitations. It can be formed only within a certain space (territory) and over the course of historical experience (historical assets). The consciousness of belonging to a nation is related to recognition of "a cultural community based on common descent, language and historical experience" (Castles & Davidson, 2000:81).22 Sometimes, a nation can be artificially formed—even be created by agreement—with or without the consciousness of
20
21 its individuals. It can be built on mutual recognition, usually voluntary identification, of
members in a cultural community based on the commonalities in their perceptions of
ways of life or daily behaviour. Common ancestry usually is a typical characteristic of
most nations due to their long residence in a certain territory, but it is not a necessity for a
nation to come into being.
2.2.3 Ethnic group
Ethnic group is a more restrictive categorization than nation. Not only limited to
shared history, race, culture and language, ethnicity is also closely related to ancestry and
descent. With regard to immigrants who are uprooted from their historical residence,
common origin can be important in their identification to ethnic belonging. Therefore, a
nation can be a single ethnic group, or formed by several ethnic groups, depending on the
territory where it resides. Similar to nation, ethnic groups are seen more through a
cultural perspective. In current discussions in Canada and the United States, ethnic
groups are generally understood as people who are not rooted locally and are dispersed in
a state, but who, to some extent, have kept their original culture and share historical experience. They are distanced from their historical roots, and often viewed as foreign cultural conductors. In this sense, despite being the dominant groups in Canada, the people of Anglo-Saxon and French ancestry are also ethnic groups who have a longer residence history than other later immigrants.
The term "ethnic group," in itself, has no political implications. However, in contrast to ethnic majorities who are traditionally or comparatively powerful and wealthy,
23 According to a definition from the Statistics Canada in their 2006 census, "ethnic origin refers to the ethnic or cultural origins of the respondent's ancestors. An ancestor is someone from whom a person is descended and is usually more distant than a grandparent. "
22 such as the Anglo-Saxon and French descendents in Canada, ethnic minorities are more
exposed to dangers of being marginalized in a receiving society due to their "otherness."
"Cultural difference and social marginalization are often closely linked, creating ethnic
minorities with disadvantaged and relatively isolated positions in society" (Castles &
Davidson, 2000: 8). Thus, the term "ethnic group" is sometimes used to refer only to
ethnic minorities. In the Canadian context, British and French ethnic groups are rarely referred to as "ethnic," because their dominance in population and longer history of residence made their ethnicity "normative" as "national." Whereas, ethnic groups from
Africa, Asia and Latin America, due to their "visibility" in a white society and short history of establishment, become the true "ethnic groups" in Canada.24
A less acceptable way of understanding ethnic groups is to identify the "ethnic" as the "other," due to their skin colour, culture, language or even origin in an underdeveloped country, which we call "racial discrimination."25 The UN International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination defines "racial discrimination" as "any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life."26
24 In other Chapters of this thesis, "ethnic groups" are generally used as the same to "ethnic minority groups" unless otherwise defined. 25 For example, a very common view in immigration countries such as Canada is that: immigrants from underdeveloped areas will steal jobs from hands of the local-born Canadians by asking lower salary. "They" get the jobs not because they are "capable" or "qualified", but because their origin country is so poor that they have lowered down "our" standard. Here an underdeveloped origin country becomes a label of ethnic negative definition. See Chapter Four of this thesis on social capital for ethnic negative definition due to the competency in labour market. 26
23 The "other" is created intentionally. Majority ethnic groups will then define the
"national" on behalf of "the whole," taking over the place of minority ethnic groups.
Especially when a nation is still searching for its national identity, the tendency will be to
apply the majority ethnic groups' culture and values as equivalent to that of the
"national".
It is the minority groups who are referred to as "ethnic". Majorities tend to see their own values, traditions and mores as "normal" or as "the national culture", rather than as an expression of a particular ethnic belonging... The markers constructed by dominant groups to differentiate minorities include "phenotypical characteristics", that is, skin colour and other physical features thought to denote "race". A second set of markers comprises culture, represented by dress, language, religion and customs. A third type of marker is national origin, which is often taken as a predictor of social characteristics; origin in an underdeveloped country is a major factor of exclusion. (Castles & Davidson, 2000: 62-63)
Thus, markers such as skin colour, language, and culture or origin country are
important for negative "other-definition"27 of a minority ethnic group. It is not
acceptable, even on rare occasions, to support the idea that the disadvantaged situation of
ethnic minorities is simply caused by their "ethnicity." In fact, the disadvantages of
ethnic minorities are often constituted within a social context that prefers and empowers
certain ethnicities over others. Through stereotyping ethnic minorities negatively,
"differences in the social, economic or political position of a group are attributed to its
(constructed) racial or ethnic characteristics rather than to historical power relationships"
(Castles & Davidson, 2000: 63).28
For more discussion on group identification, self-definition and other-definition, see section 4.3.2 of this thesis. 28 Castles and Davidson's criteria to distinguish ethnic minorities are helpful: Castles& Davidson, 2000: 61-64 "Ethnic minorities in western nation-states may thus be seen as groups that: 1. have been marginalized by dominant groups on the basis of socially constructed markers of phenotype (that is, physical appearance or 'race'), origins or culture;
24 The early formation of ethnic groups in Canada was shadowed by racism and harsh
discrimination against certain racial groups, including Asian immigrants. In a macro
environment of racial discrimination, exclusion of certain ethnic groups is mainly decided
by the power relations between ethnic majorities and ethnic minorities and how the two
come to define each other. The collective consciousness of an ethnic minority group is
related to its self-definition and the other-definition of this group from the larger society.
However, sometimes the host society imposes negative other-definition by force upon
ethnic minorities, so that the minorities' positive self-definition was undermined or
overshadowed intentionally. Recognizing ethnic minority groups' self-definition, as well
as their social relation with ethnic majorities will help us to analyse ethnic minorities in
multiethnic state.
2.2.4 Distinguishing nation from ethnic group
The distinction between nation and ethnic group can be approached through a
traditional continental European view and an Anglo-American view. Traditional
European views on the difference between nation and ethnic group are based on the
distinction between "the Staatsnation" and "the Kulturnation" (Wimmer, 2002;
McRoberts, 1995).29 A cultural nation (ethnic nation) is similar to what we call "ethnic group." It is closely related to cultural ascriptions. A state nation, in contrast, is built
2. have some degree of collective consciousness (or feeling of being a community) based on a belief in shared language, traditions, religion, history and experiences. Whether a specific group is an ethnic minority has therefore to be assessed according to two sets of factors: 1. indicators of exclusion from equal participation in the economic, social, cultural and political subsystems of society; 2. indicators of collective consciousness, such as language use, cultural practice, associations and political mobilization." 29 "The Kulturnation"—cultural nation, also known as the ethnic nation. "The Staatsnation" -state nation, also known as the civic nation. See Wimmer, Andreas. Nationalist exclusion and ethnic conflict. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002, and McRoberts, Kenneth. Ed Beyond Quebec: taking stock of Canada. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1995.
25 upon the identification of social members to a political status such as holding the same
citizenship. In Anglo-American interpretation, the distinction between nation and ethnic
group is mainly based on sovereignty: "an ethnic group that controls a bounded territory
becomes a nation and establishes a nation-state" (Castles & Davidson, 2000: 13). In
addition to common territory and history, a nation has a common economy, common
legal rights and duties that are shared by all members.
Members of both the ethnic nation and the civic nation tend to have certain strong
affiliations to their group identity, and respectively there is "ethnic nationalism" as well
as "civic nationalism." P. Resnick defines them as follows:
"[C]ivic nationalism" usually refers to a form of national identity based on shared citizenship within a state irrespective of the ancestry, race, ethnic origin, or religion of its inhabitants. ... "Ethnic nationalism", by contrast, refers to certain shared ascriptive affinities that members of a particular national grouping are said to have. These may be rooted in common ancestry, religion, language, cultural values, and the like. A key distinction between ethnic and civic nationalism is the primordial character of the former. (Resnick, 2001: 282-283)
A political overlapping of a nation and a state is what is absent from a purely ethnic
group. Ethnic groups may or may not have a bounded territory of residence. Ethnic
groups are rarely viewed as independent political agents or actors;31 however, nations
usually do have certain performance similar to states but are not fully identified with the
states' function as political machines. As we mentioned, nation refers to "people(s)" in a
state. A single ethnic group can form a nation and build up a state (even rarer nowadays),
".. .an ethnic group that controls a bounded territory becomes a nation and establishes a nation-state. Factors of shared history and culture are then complemented by a common economy and legal system. Anthony Smith sums this up as follows: A nation can therefore be defined as a named human population sharing an historic territory, common myths and historical memories, a mass, public culture, a common economy and common legal rights and duties for all members. (Smith, 1991, p. 14)" See Castles & Davidson, 2000: 13. 31 Usually because ethnic minorities are so dispersed and so disadvantaged in social and political spheres of the larger society that they cannot effectively act as a functional organized community as nation.
26 but in most cases ethnic groups form nations and nations build up states, not vice versa. It is recognized that there are both national minorities and ethnic minorities in a state like
Canada,32 and they need to be differentiated when we discuss minority rights because of their different entitlements in political assertiveness.
2.3 Political Participation and Representation in Western Liberal
Democracies
According to C.B. Macpherson, the essentials of liberal democracy usually fall under these stipulations: "an ideal of equal individual rights to self-development, equality before the law, basic civil liberties, and popular sovereignty with an equal political voice for all citizens" (Macpherson, 1977: 9). In his discussions of models of democracy,
Macpherson argues that the problem lies not on a question of whether there is an ideal democracy but on how to reach democracy. There appeared four models of democracy: protective democracy, development democracy, equilibrium democracy, and participatory democracy. Among these models, participatory democracy is viewed as the closest to popular sovereignty. The idea of "substantial citizen participation in government decision-making" is widely spread when a participatory democracy model was promoted in the 1960s-70s (Macpherson, 1977: 93). In a simple form of participatory democracy, there is a pyramidal structure of direct democracy at the bottom and delegate
(representative) democracy at every level above it, together with a system of competitive
32 See Kymlicka, Will. Multicultural Citizenship: a Liberal Theory of Minority Rights. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. Or Section 1.4 of this thesis for more details. 33 See Macpherson, The Life and Times of Liberal Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.
27 political parties (Brown, 1945; Macpherson, 1977; Breton et al., 2003). To realize participatory democracy, citizens should make elected politicians responsible, and should
develop their consciousness to see themselves and act as "exerters and enjoyers of the
exertion and development of their own capacities" (Macpherson, 1977: 97). The self-
image of "exerter" brings citizens a sense of community (Macpherson, 1977: 99). It is
the concern of citizens' sense of community that keeps them thinking about political participation and representation.
2.3.1 Political participation
Participation by citizens, according to Barbalet, "entails legal membership of a political community based on universal suffrage and therefore also membership of a civil community based on the rule of law" (Barbalet, 1988: 2). In other words, participation in civil society is an expression of citizenship. In general, political participation covers a variety of the political activities of citizens, including exercising their rights such as voting, running for a public office, joining political parties or protesting and demonstrating. Either conventional or unconventional, even illegal, political activities are engagement of citizens into the power of the state. Participation in elections is one of the most fundamental and primary engagement of citizens into the power relations of the state.
Direct democracy and indirect (representative/delegate) democracy are the two primary democratic forms. In a representative democracy, the citizens will accept the decisions made by elected representatives. "The capacities exercised in the right to vote, however, or to strike, provide opportunities which are closer to the shaping of material conditions, and in the absence of such rights material conditions would be less likely to
28 change in a direction favourable to those without social power" (Barbalet, 1988: 17). It is
important for citizens who belong to social minorities to participate actively in a
democracy to reduce the impact of unfavourable economic or social situations. It is also
essential for minorities to have meaningful representation. The case study in later
chapters focuses on analysing how Chinese Canadians, as party candidates, electorates, or
as a group, play their roles in the federal elections and engage themselves in the
formation of delegate democracy.
2.3.2 Representation
The concept of representation, in the times of Hobbes and Rousseau34, was more
focused on how to formulate the representative body and how to justify the decisions
made by these representatives. The social contract view maintains that the state is an
"establishment of a representative—a sovereign who will make the multitude into a
single body by ruling it and representing its authority" (Pitkin, 1969:7-8). In this view, a
representative has been given the authority to act on behalf of another individual, and
thus whatever the representative does is considered an act of the represented. However, in
Rousseau's view, representation in any form is tyranny, because the possibility that the representative always has the same will as the represented is slim. The decisions made by representatives cannot perfectly reflect the will of the represented. Either of the above
views, as Pitkin points out, fails to deal with the role of the representative—what is s/he
supposed to be and how s/he is to act during representation? Some would say the
substitute of other is based on resemblance of the representative and the represented;
34 Hobbs, Thomas. Leviathan. 1651.
29 therefore, a representative legislature should accurately correspond to the larger
population for which it stands. Individual representative must contain resemblance to the
represented.
.. .to be representative, a legislature must be an accurate map of the whole nation, a portrait of the people, a faithful echo of their voice, a mirror which reflects accurately the various parts of the public. What qualifies a man to represent is his representativeness—not what he does, but what he is, or is like. (Pitkin, 1969:10-11)
This understanding sometimes leads to the idea of "mirror-image"35 representation
where women cannot be represented by men because men are not women—no matter what he does, he is not a woman so he lacks "representativeness". Thus, in a representative legislature, because the state's population consists of half men and half women, 50% of the seats should be guaranteed to women so that there is an accurate map of the whole.
Another concept of representation is to treat representation as a symbol:
.. .when the idea of symbolic representation is applied to politics, it tends to focus attention on those activities of political leaders which create charisma, enhance belief, stimulate irrational and affective reactions in people. ...in politics this usually means working on the minds of the represented. (Pitkin, 1969:12-13)
It is not necessary for a symbol to resemble the symbolized, so the question of what representation should be is put aside. Whatever representation is supposed to be, the role of the representative remains crucial for justification of representation. In the "mandate- independence" controversy (Pitkin, 1969: 17-21), the duties of the representative come
"Mirror-image representation" emphasizes the phenotypic resemblance between the representative and the represented, such as physical appearance, cultural affiliation and even country of origin. It is divorced from political ideology of the representative. Its theoretical support is "one of their own can represent them". Pitkin (1969:10) describes mirror-image representation as based on "What qualifies a man to represent is his representativeness—not what he does, but what he is, or is like." However, mirror-image representation is questionable for its theoretical justification and application in practice. It needs to be modified into non-territorial forms of representation that separates physical resemblance from "representation".
30 into question. The "mandate" view argues that the representative should follow what his/her constituents want, thus ensuring there is meaningful representation. The
"independence" view argues that meaningful representation only exists when the representative judges by his/her knowledge and acts on his/her own will. Both views are important for the accountability of representation. However, in practice, representation
should always be put into specific context to be interpreted properly.
2.3.3 Proportional representation and differentiated representation
In Canada, elections follow a "first past the post" system in which a candidate with the most votes wins. Having an absolute majority of votes is not necessary. Such a system might elect a representative who is not supported by most voters in his/her constituency and may cause most votes to be unrepresented.
In order to get close to the ideal of representation, proposals of proportional representation36 and differentiated representation37 have been introduced. Proportional representation aims at counting each vote to make sure that the proportion of the seats in the legislature of a party is in accord to the proportion of the votes that the party receives, so that each vote is represented.
Conversely, differentiated representation intends to include minorities, for instance, to reserve a certain number of seats in the legislature for minority groups so that their
36 Proportional representation is for parties and the interest groups they represent, and differentiated representation is for ethnic minorities or national minorities. See Barber, Kathleen L. A right to representation: proportional election systems for the twenty-first century. Columbus : Ohio State University Press, 2001. And Loenen, Nick. Citizenship and democracy: a case for proportional representation. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1997. 37 On "differentiated representation", see Schouls, Tim. "Aboriginal Peoples and Electoral Reform in Canada: Differentiated Representation versus Voter Equality". Canadian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Dec. 1996): 729-749.
31 voices will not be overridden in mass elections. Both proposals are attempts for a more accurate representation and meaningful political participation.
As discussed above, minorities usually face more difficulties in exercising their rights practically. Either "formal denial" to rights or "formal possession but actual inability to enjoy the rights" makes minorities absent from the centre of powers.38
"Formal denial" of political rights applies to people who are non-citizens such as immigrants . In Canada, permanent residents (including immigrants and refugees) have no right to vote or to run for public office, but they are also governed by the government and are required to fulfill duties as taxpayers. There are also many ethnic minorities who
"have formal political rights but lack real opportunity of participation in established political structures. Their voice is largely absent in parties and parliament" (Castles &
Davidson, 2000: 109). That is why ethnic minorities tend to be socially excluded, and
"social exclusion often means a situation of political powerlessness" (Castles &
Davidson, 2000: 109). Differentiated representation is specifically designed to reduce the practical exclusion of minorities.
2.4 Minority Rights and Multicultural Citizenship in Canada
In Will Kymicka's analysis, the debate on minority rights has had three stages.
Firstly, the discussion exists only within Communitarianism, which finds minority rights necessary and essential for protecting and affirming communities. Secondly, it finds its access into a liberal framework in which "Liberal culturalist position" focuses on the
"compelling interests related to culture and identity that are fully consistent with liberal
See Castles& Davidson, 2000: 109, for their argument of denial of rights. In this thesis, also refer to Chapter Two, section 2.1.3 on citizenship rights, Carens' argument.
32 principles of freedom and equality, and that justify granting special rights to minorities"
(Kymlicka, 2001: 161-162). Thirdly, the debate reaches a stage that treats minority rights
as a response to nation-building. Our discussion regarding minority rights and multicultural citizenship in Canada will be related to "nation-building".
Canada, Kymlicka emphasizes, is both a multinational and a multiethnic country.
The official policy of multiculturalism provides Canada with opportunities to serve and
accommodate differences in culture, in language and in ethnic belonging as well.
However, "[MJulticulturalism certainly makes the task of promoting a purely civic
Canadian identity more difficult" (Resnick, 2001: 289). Citizenship in a multicultural
context is demanded to promote social integration while being inclusive of cultural differences. Citizens should be given the rights to maintain what they want to keep as part of their ethnic identity and express the ethnic particularity in their private life. Resnick
suggests that multinational federations need to find ways "to acknowledge multiple national identities within ongoing state structures, retaining those things that need to be kept together—external relations, defence, economic ties, citizenship—even while accepting deep diversity in others" (Resnick, 2001: 293). This deep diversity, as proposed by Charles Taylor, is unavoidable in Canada. British or French moulds of ideology are ethnic (therefore not "national" for Canada) and only part of what Canada is: they are not able to be universal for immigrants. "Accommodating differences," argues Taylor, "is what Canada is all about" (Taylor, 1991: 57-75). There is a "first diversity" which is solved by "the same idea of what it is [to] belong to Canada. Their patriotism or manner of belonging is uniform", but this is "far from accommodating all Canadians" (Taylor,
1991:75). Taylor argues:
33 First, deep diversity is the only formula on which a united federal Canada can be built, once we recall the reasons why we all need Canada.. .second, in many parts of the world today, the degree and nature of the differences resemble Canada's...If a uniform model of citizenship fits better the classical image of the western liberal state, it is also true that this is a straightjacket for many political societies. The world needs other modes to be legitimated, in order to allow for more humane and less constraining modes of political cohabitation. Instead of pushing ourselves to the point of break up in the name of uniform model, we would do our own and some other peoples a favour by exploring the space of deep diversity. (Taylor, 1991:76)
A uniform citizenship should be modified to accommodate deep diversity in
Canada. Citizenship should be expansive and inclusive according to its context and the
environment in which people who are to receive citizenship live. Otherwise, citizenship
could not serve its function as a tool of inclusion. In Parsons' "demand and supply"
theory, a state is supposed to satisfy citizens' demands of inclusion: "The receiving
community... must 'supply' a pattern of citizenship rights which can be exercised by
those seeking membership in the host community" (Parsons, 1965:263). Justified by this
argument, Canadian society has the obligation to supply the naturalized citizens with
cultural rights as well as correct representation of their demand. As multiculturalism is
recognized in the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, 1985 and the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms guarantees a bi-lingual official languages policy,40 a multicultural
citizenship in Canada, as proposed by Kymlicka, should include both universal rights—
those derived from citizen status regardless of group membership, and certain group-
differentiated rights for minority cultures (Kymlicka, 1995: 45-46, 114, 124, 131, 173-
175).
The Canadian Multiculturalism Act, 1985:
34 2.4.1 Distinguishing national minorities and ethnic minorities in the Canadian
context
Cultural diversity arises from two sources. One is "the incorporation of previously
self-governing, territorially concentrated cultures into a larger state" (Kymlicka,
1995:10). It is labelled by Kymlicka as cultural diversity brought by "national minorities." National minorities intentionally wish to "maintain themselves as distinct
societies alongside the majority culture" and demand various forms of autonomy.
Diversity also arises from immigration, which brings loose associations—the "ethnic
groups."41 Kymlicka sees ethnic groups as demanding inclusion and integration into the larger society and seeking recognition of ethnic identity to a certain degree. Their demand is to have the host society be more accommodating to their cultural differences. In contrast to national minorities, ethnic groups of immigrants do not occupy homelands nor are they institutionally complete. They participate in the public institutions of the dominant culture/s and even speak dominant language/s. Their particularity is mainly expressed in their family life and private sectors (Kymlicka, 1995:13).
Distinguishing national and ethnic minorities is helpful in identifying claims for rights from different groups. National minorities tend to have self-government claims that
"typically take the form of devolving political power to a political unit substantially controlled by the members of the national minority, and substantially corresponding to their historical homeland or territory" (Kymlicka, 1995: 30). However, polyethnic rights aim at diminishing discrimination and prejudice, particularly against visible minorities.
Another claim, which Kymlicka calls "special representation rights," is to guarantee seats
41 Kymlicka has identified "ethnic groups" as "ethnic minorities", and as mainly consist of immigrants.
35 for ethnic or national groups within the central institutions of the larger state. Special representation rights are demanded by both national and ethnic minorities, as a precondition for them to be included in Canadian national decision making.
2.4.2 Internal restrictions and external protection
As Kymlicka discusses minority rights, he bears in mind that it is necessary to treat
individual rights differently from group rights.42 It is essential for a liberal society to be
aware that minorities are often disadvantaged. Because of these disadvantages, minorities tend to act more as collective communities rather than as individuals. So, it is important to differentiate "internal restrictions" from "external protection" when treating minority rights claims. Kymlicka argues as follows:
...internal restrictions involve intra-group relations—the ethnic or national group may seek the use of state power to restrict the liberty of its own members in the name of group solidarity. This raises the danger of individual oppression...Granting special representation rights, land claim or language rights to a minority need not, and often does not, put it in a position to dominate other groups. On the contrary, ...such rights can be seen as putting the various groups on a more equal footing, by reducing the extent to which the smaller group is vulnerable to the larger....External protections... can only arise in multinational or polyethnic states...some ethnic or national groups seek external protections against the larger society without seeking to impose legally enforceable internal restrictions on their own members. (Kymlicka, 1995: 36)
The state needs to be sensitive to possible infringement upon minority rights claims. External protection should only exercise its infringement power when the internal restriction will worsen the disadvantaged situation of individual minority members. As we mentioned, citizenship does set both boundaries for individual performance and
Kymlicka, 1995: 7. "Collective rights could refer to the rights of a group to limit the liberty of its own individual members in the name of group solidarity or cultural purity ('internal restrictions'); or it could refer to the right of a group to limit economic or political power exercised by the larger society over the group, to ensure that the resources and institutions on which the minority depends are nor vulnerable to majority decisions ('external protections')."
36 limitations for the state to keep its power of infringement away from the violations of
citizenship rights. Kymlicka clearly declares that internal restrictions upon individuals of
a certain group should be limited, but external protections for a national or ethnic
minority should have its legitimacy on the condition that its claims are reasonable and
acceptable.43 To ensure national and ethnic minorities have external protections against the restrictions from the larger society will balance power relations between the majority
and minorities, as well as to promote political equality among citizens.
2.4.3 Multicultural citizenship
Multicultural citizenship requires that citizenship be able to accommodate differences. Access to citizenship should hinge on any particular social characteristics,
such as ethnicity, gender, race, etc. Similarly, citizenship should be regarded within the political sphere, as a means to grant people certain rights.
However, citizenship rights go beyond political rights. In Canada, it is important to separate expansion of the numbers of citizens and the expansion of citizenship rights. As
Barbalet discusses, expansion of the numbers of citizens does not necessarily change the structure of citizenship (Barbalet, 1985: 99). Whereas, "the creation of new types of citizenship rights frequently inducts previously excluded sections of the population into a national community" (Barbalet 1985: 99). Expansion in citizenship rights therefore becomes crucial for nation-building, because it enlarges the inclusiveness of citizenship.
In Canada, we need to differentiate the action of granting citizenship from that of enjoying citizenship rights. Permanent residents in Canada enjoy most civil and social
"reasonable and acceptable": Claims are judged by whether they are to improve or worsen the situations of the individuals in the minority group.
37 rights and many political rights except the right to vote and to run for a public office.
In this case, a permanent resident's rights overlap with those of a citizen, but still s/he does not enjoy full citizenship rights. The reserved part of political rights is the most essential change after access to citizenship via naturalization. This very essential part of political rights is also the very part that functions as exclusion—exclusion of non-citizens from political decision-making.
Multicultural citizenship is supposed to be more inclusive of minorities in the areas of political participation and representation. When naturalization finally includes non- citizens (especially people from ethnic minority groups), it includes them in "political decisions". If citizenship in Canada is a way to cultivate nationals, then it should proceed in ways "that are sensitive to the disadvantages some groups suffer as a result of the construction of the public sphere" (Moore, 2001: 190). The change of their political status, from yesterday's Chinese citizen to today's Canadian citizen, does not mean a change of their ethnicity. They are still Chinese, and should have the right to maintain their private activities. A change in citizenship will not change ethnic belonging.
Therefore, claims to maintain their cultural conduct are reasonable and supported in liberal theory. Multicultural citizenship rights ensure private cultural preference. Moore argues:
We have to recognize that demands on the part of identity groups to ensure that their history and cultural practices are included in the larger society are primarily claims to be treated fairly, to be included in democratic debate and decision-making, to ensure that their history is included in the larger society. These demands for fairness, for justice, will help to strengthen citizenship by making the state more inclusive. (Moore, 2001: 190)
44 The Canada Election Act does not allow any person who is not a citizen to vote in any political elections, no matter it is at federal, provincial or local level. See Canada Election Act,
38 Multicultural citizenship does not weaken the political community, but rather
strengthens citizenship as an inclusive integrative force to accommodate differences
based on a universal political status as citizen.
2.4.4 Political participation and representation of minorities in Canada
Multicultural citizenship lays out more challenges for the political participation and
representation of minorities in Canada. As we see in Kymlicka's argument, among the
three minority rights claims—special group representation rights, self-government rights
and polyethnic rights—the first claim is to demand guaranteed representation for
minorities in the central government.
Special group representation rights within the political institutions of the larger society make it less likely that a national or ethnic minority will be ignored on decisions that are made on a country-wide basis. (Kymlicka, 1995: 37)
In Canada, as in other liberal states, women, national minorities, ethnic minorities,
the poverty-stricken, and the less-educated etc. are historically disadvantaged in political
activities. These groups of people have been underrepresented in the legislative
institution.45 What Kymlicka called "special group representation" is a complementary
institution to the existing electoral and representation system.
There are possible reforms to the electoral system, which might improve the
current situation to some degree. For instance, the Maori model in Australia is to have a
separate candidate (Maori) list for Maori voters only ( Kymlicka, 1995: 148-149). The
Maori model formally ensures that the representative belongs to the Maori. Nonetheless,
it is questionable if we held the opinion that to elect "one of their own" is equal to
electing one who can represent them. Another model suggests guaranteed seats in the
45 See Mishler and Clarke, 1995. "Political Participation in Canada".
39 legislative branch for minorities. The argument for this model is that "a group which falls
far short of its proportional electoral representation is therefore 'under-represented,'
particularly if the group has been subject to historical discrimination or disadvantage"
(Kymlicka, 1995: 149-150). Guaranteed seats in the legislature improve the
representation of minorities.
However, as Kymlicka suggests, the difficulty lies in deciding which group is to be
guaranteed seats and how many seats a group should have. To answer the first question
requires to assess whether a group is subjected to disadvantages in political process,
which returns to the discussion on differentiating majority and minority, national
minority and ethnic minorities. The answer to how many seats should be allotted to each
underrepresented group splits into two directions: one sees that representation of
minorities should also be in proportion to their number of population; the other sees that
there should be "a threshold number of representatives" to ensure effective and
meaningful representation (Kymlicka, 1995: 146). The problem arising from the proportional view is that since the minorities have smaller population, some groups are
functionally powerless in polling. The problem of the threshold-seats suggestion will be the possibility of over-representation of minorities regarding their proportion to the
overall population. To make sure a minority group is meaningfully represented in decision making usually requires a larger number of seats to exaggerate the group's veto power.
40 2.5 Summary
Citizenship entitles individuals to exercise their citizenship rights, to participate in
civil, social and political activities, and to share the power and obligations in decision
making, both directly and indirectly. Through multicultural citizenship and encouraging
participation, the possibility to have minorities included should be increased. Also, the
awareness of being a political exerter highlights the responsibilities of citizens to select
trustworthy representatives. It would be preferable if there is surrogate46 —non-
territorial—representation to complement the disproportionate representation of different
groups.
In Canada, ethnic minority groups have their special historical relations with other
groups: the Aboriginals, early settlers of the Anglo-Saxons and the French, and other
ethnic minority groups. Immigration history witnessed the development of new
conceptions and understanding of residence and citizenship in Canada. Naturalization
enables the transition of people's political status, but the cultural identity and ethnicity of
many distinct ethnic groups remain essential for Canadians. The combination of citizen
status (political exerter) and ethnic status (cultural exerter) makes the participation of
ethnic minority groups different from that of the dominant groups and the Aboriginal
groups. A case study based on the political participation of a typical ethnic group will be provided in the following chapters to help illustrate how a specific ethnic group is
interrelated with the macro environment and interacts with other groups. Chinese
Canadians, as a visible minority Asian immigrant group and a part of Canadian multiethnic situation, are typical in representing a variety of ethnic minority groups in
46 See Anderson and Goodyear-Grant, 2005: 1032-1033. They have quoted from Mansbridge of his four models of representation: promissory, anticipatory, gyroscopic, and non-territorial representation.
41 Canada, politically and culturally. Their long history of settlement is filled with interactions, even conflicts, with the majority ethnic groups and struggles for equality in acquiring basic fulfillment of social, economic and political needs of immigrants. Their recent participation in the Canadian electoral process is a plausible example of newly emerged multicultural citizenship and a more diversified inclusive Canadian politics.
42 CHAPTER THREE: CHINESE CANADIANS AND DEMOCRATIC CANADA:
THE CHINESE COMMUNITY
Mirror-image representation assumes that representation is to reflect the represented
exactly, in terms of population proportion. However, representation is not mechanically
nor mathematically conveyed in modern democracies, especially in highly diversified
environments like Canada. Chinese Canadians have a long history of settlement in
Canada and have had a rapid increase in their size of population in the past two decades.
According to the 2006 Canadian census, the population of Chinese Canadians has
reached 1,216,570, nearly 3.9% of the total population of Canada. 47 The Chinese
community has become one of the largest visible ethnic minority groups in Canada. Their
representation and political participation is an important indicator of the situation of
ethnic minorities in Canadian politics.
With a long history of immigration, the first waves of Chinese labourers moved to
Canada in search of the Canadian Gam Saan—the Gold Mountain—during the 1850s and
1860s. "The 1874 census counted 3,000 Chinese in Canada. It is estimated that during the
height of construction [the Canadian Pacific Railway-CPR], from 1881-1884, more than
17,000 Chinese, 10,000 directly from China, arrived in Canada" (Sciban, 2007).
Nowadays, the Chinese community has a noticeable presence in nearly all major cities in
This number excludes 211,145 of "multiple responses" of Chinese origin, and 17,705 Taiwanese of single and multiple responses. Refer to Statistics Canada 2006 census released reports, "Visible minority groups, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories - 20% sample data" at
43 Canada, and has established itself both economically and socially. From 2001 to 2005, immigrants from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan constituted 15-16% of the annual total immigrants of Canada. The national annual immigration quota ranges from
200,000-265,OOOand the corresponding annual naturalization number is around 150, 000 according to the statistics from the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).49
The immigration and naturalization figures together suggest that ethnic minority groups are expanding. The size of the Chinese Canadian ethnic group may continue increasing at a high rate. However, representation of Chinese Canadians in the Canadian
Parliament is insignificant, which is typical of the overall representations of ethnic minorities in the Canadian Parliamentary system. Take the 39 Parliament as an example.
There is only one Senator and five Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of
Commons who are of Chinese ancestry.50 The proportion of Chinese Canadians in
Parliament is five out of 306 seats—roughly 1.6% in the House of Commons, and one out of 94 senators—1% in the Senate. Chinese Canadians in the legislative branch are underrepresented even at the mirror-image level51—far from their population proportion
(3.9%).52
For details, please see Chinese Canadians: Enriching the cultural mosaic, by Tina Chui, Kelly Tran and John Flanders. Canadian Social Trends, Statistics Canada, No76, Spring 2005. Tracking website:
44 The political involvement of ethnic minorities is deeply influenced by their
interaction with the larger society. The two sides reach coexistence (if not mutual
acceptance) by defining each other. But strong ideology related to race, ethnicity and
culture sometimes affects this process of mutual understanding. The interrelationship
between Chinese Canadians and the Canadian state is sometimes overshadowed by anti-
Asian racism in Canada.
In contrast to its minor representation in the dominant political sphere, the Chinese
community as a whole has long-standing ties with Canada in terms of sharing the history
of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the fluctuations of Chinatowns.
The history of the settlement of Chinese immigrants was of misery and segregation brought by the anti-Asian racism of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Chinese coolies worked and earned their bread regardless of how much labour was demanded of them by railway construction, mining, laundry, and domestic care-giving and so on (Wright, 1988;
Chen, 2004). At the time of Head Tax,53 coming to Canada became an expensive
"purchase" for immigrants from China, even when there were no benefits of
"democracy" for them. Chinatowns were viewed as rife with opium, prostitutes, crimes and underworld gangs.54 Being historically discriminated against and disadvantaged,
immigration rate of Chinese at 15% annually, then by 2006, there would be 112,500 more citizens added to Chinese community. Please refer to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada for further details.
45 Chinese Canadians managed to develop their own communities and organizations, and
have participated in the democratic institutions in Canada through conventional as well as
unique ethnical ways.
3.1 The Early Chinese Community
The fact that the Chinese were economically, socially, politically and culturally segregated from the Canadian social system during the traditional period is the structural precondition which enabled a Chinese ethnic community—itself a separate social system—to originate and flourish. Thompson, 1989: 84 3.1.1 Associations: the extended "Family"
The present marginal political status of Chinese Canadians is an unavoidable result
of the community's history being "outsiders" and "aliens." Exclusion of the Chinese
community from regular social and economic subsystems was driven by a mixture of the
group's introversion and external resistance in the early years of the Chinese settlement
in Canada. It is a general trend for an ethnic minority to act as a whole in order to protect
itself from external hostilities. However, resistance from the dominant society and racism towards visible ethnic groups enforce these groups' motivation to protect their members.
In the Chinese case, there was so much resistance that they became self-contained. In addition, the host society did not supply Chinese Canadians with the welfare and justice to which all citizens of Canada were entitled. Instead, it was the Chinese community that fulfilled most of the welfare and justice needs of the Chinese immigrants.
Thompson summarises in his studies of Toronto's Chinatowns that there were four basic types of Chinese associations: clan or surname associations, district associations, overall community organizations, and fraternal or political association (Thompson, 1989:
46 56). Blood is thicker than water. Chinese people have a deep-rooted tradition to form
communities that are based on family ties and kinships. Most of the Chinese community
associations kept this tradition. Even being from the same village, town or city would be
a strong reason for identification. Clan was one typical type of this bloodline
identification, similar to what Chinese people refer to as Tang and Ci. The traditional
duties of a Tang (^)55 or Ci (?H]) were extended from ancestor worship to political and welfare functions, especially when Chinese people re-established their community in a
foreign environment. Such bloodline identification became more important for their self-
esteem and group recognition.
Another type of association—Hui Guan56 (£ 1%), was based on common geographical origin and was usually for professional and business purposes. As shown in
Thompson's research, Hui Guan was especially important for the early development of
Chinatowns in Canadian urban areas.
Urban hui guan were dominated by wealthy merchant leaders who possessed wide-ranging powers of judgement, arbitration and conciliation among association members. Because the traditional Chinese legal and administrative system did not extend to the level of the individual, hui guan eventually became legislative bodies which operated like a government agency. They exercised powers of taxation, population registration, allocation of economic opportunities, and political decision making. As hui guan powers increased, they achieved a degree of legitimacy in the city and attained the status of legal, formal organizations and other political
Tang and Ci: Tang, in Chinese characters written as "H", refers to the highest hall which is the central construction in a traditional Chinese palace or house. Tang is where the Chinese worship their ancestors and paternal lines. It is a symbol for the kinships on the paternal side for which reason all man were given preference in family history and were included in family tree. Ci, in Chinese characters written as "fii", is the restricted place where gods, spirits and ancestors were worshiped and offered sacrifice. Ci-Tang together refers to the ancestral temple shared by local families who have comparatively long history and widely spread siblings. 56 Hui Guan: in Chinese characters is "zcif?". "z*"(hui) is gathering together, "tS" (guan)is the place for gatherings. Hui Guan together refers to places that provide accommodations and social communications to members from certain geographical area (such as same province or town) who share professional purposes and information, or special hobbies, and other kinds of interests.
47 influentials. Individual hui guan eventually coalesced into a unified body which ultimately controlled all commercial activities in the city and mediated between its members and the city administration. (Thompson, 1989:55-56)
Among the four types of Chinese Canadian associations mentioned by Thompson,
the differences were not related to the way of their formation, but to the size and
functions. Community activities of Chinese Canadians were carried out by these
associations based on the needs of members who were connected through bloodline,
kinship and common geographical origin.
3.1.2 A community in need
There are several reasons for the existence of traditional Chinese societies. Firstly,
anti-Chinese racism and unfamiliar social rules and conventions in Canada pressured
Chinese labourers to seek familiar social norms.
A consequence of the harsh discrimination the Chinese experienced was that it was hard for them to assimilate into Canadian society and so the Chinese in Canada had no choice but to rely on each other for friendship and support. As a result, tightly knit Chinese Canadian communities (a.k.a Chinatowns) were formed.57
The segregation of the Chinese was created by discrimination against them. Chinese
settlers had no choice but to rely on the Chinese community for the kinds of assistance
that were unavailable to them in white society. Involvement within their community provided the Chinese immigrants with a sense of safety and belonging, and a security that
could only be acquired through communicating in their native languages and culture.
Secondly, the most accessible political and welfare supports for the Chinese
labourers in the early 20th century were mainly from the early Chinese societies and
Chinese Canadian Culture Online Project, "Reflections on Struggles and Stories Behind Canadian Chinatowns".
48 associations. Welfare functions of the state were shifted to the community itself. Hui
Guan was one of the most identifiable of these associations. Other forms of Chinese
community associations were also crucial in meeting the various needs of the Chinese
immigrants. The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA) was "the first
formal community-wide Chinese association in Canada."58 Like Hui Guan, the CCBA
even settled disputes—similar to a criminal court or an arbitrator, took care of the sick
and poor, and handled the burials for those who died in poverty or without any relatives
(Con et al, 1982: 32, 39). It functioned like a traditional Chinese Tang or Ci for extended
family welfare. The Chinese community became reliant on welfare because its members
were racialized as being "others" and isolated by mainstream society.
Thirdly, the ethnic economy also provided the most accessible jobs to new
immigrants. No doubt Chinese communities like the CCBA and the insignificant ethnic
economy were very important for the community members to survive the hard times.
Moreover, early Chinese associations actually helped Canadian society to settle Chinese
immigrants and administrated neighbourhoods in their own way.
3.2 An Isolated "Family"
The Chinese overseas have been typically an ethnic minority, in many instances in a colonial setting. In general, the non-Chinese majority has remained aloof from involvement in the affairs of the Chinese community. As long as order was preserved, and revenue collected, a laissez-faire attitude prevailed in the local government. This meant that, with limits, the Chinese were free to organize their own communities as they saw fit. Con et. al, 1982: 11 3.2.1 Omnipotent elders
One of the earliest CCBA branch was established in 1884 in Victoria. Refer to Con et. al, 1982: 32-37. For further interests in Chinese communities in Canada, Toronto's Chinatown: The Changing Social Organization of an Ethnic Community, a work by Richard Thompson published by AMS Press, Inc., 1989, is also a good reference.
49 Upon completion of the CPR, Chinese labourers were fired and expelled from
British Columbia. They began to move eastward and settle in the Prairies, and later
moved further to Ontario and Quebec. In their new settlement areas, they needed to form
new communities to continue the attachment to their native traditions and cultures.
Newly arrived immigrants who wished to become community leaders might not be
accepted into existing organizations, so they began to establish new associations within
the Chinese community (Con et al, 1982: 91-97, 102-115). During the early 20th century,
ordinary Chinese labourers would feel more comfortable communicating with
community leaders rather than with a white officer. It became necessary that leaders in
the Chinese communities were able to provide arbitration and justice. These leaders were
assumed to have the ability and prestige to utilize community resources and mobile
community members. Chinese traditional ethics assumed elders to be wise and fair in making decisions for others, which is why the leadership in Chinese communities
centralized on the elders who were enriched in social capital and properties. As
Thompson investigated the history of Chinatowns in Toronto, he found that the
leadership was concentrated at the hands of wealthy merchants, because these wealthy elites could "financially underwrite loans and festival activities" (Thompson, 1989: 13).
Except for the few Chinese families who settled down in rural areas and small towns, most Chinese immigrants in urban areas depended on their community both economically and culturally. The laissez-faire attitude from the out-group was used by some community leaders to reinforce their powers and economic benefits within the
Chinese community. They controlled the core of the economic and cultural lives of the
Chinese immigrants. In other cases, a chief of a patriarchy kinship network had similar
50 powers over his extended family members, and usually had arbitration and judgement
authority too. This concentration of power within the ethnic community constructed the
inner hierarchy for Chinese immigrants, which in return worsened the economic situation
of ordinary labourers who searched for jobs only within the community. When Chinese
immigrants relied heavily on the ethnic economy at the start of their settlement, they were
at risk of economic exploitation from their own community and lost opportunities to gain
abilities in language and social conduct which were crucial for their integration into the
host society. Individuals were sacrificed for the sake of the group. The "family" was
isolated, and had already brought danger of internal restrictions. There were no more
individual Chinese; there was only the Chinese community. As Thompson observed:
Initially, the existence of Chinatown, a system based on Chinese language and culture, has the advantage of providing work and living opportunities without the immigrant having to first acquire the skills necessary to adapt to the dominant Canadian structure. ...jobs in the ethnic economy are seldom equal in pay or benefits to jobs in the national economy. The ethnic economy, because of its cultural exclusiveness, can establish separate rules of conduct which often result in the exploitation of immigrant workers. Moreover, once ensconced in the ethnic system, the immigrant is less likely to acquire those skills, particularly the English language, which would enable him or her to leave the ethnic system. (Thompson, 1989: 29)
Furthermore, ethnic elites, the leaders in various Chinese associations, "clearly have an interest in maintaining this separate, but unequal system" (Thompson, 1989: 30).
The Chinese community was under their reign and they tried to keep it out of the hands of outsiders.
...hui guan and similarly structured associations in North America were dominated by merchant leaders who exercised almost total legal and social control over their members, and who became a spokesman group in every overseas colony. (Thompson, 1989: 56)
51 As spokespeople for the Chinese community, the merchant leaders were influential
in their communities. They were able to mobilize the whole community by using the stick
and the carrot in situations that demanded group action. And they were the people who
made deals with the local government on issues related to the Chinese community, such
as labour disputes. "Chinese were discouraged from taking cases to the Canadian courts,
and most disputes, whether of a civil or criminal nature, were settled by the secret
society" (Con et al., 1982: 32). Local governments used this advantage and left the
Chinese alone. It caused internal restriction, or individual oppression within the ethnic
group. It was especially true when the Chinese community was isolated by anti-Chinese
racism, while the elites in power tried to maintain this isolation in the name of keeping
the group's solidarity. Ordinary Chinese immigrants were kept in a "vacuum state" in
which governmental rules and regulations were out of reach. "In the case of the Chinese
population, the rise of the welfare state meant that the provincial government offered
most of the major services previously provided by the community organizations"
(Jedwab,2001:4).
3.2.2 External resistance
The resistance to accepting Chinese immigrants into wider society reinforced this
ethnic introversion. External pressure to repress the Chinese community is closely related to legislative discrimination which was based on anti-Asian racism in early times. "Under the Franchise Act, 1859, the Colony of Vancouver Island permitted only British subjects to vote for the seven members of the House of Assembly" (Con et al, 1982: 42). After being granted the right to hold real estate in 1861, "Aliens"— non-British subjects—were
52 allowed to vote after three years of residence. However, the "first attempt at
discriminatory legislation against the Chinese in Canada occurred only two years after the
arrival of the Chinese immigrants. In 1860, the House of Assembly of the Colony of
Vancouver Island proposed a poll tax of $10 to be levied on each Chinese in the colony"
(Con et al, 1982: 42). Although this attempt was dropped, the reason given was ridiculous
in that "it is yet the right time," according to Amor de Cosmos, who was then a member
of the House of Assembly of the colony of Vancouver Island. Cosmos gave the following
explanation:
They [Chinese] may be inferior to Europeans and Americans in energy and ability; hostile to us in race, language and habits and may remain among us as a Pariah race; still they are patient, easily governed and invariably industrious... Hereafter, when the time arrives that we can dispose of them, we will heartily second a check to their immigration. (Con et al, 1982: 42)
At that time, no one would ever use the term "Pariah's rights," because it would
sound strange to Cosmos and to the local government in the Chinese concentrated areas.
Race phobia and racial discrimination at the time of Cosmos was so intense that they chased Chinese Canadians into the rattrap of "cheap labour." For a long time, the Chinese community was disregarded, ignored and segregated while being used simultaneously. It is not surprising that the Chinese community effaced itself and developed an inferiority complex, driven by the negative prototypical image crafted by the white society and by the continuous denial of their political rights. Such a hostile attitude toward immigrants persists even today.60
See Con et al. From China to Canada: A History of the Chinese Communities in Canada. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd. 1982: 42. "The Aliens Act of 1861" provided that "Aliens resident for three years within the Colony who shall take the Oaths of Residence and Allegiance shall have all the rights of British subjects." 60 Gijsberts et al., 2004: 102. "The resistance to immigrants is by far more widespread than the resistance to refugees. Overall, 68.1 per cent of the ethnic majority respondents would like to reduce the number of immigrants in their country, whereas only 25.4 of the respondents state that refugees should not be allowed
53 In the Chinese case, the resistance from other immigrant groups is both from the
everyday racism and for economic reasons. In Zhongping Chen's words, "It was such
everyday racism in employment opportunities, social contacts, and even recreational
activities that directly pushed the Chinese into marginal occupations and subordinate
positions" even in small towns and cities such as Peterborough, Ontario (Chen, 2004).
Economically, Chinese immigrants were preoccupied by their struggles for survival.
Their ethnic morals such as being patient, "tame," and industrious made them more easily
used in time and disposed of after usage. Their humbleness made them popular in all
labour-concentrated industries in the early days of Canada, which in turn brought them
hatred from other lower strata labour groups. Resistance from other groups against
Chinese immigrants was largely rooted in labour market competition that was aggravated by the lower cost of Chinese labour. "Chinese labour was very cheap relative to its
Caucasian counterpart. For example, in 1866 Chinese coal miners earned $1 a day in
Nanaimo compared to $2.50 by white workers. These competition and cultural
differences fostered prejudice against the Chinese" (Sciban, 2007). The Chinese became targets of racist attacks, but no one recognized their victim situation and ignored the fact that their lower-to-average cost of labour was made by the daily racism against them. "In
May of 1873, the first Anti-Chinese Society was established in Victoria. It called for restrictions on Chinese immigration, and pointed to the dangers of increasing immigration from California due to the persecution of Chinese there" (Con et al., 1982:
45). The resistance against Chinese immigrants infiltrated their daily lives. Violent events to stay in their country.... There were relatively strong differences between countries with regard to the average level of resistance to immigrants (eta=0.34) and resistance to refugees (eta=0.36). In general, resistance to immigrants was stronger in Eastern European countries (77.0 per cent of the respondents had a high score) compared to Western European countries (63.2 per cent), the traditional immigration countries (62.5 percent) and particularly Japan (52.4 per cent)."
54 targeted at Chinese were reported daily. Resistance from both the larger society and the
other ethnic groups forced the Chinese community to be too protective and introverted to
integrate.
3.2.3 Politically impotent
On one side, Chinese Canadians were pushed aside to mind their own welfare and
justice; on the other side, they were not left alone when political rights were at issue. The
larger society had imposed the idea upon the Chinese that they were not to have political
participation. The social trend of anti-Chinese racism promoted legislative bias to deprive
legal rights from the "Aliens". For Chinese residents in B.C., it went from bad to worse in
1875 when the provincial legislative power of British Columbia fully denied political
rights of the Chinese immigrants in voting.
...In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation and its Legislative Assembly became a provincial parliament. One of its first moves was to pass an Act to amend the Qualification of Voters Act which would disenfranchise Chinese and Indians in provincial elections. ...A Qualification and Registration of Voters Act was passed by the British Columbia legislature in 1875, by which it became illegal to grant the franchise to any Chinese and all Chinese names were to be deleted from the voter's list. Failure to comply with the provisions of this act carried a $50 fine or one month's imprisonment. ...the leaders of the Chinese community did not appear to have reacted to this disenfranchisement. (Con et al, 1982: 45-46)
Disenfranchisement, the loss of citizenship rights, was not treated as a big issue
within the Chinese community. Chinese Canadians were made to know that they had no
61 "It has been suggested that the first prospectors used violence to keep the Chinese out of the Cariboo until 1862. Certainly an incident is recorded of two Chinese being shot dead in 1861 by white miners in Cayoosh." Con et al, 1982: 42. ".. .the mob violence in Calgary targeting Chinese-owned laundromats in 1892; the anti-Asian riot of 1887 in Vancouver; the Natal Acts of British Columbia; and the denial of Chinese burial rights in public graveyards. In 1900, the Royal Commission on Chinese and Japanese Immigration stated that these people were 'obnoxious to a free community and dangerous to the state' ". Chinese Canadian Culture Online Project,
55 power to change their political situation. As a result, they accepted their state-imposed
political impotence and turned a blind eye to the importance of being able to participate.
It was more ridicule that before 1875, there was enfranchisement for Chinese Canadians
to vote in local elections in Lillooet and Victoria, and the Chinese might have had one
more time to vote in Nanaimo had they not been barred from the polling station. But in
1875, the Chinese residents were removed from the voters' list. B.C. had "legally" denied
the franchise to all Chinese. "For a brief moment it appeared that there was a chance for native-born Chinese to have the vote. In 1900, Tomey Homma, a Canadian-born
Japanese, challenged the B.C. Provincial Elections Act of 1895, which denied the vote to persons of Asian ancestry. Although Homma won in the courts, the case went to the
Privy Council, which, in 1902, reversed the courts' decision. Japanese Canadians could not vote; Chinese Canadians could not either"(Con et al, 1982: 83).
British Columbia was not the only province that legally discriminated against the
Chinese. The completion of the CPR in the 1880s brought a depression to British
Columbia. Chinese workers were made targets of blame and hatred. Mobs attacked the
Chinese communities in Vancouver in 1907 (Sciban, 2007). Similar attacks against
Chinese communities happened in 1892 in Calgary (Sciban, 2007). Leaving Chinese labourers to look for jobs on their own, British Columbia sent many of them eastward, where they settled in Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge in Alberta. Even small towns such as Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Fort Macleod, and Canmore saw the arrival of Chinese
"Eight Chinese voted in a Lillooet by election in 1874, and ninety-two Chinese voted in the Victoria municipal elections in August of the same year, although it was later shown in court that some of their names had been added to the list after the successful mayoral candidate had paid their taxes for them. Chinese were prevented from exercising their vote by other than legal means, however, as in the first Nanaimo municipal elections in January, 1873, when they were physically barred from the polling stations." Con et al, 1982: 45.
56 immigrants. Moose Jaw, one of the earliest railway stations in the east and one of the
earliest settlements of the Chinese along the railway, was home to 160 Chinese and 20 of
their businesses in 1911.63 Other areas of Chinese settlement in Saskatchewan were
Regina, Swift Current, Battleford and Saskatoon.64 But Chinese people were not treated
any better in terms of enfranchisement in Alberta, nor in Saskatchewan. The Provincial
Election Act of 1908 disenfranchised Chinese who lived in Saskatchewan.65 Alberta made
attempts to formulate similar clauses into its election Act (Con et al, 1982: 85). Federal
legislation supported the provincial decisions. Chinese Canadians could not vote at the
federal level.
3.3 Later Development
Unfortunately, the Chinese community of the late 19 and early 20 centuries was not active enough to involve itself in political issues. Community leaders were
overwhelmingly occupied by quotidian concerns such as settling disputes within the
community and responding to in-group requests. The fact that disenfranchisement did not arouse Chinese protests not only proved the community was so segregated from the dominant society that they themselves did not see how they were related to any political decisions made by the larger society, but also proved they were not concerned with political participation rights. They did not regard political participation rights as essential
63
57 for them to improve their socio-economic situations and collective esteem. A possible explanation is that the Chinese community knew well that they, as "aliens," were not supposed to challenge the host society. Democracy was not high on their list of priorities.
Being so alienated from the dominant society, the Chinese community did not have any intention to strive for individual political rights in elections. Their main concern was to coexist with the larger society as well as possible, and hopefully, be allowed to make a living. Being outsiders, they lacked confidence and had no spare energy to influence the decisions that were made to govern them. All they wanted was a peaceful life.
The interwar years were not much better for Chinese immigrants. Even Canadian- born Chinese were not recognized as "Canadians" in citizenship and were banned from professions like law and medicine (Lai, 2003: 319). In 1919, the Dominion Election Act did not actually make any move forward toward universal enfranchisement for ethnic minorities and it claimed that if the province of residence had denied them voting rights, the ethnic group would definitely have no enfranchisement to vote at the federal level.66
In July 1923, the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, also called the Chinese Exclusion
Act, prevented Chinese immigrants from bringing family to Canada, and limited the entry
"Services in the war led to agitation for the vote, a movement led by CBAs and particularly the Chinese Canadian Club of Victoria-Vancouver. In 1919 the Commons considered granting the federal franchise to Chinese, Japanese, and East Indians. At this point, the 515 Canadian-born and naturalised Chinese of Victoria wrote to the government, pointing out that they owned real estate and were taxpayers and that the naturalization papers held by 400 of them stated that they were endowed with all rights, powers and privileges of citizens. Despite this petition the Dominion Elections Act legalized what had hitherto been only custom: Chinese and others who lacked the provincial franchise would continue to be without the federal voting right. In British Columbia, the residence of the largest number of naturalised and Canadian- born Chinese, and hence the place where the largest number of likely voters lived, 200 sympathetic whites petitioned for the provincial franchise on behalf of the Chinese. They argued that they were Canadian-born, that their parents had been naturalized, that they were educated in British Columbia, and that some of them had served in the war. Even these qualifications apparently were insufficient; the petition was unsuccessful. The Chinese of British Columbia and Saskatchewan, regardless of citizenship, remained without franchise." Con et al, 1982: 119.
58 of any more Chinese immigrants, except merchants, diplomatic staff, students etc. At the
same time, a $500 per capita head tax was levied on Chinese immigrants.
According to Thompson, it was not until after World War II that Canadian society
gradually began to open to the Chinese in any real sense (Thompson, 1989: 89). The
social image of Chinese Canadians was improved by the ally relations between China and
Canada during World War II. The positive involvement of Chinese Canadians in
soliciting funds such as bond purchasing helped them gain acceptance.67 The Canadian
Citizenship Act 1947 repealed the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923. And Chinese
Canadians received citizenship and enfranchisement in Canada.68 Then the federal
legislation finally rectified the historical withhold of the voting rights of Chinese
Canadians, and extended the franchise to Canadians of South Asian origin, but excluded
Japanese Canadians and aboriginal people. Japanese Canadians were not enfranchised
until 1949 when the War Measures Act ceased to be effective and restrictions posed upon
them were lifted.69 During the two decades from 1947 to 1967, Chinese Canadians were
legally given the rights to vote and citizenship, and were allowed to enter public schools
and universities, as well as to join professional and skilled trades. The head tax was
eventually removed and family reunions were made possible.70 In 1979 a nation-wide
59 protest against the racist television program "Campus Giveaway" marked that "Chinese
Canadians have become proactive in uncovering and eradicating racist attitudes" (Sciban,
2007).
After the 1967 Immigration Act eliminated race and country of origin as
restrictions to immigration, Canada was no longer merely a place of sojourn for Chinese
immigrants. Unlike their predecessors, recent immigrants are mainly from the mainland
China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, especially after 1980s when China adopted the "Open-
Door" policy. Big numbers of immigrants from mainland China and Taiwan speak
Mandarin instead of Cantonese. Some of them are well-educated and have high profiles
in their country of origin. They intend to make Canada their permanent home and voluntarily chose Canada as their residence.
The general improvement in the macro political environment provided
opportunities for Chinese Canadians to be more accepted in Canada. For example,
Adrienne Clarkson became the "First member of a visible minority and the first
71 immigrant to be named Canada's governor general." On June 22, 2006, Prime Minister
Stephen Harper publicly offered an apology to Canadians of Chinese ancestry for the head tax.72 The image of ethnic minority groups in Canada has been improved by governmental gestures to encourage visible and ethnic minority groups to participate at
Charter on human rights. Repeal of the act was followed by granting franchise to Chinese Canadian citizens in all parts of Canada and a gradual opening to Chinese immigration." 71
60 various levels of government administration. A more accommodating political
environment in Canada encourages ethnic minority groups, including Chinese Canadians,
to integrate into the larger society while maintaining its cultural ethnic elements.
The Chinese Canadian community has developed its strength in economic, social
and political spheres. Chinese culture has also become significant to Canada and
Canadians. Even Mandarin is available in public schools (Sciban, 2007), not to mention
the long existence of Chinese cuisine and medicine in Canada. However, conflicts between the Chinese community and the host society will continue shaping the relations between the Chinese community and the larger society.
In Race and the City, Shanti Fernando argues that racialization has created socially
"others" within certain historical and geographical contexts. But even though the context that created such "otherness" has been demolished, racialized groups, such as the Chinese community, are still excluded and stereotyped. "Research on anti-Chinese sentiment in
Toronto traces its origins to negative stereotypes about the Chinese created by missionary propaganda, Canadian popular literature, and American publications before the Chinese arrived and became concentrated there" (Chen, 2004). Racism against the Chinese
"foreignness" persists nowadays even in highly multicultural cities such as Toronto
(Fernando, 2006: 20-21; 31-33). For example, the few successful businesses of Chinese immigrants are taken as characteristic of all Chinese Canadians and used to portray the entire Chinese community as an "affluent group" (a new image of the "other") (Fernando,
2006: 58-61). The few Chinese Canadian successes are so rare and obvious that they are over-dramatized. The "affluent group" image disguises the reality that most Chinese
Canadians are among the lower social strata and are still striving for inclusion in political
61 activities. Chinese Canadians will have to continue their struggles for full acceptance to
the host society, as a group and as individuals.
3.4 Summary
Chinese Canadians experienced a long period of Canadian history that was racist
and unfavourable to ethnic minorities. Other racial and ethnic minority groups shared
similar disadvantages, such as the Japanese immigrants during the period of WWII.73
Politically similar to the Chinese Canadians, many other ethnic minority groups from
Asia, Africa or Eastern Europe, had experiences of disenfranchisement and
underdevelopment in Canadian society during the latter part of the 19th century and the
early period of the 20th century. The progress of ethnic minority groups in the electoral
process and the parliamentary legislature is important for the overall democratic
development of Canada. In the following chapter, the discussion focuses on the
participation of Chinese Canadians in the Canadian electoral process recently. Through
their political efforts we will see some implications of meaningful representation of
ethnic minority groups.
73 See Roy, E. Patricia. The triumph of citizenship : the Japanese and Chinese in Canada, 1941-67. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1989.
62 CHAPTER FOUR: CHINESE CANADIANS AND DEMOCRATIC CANADA:
POLITICAL PARTIES AND THE CHINESE CANADIAN CANDIDATES
4.1 Chinese Canadian Candidates and MPs in the 2006 and 2008 Federal
Elections
Nearly ten years after the enfranchisement of Chinese Canadians, Douglas Jung, 4 a lawyer from the Vancouver Centre of British Columbia, won a seat in the 1957 election and became the first Canadian of Chinese origin elected to the House of Commons. He was then affiliated with the Progressive Conservative Party. After Jung, more Chinese
Canadians emerged as prominent political leaders. "David See-Chai Lam was Lieutenant-
Governor of B.C. from 1988-1995, Adrienne Clarkson has been Governor-General of
Canada since 1999, and Normie Kwong became Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta in
2005" (Sciban, 2007).76 Since Jung, more and more Chinese Canadians have joined
Douglus Jung: JUS^Ijl, pinyin: Zheng Tianhua.
63 federal parties. Like other party members, their first test is to get nominated as candidates
in their constituency.
Nomination of candidates is "distribution of power within parties" and the
definition of "the relationship between parties and their partisans" (Cross, 2006: 172-
174). The current candidate nomination institution of Canadian political parties conducts
regional nomination, single candidate nomination, and that candidate nomination equals
to MP nomination with parties. Party nomination is made the only way for partisans to be
nominated (Cross, 2006: 172-174). Party recruitment functions as a gate keeper to pre
select "who should run for offices." Unless running as independent candidates,
candidates have to go through the party nomination process. Ethnic minority candidates
are no exception. Their position and support earned within their parties will influence
their chances of nomination. In addition, their ethnic "representativeness" and leader
image in their constituency become more important for their parties to evaluate their
electability.
How much does ethnicity influence candidate nomination? The answer is unclear based on current related research. However, from the following examples in the 2006
election, it seems that in some cases there is so-called "ethnic mobilization" in candidate nomination:
In the 2006 campaign, Liberal candidate Omar Alghabra, a former president of the Canadian Arab Federation, successfully sought the nomination in Mississauga-Erindale in part by mobilizing support in the Arab and Muslim communities; and Conservative Chuck Cadman was defeated in his bid for renomination in Surrey North by a candidate who mobilized significant support among Indo-Canadians. Recruiting support from ethnic communities is attractive to candidates needing to mobilize hundreds of supporters, as there are often hierarchical communities in which the endorsement of the leadership can result in a significant number of supporters. (Cross, 2006: 185)
64 No matter which ethnic community is involved in such mobilization of ethnic
leaders, ethnic candidates face more difficulties in entering the party nomination process.
As William Cross points out:
In the Canadian case, voters from linguistic and identity groups without their own political parties need to focus on the party nomination process to ensure that an equitable number of candidates from their community are chosen. The same is true for groups such as women and visible minorities. There are no parties exclusive to these groups. Thus, in order to increase their numbers in the House of Commons they need to increase their representation among candidates nominated by the major parties. (Cross, 2006:174)
However, as gate-keepers, the political parties will select candidates that are
most likely to win in a specific constituency and are ideologically identified with
their parties. Ethnic minority candidates do not automatically represent ethnic
political advocacy. In most cases, candidates of ethnic minority background are
taken appointment by their parties, representing diversity to the electorates without any real influence.
4.1.1 Chinese Canadian candidates in 2006 and 2008
In the 2006 Federal Election, there were 18 candidates of Chinese ethnic background running for office. Their names are listed and provided by the Chinese
Canadian National Council (CCNC)77 as below:
Table 4.1* Partial List of Federal Candidates of Chinese Descent (2006 Election)
Bloc Quebecois May Chiu Quebec Meili Faille (X) Quebec
Conservative Party Michael Chong (X) Ontario Joe Li Ontario Inky Mark (X) Manitoba
77
65 Kanman Wong British Columbia
Liberal Party Raymond Chan (X) British Columbia Soeung Tang Quebec Dobie To Alberta Simon Yu British Columbia
New Democratic Party Pam Boyd Yukon JohnChan Alberta Olivia Chow (X) Ontario Mary-Woo Sims British Columbia Helen Yum Saskatchewan
Green Party Daphne So Ontario LynnLau Alberta
Marxist-Leninist Nick Lin Ontario *Party affiliation only states the partisanship of the candidates at time of the 2006 election. (X)-Member of Parliament of the 39th House of Commons, elected Jan, 2006. Marked by author.
These candidates were nominated by different federal and regional parties.
However, most of them are from provinces where immigrants are highly concentrated.
These provinces, such as Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, are also regions with a long history of immigration, rich ethnic minority elements or big population of
Chinese communities. All the major conventional federal parties have ethnic minority candidates pool, but in the 2006 election only 5 out of the 18 candidates listed were elected: Raymond Chan—Richmond, (B.C.); Michael D. Chong—Wellington-Halton
Hills (Ontario), Inky Mark—Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette (Manitoba), Meili Faille—
Vaudreuil-Soulanges (Quebec), and Olivia Chow—Trinity-Spadina (Ontario).
66 Table 4.2* Partial List of Federal Candidates of Chinese Descent (2008 Election) 78
Name Party Provinces District
Raymond Chan LIB BC Richmond
Wei Ping Chen IN BC Richmond
Dobie Yiu Chung, IN BC Richmond
Alice Wong (X) CON BC Richmond
Ronald Leung CON BC Burnaby-Douglas
Ken Low LIB BC Vancouver East
Wai Young CON BC Vancouver South
Wendy Yuan LIB BC Vancouver Kingsway
John Chan NDP AB Calgary Centre-North
Joe Chan IN MB Winnipeg Centre
Inky Mark (X) CON MB Dauphin-Swan River-Marquette
Andy Arifin NDP ON Oak Ridges-Markham
Michael Chong (X) CON ON Wellington-Halton Hills
Olivia Chow (X) NDP ON Trinity-Spadina
Rick Chue CH ON Pickering-Scarborough East
Benson Lau CON ON Scarborough-Agincourt
Chung Sen Leung CON ON Richmond Hill
Ella Ng GP ON Scarborough Centre
Kevin Nguyen CON ON York West
Meili Faille (X) BQ QC Vaudreuil-Soulanges
Hoang Mai NDP QC Brossard-La Prairie
'
67 *Party affiliation only states the partisanship of the candidates at time of the 2008 election. LIB-Liberal; CON-Conservative; IN-Independent; NDP-New Democratic; BQ-Bloc Quebecois; GP- Green Party; CH-Christian Heritage. Abbreviation by author. (X)-Member of Parliament of the 40th House of Commons, elected Oct. 14, 2008. Marked by author.
In the 2008 election campaign, after 2 years of the Conservative Harper government, there was a great increase in the number of independent candidates as illustrated in Table 4.2. In addition, it is similar to the 2006 election that in provinces where immigrants are highly concentrated, as in British Columbia and Ontario, big parties present more ethnic candidates accordingly. In electoral districts with a high density of ethnic voters, such as in Richmond where the number of people who claim their ethnic origin as Chinese has reached a proportion of 45% according to the 2006
70 census, candidates of Chinese background are numerous. While Raymond Chan did not succeed in his re-election campaign of 2008, Richmond elected Alice Wong—another candidate from the Chinese Canadian ethnic group—as its new Member of Parliament.
Wong's victory changed the gender rate among all Chinese Canadian MPs to 3 women to
2 men. The 2008 election kept 5 MPs (out of 21 candidates) of Chinese ethnic background in the House of Commons, and the same mirror-image representation rate of
Chinese Canadians at the federal legislature. The concentration of ethnic populations surely increases the chances of ethnic representation, however, the concentration of ethnic candidates makes the competition among them more severe and their ethnicity less important in their campaign. Other factors such as their ideology, issue standing and working plan come into consideration.
Ethnic Hot Facts, the Hot Facts Series of the population and demographics in Richmond, BC.
68 4.1.2 Chinese Canadian Members of Parliament elected in 2006 and in 2008
Bora in Hong Kong, Raymond Chan is one of the most frequently elected
Chinese Canadians in the last score of years. Chan was a core figure in the founding of
the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement in 1989. His first victory
came on October 25th, 1993. He ran for office in subsequent elections and was re-elected
on June 2nd, 1997, June 28th, 2004 and, most recently, on January 23rd, 2006 as the MP
for Richmond, B.C. His last defeat before the 2008 federal election was on Nov. 27, 2000
to Joe Peschisolido of the Canadian Alliance. As a Liberal member of Parliament, he has
held the positions of Secretary of State and Minister of State (Asia-Pacific) from Nov. 4th
1993 to Jan. 8th 2001, Minister of State (Multiculturalism) from July 20th 2004 to Feb. 5th
2006, and Critic of Canada Border Services since Feb. 23rd 2006 for the 39th Parliament.
Alice Wong replaced him as the MP for Richmond in the 2008 election but only by a
very small margin.
Michael D. Chong81 is a successful example of a Canadian-born ethnic minority member for the Conservative Party and the Harper government. Chong was born in 1971 in Windsor and grew up just outside of Fergus in Wellington County, Ontario. In 2004, he was first elected in Wellington-Halton Hills Ontario and was appointed to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Natural Resources, Science and
Technology. This committee oversees the Department of Industry and the Department of
Natural Resources, as well as the regulatory and economic framework of the Canadian economy. His re-election in 2006 led him to be the President of the Queen's Privy
80
69 Council for Canada, Minister of State, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and
Minister for Sport in the Harper's government. For the 2006 Harper's government, he
served from Feb 6 to Nov. 26 in 2006.82 Chong was also elected to the House of
Commons in the 2008 election.
Inky Mark,83 born in Toysun Province, China in 1947,84 is the only MP in the 39th
Parliament from mainland China. He came to Canada in 1955 with his family and settled
in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba. Educated in Canada, he holds Bachelor's degrees in both
Arts and Education. Prior to entering Parliament, Inky Mark was a school teacher and
operated a series of small businesses. He is also a certified insurance and real estate
broker. He began his political career in 1991 as a member of the Dauphin Town Council.
He was first elected to Parliament in 1997, and was re-elected in 2000 and 2004 from
Dauphin—Swan River, and in 2006 from Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, Manitoba.
As a parliamentarian, Mr. Mark has served as Citizenship and Immigration critic, and
Indian Affairs and Northern Development critic. He is a consistent Conservative and
continues his presence in the 40th Parliament of 2008.
70 Meili Faille was born in Montreal, Quebec. She joined the Bloc Quebecois in
1997, and was first elected to Parliament in 2004 as the representative from Vaudreuil—
Soulanges, Quebec. In 2006, she was re-elected from the same constituency as one of the two female parliamentarians with a Chinese ethnic background. Her specialty is in
Citizenship and Immigration. She was re-elected in the 2008 election.
Olivia Chow86 was a newly elected Chinese-Canadian Parliamentarian in 2006.
She failed to win her seat in 1997 and 2004 in her constituency but finally won in 2006.
Born in Hong Kong in 1957, she has been affiliated with the NDP for over 10 years and was former city councillor (1991-2005) of Toronto. She was the critic for Child Care,
Child Poverty, Children, Youth and the Toronto Waterfront. She was successfully re elected in the 2008 election.
Alice Wong was first elected in 2008 as a Conservative candidate in Richmond,
BC. She immigrated to Canada in the 1980s from Hong Kong, and received her education in Hong Kong, the UK and Canada. As a more recent immigrant, she is a very active woman in education, community service and businesses related to immigrants.
Vivienne Poy , affiliated with the Liberal Party of Canada, was appointed to the
Senate by the Rt. Honourable Jean Chretien. She is the first Canadian of Chinese descent to be appointed to the Canadian Senate. Born in Hong Kong in the 1940s, and having an educational background in Hong Kong, England and Canada, she is currently Governor
85
71 of McGill University and Honourary Patron of the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater
Toronto and Greater Vancouver. She has served in the Senate since September 17, 1998.
4.1.3 Characteristics of the Chinese Canadian MPs
Obviously, the ethnic candidates from more powerful parties have a better chance
of winning elections. Ethnic candidates from minor parties are not as competitive when
entering electoral battles. But elected candidates may also share some characteristics that
are crucial for them to be accepted by their constituencies and their parties. Among the
six MPs of Chinese background elected in the 39th and 40th Parliaments, Raymond Chan,
Alice Wong and Olivia Chow are from Hong Kong, while Michael Chong and Meili
Faille, are Canadian-born. Only Inky Mark immigrated from a non-English speaking
area. However, he has lived in Canada since he was seven years old. Such a long
residence is enough to allow him to accept Canada and to be accepted and integrated into
the larger society. The seven parliamentarians (counting Vivienne Poy) are from an
English speaking background and have close ties to Canada. All the Chinese
parliamentarians are educated in English, mostly from affluent families, and possessing
rich social capital because of their family background, businesses and careers. Their
education background and proficiency in official languages facilitate their access to the
Parliament. According to mirror representation, they are representing the Chinese
Canadians in race, ethnicity and culture to some extent. However, their presence in the
House of Commons and the Senate is not equivalent to the representation of all Chinese
Canadians, either in ideology or in socio-economic concerns. Whereas, there are still chances that part of their surrogate representation would bring Chinese ethnic issues to discussion. For instance, the Asian Heritage Month was declared in 2002. Vivienne Poy
72 was the Senator who introduced it. In addition, some of the Chinese Canadian MPs are
dealing with issues that are critical for ethnic groups including the Chinese community,
such as those related to immigration, citizenship and poverty.
4.2 New Party Formation
The fact that ethnic group members usually rely on the existing Canadian parties in
their political participation supports W. Kymlicka's view that immigrants will not really
change the political landscape.90 Though Kymlicka was originally trying to defend that
multiculturalism and immigration did little harm to the existing social order and hierarchy
in the power distribution at state level, he unconsciously disclosed a very important
unwritten political rule: for political parties immigrants are adjuncts and necessary
adjuncts in the Canadian multicultural context. Every party needs "ethnic minority"
elements to show its "being democratic and inclusive." "Ethnic minority candidates" are
shadow high cards for parties to play with. To this extent, women and ethnic minorities'
candidates could be the same kind of fantoccini used to strengthen the parties' public
images.
89
73 On April 16 , 2007, the Nation Alliance Party (NAP) was formally registered in
Vancouver, British Columbia. The NAP is the first registered political party founded by
Chinese Canadians in B.C. and in Canada. On June 8 2007, the NAP officially claimed
its establishment at a press conference.91 The party leader, Chen Weiping (I^Hl5]2), who
ran as an independent candidate in the 2008 election in Richmond BC, with the other
three chief founding members, declared the principles of the NAP:92
1. To strive for equality and cooperation among all individuals and state... 2. A deep commitment to non-violence... 3. To construct cooperatively our homeland... 4. To pay attention to the concerns of ethnic minorities... 5. To support political election candidates belonging to ethnic minorities... 6. To greaten employment possibilities, further refine investment opportunities, and promote local economic development... 7. To improve local public security, medical services and educational systems...
Though many mainstream newspapers and news websites in China reported the
NAP as an ethnic party for Chinese Canadians, the NAP leaders emphasized at the press
conference that it was intended to represent all ethnic minorities. The NAP would not
limit itself to the Chinese community. The purpose of founding a party for ethnic groups
is to provide them with a political voice.93 With limited resources and partisans, the NAP will try to participate collectively as a group and intend to compete in the upcoming municipal and provincial elections, stated Chen Weiping. On the NAP website, it is written:
Presently, the concerns faced by ethnic minority groups have yet to obtain the required attention from various levels of government. Nation Alliance Party will henceforth present our suggestions regarding this issue for
91
74 reference to the party in power and all levels of government. Our aim is to participate collaboratively in community and national development. 94
Reactions toward the NAP vary in the academic and the political spheres; however, the performance of this first ethnic-oriented party is, as yet, unproven.
4.3 The Voter's Choice
4.3.1 Core values
Faced with different parties and candidates, how do citizens make political decisions? One explanation is that core values and political competence will partially help citizens respond to political choices (Anderson and Goodyear-Grant, 2005: 1034).
Core values are personal and societal goals that are acquired early in life. They include a range of political orientations, attitudes and beliefs, such as religious and partisan affiliations. Attitudes toward representation are among the fundamental values (Anderson and Goodyear-Grant, 2005: 1034). However, when investigating ethnic minorities, general core values of Canada are not enough to explain their voting choices, because the core values of ethnic minorities, especially of the first immigrant generation, are closely related to their political experiences before and after their immigration. But as some observers claim, "visible-minority candidates are being selected (by self or by party) based on core values" (Black and Hicks, 2006: 20).
Then what are the "core values" used to select ethnic minority candidates? The core values that make their nomination possible are usually the core values of their parties, the host society and the existing political environment. Each party has ideological positions regarding the balance between freedom and equality which reflect the core
94
75 values and each party has certain positions on different issues. But the connection
between political parties and the ethnic candidates is one of mutual commitment. Ethnic
candidates identify themselves with the ideology of the political parties; in return, their
party affiliation has influenced the ideology, attitudes and standpoint of the visible
minority candidates towards many issues, including some ethnic issues. For example, in
2004, Raymond Chan was appointed Minister of State (Multiculturalism). In this role he
developed a comprehensive $55 million National Anti-Racism Strategy for national
redress and reconciliation programs.95 Chan has a good understanding of the Chinese
community and other Asian Canadian groups. But most of his campaign claims on issues
are in accordance with the Liberal Party's core values. Question 3 in Appendix I of the
questionnaire set up by the CCNC96 for the 2008 election states:
Bill C-50. Numerous community, faith and labour groups including CCNC vigorously opposed the changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in Bill C-50. What is your Party's position on repealing Bill C-50? What alternative legislation would your Party propose?
Raymond Chan opposed Bill C-50 and was standing with the CCNC, but it was because the CCNC's proposal did not contradict the Liberal Party's position. That is why with regard to the issue of redress97—which was repeatedly advocated by the CCNC in the 2006 and the 2008 elections—Chan did not make any commitment. It is probably not because he does not understand the importance of redress to the Chinese community, but because he acts in a way more consistent with the Liberal's stance toward the head tax redress.
76 In some cases, "on more controversial or core value issues, visible minorities have
stronger and more divergent opinions" (Black and Hicks, 2006: 22). In Nov. 2006, CTV
and CBC reported that Michael Chong had resigned from his post as the
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister so he could abstain from voting on the motion that
defines the Quebecois as "a nation within a united Canada." CTV reported that in a press
conference hours before the vote , Chong said:
...This is a fundamental principle for me, and not something I can, or will, compromise—not now, not ever. While I'm loyal to my party and to my leader, my first loyalty is to my country.
Obviously, Chong's resignation from the vote on the Quebec motion was to avoid being in contradiction with the Conservative Party. He said in his Statement on Nov.27,
2006:
I believe that recognizing the Quebecois as a nation, even within a united Canada, is nothing else than the recognition of an ethnic nationalism, and that I cannot support...I believe in one nation undivided called Canada, based on a civic and not an ethnic nationalism.
Another piece of news on The Vancouver Sun showed Chong's concerns about ethnic division risks for Canada.
Chong said the resolution, which the prime minister has cast as a symbolic gesture of recognition and reconciliation, opens the door to ethnic division in Canada "because it does not refer to a geographic entity, but to a group of people."... It will also further the cause of separatists, Chong predicted. "They will argue that if the Quebecois are a nation within Canada, then they are certainly a nation without Canada." "
98
77 On this issue, Chong's standing on ethnicity, nationality and state is not following the Quebec proposal of his party. His unique sense of belonging to a united Canada is a reflection of his "Canadian" identification rather than any other ethnic or party-affiliated identification. Chong's case shows that ethnic minority MPs may have a very strong sense of belonging to Canada, which might be different from that of the MPs from majority groups even within the same party. Emphasis on the "ethnicity" of MPs like
Chong should be based on the recognition of their "Canadian-ness."
4.3.2 Group identification
Some scholars assert that the group identification of ethnic minorities have some influence on the political decisions of the representatives of ethnic minority backgrounds.
It is possible that group-based legislators, such as candidates from visible minority communities, would provide alternative perspectives to the mainstream debates (Black and Hicks, 2006: 18). Their group identification is assumed to make them more concerned about group interests. It may further interfere with their performance as a representative and influence the way they approach issues related to their identified groups. Voters are inclined to have more confidence in candidates who share group characteristics with them, for instance, culture, language, ethnic background, or even skin color. If that is the case, group identification plays a significant role on the voter's choice and the candidates' behaviour. Thus, it would become very hard in a multiethnic society to realize surrogate representation when ethnocentrism becomes dominant in interpreting representation.
However, group identification is not necessarily based on a simple ethnic characteristic. Instead, it might be complex in its formation and influence. Some research
78 on group identification shows that in-group and out-group definitions on an ethnic
minority are equally important for group recognition. Some scholars point out that the
beliefs about "who is inside or outside their group" change when the group members
"assess their social environment, build networks, make alliances or choose sides in issues
or debates" (Chui, Tran and Flanders, 2005: 4). Conflicts of interest may become
conditions for identification, though probably a temporary and casual one.
According to social identity theory, group identification is developed through
social categorization, social identity, social comparison and psychological group distinctiveness (Gijsberts et al, 2004: 8-9). 10° A group is defined by both external and internal criteria. "External criteria are 'outside' characteristics that individuals use to define other individuals as members of a group. Internal criteria, in contrast, refer to an individual's own identification with the group" (Gijsberts et al, 2004: 8).
Through social categorization, social groups provide their members with self- identification as well as group identification (Gijsberts et al, 2004: 9; Tajfel and Turner:
1979). Positively or negatively, group identification may influence the individual's self- image. Individuals will strive for positive self-image and group distinctiveness, which will lead the individuals to perceive mainly positive characteristics among members of the ingroup so as to share such a positive group image and separate the ingroup from the outgroup. This positive image will apply to the whole ingroup; as a result, all members from the same group are associated with the positive group characteristics: ".. .ethnicity is an important visible feature of individual as well as group identity" (Gijsberts et al, 2004:
17).
100 See Tajfel and Turner, 1979 Turner, 1982; Tajfel. 1978, 1981.
79 Ethnic candidates will be viewed as an ingroup member when they share the group
distinctiveness that may earn them support from the ethnic community. The fact that
major parties in Canada run ethnic candidates in corresponding ridings with higher
proportions of ethnic voters is a result of the psyche of group identification assumption
that voters from ethnic groups may unconsciously or consciously choose "one of their
own people" to support. Most of the Chinese Canadian MPs are elected from
constituencies that have comparative concentrations of Chinese Canadians. The fact that
Chinese Canadians (and other ethnic minority candidates) are rarely elected in white
concentrated areas implies possible historical impact of racism against Chinese (or other
visible minorities). This may hinder a more diverse representation by replacing political preference with physiological preference. The political ideology of candidates is put aside.
4.4 Leadership in Ethnic Minority Groups
4.4.1 The stable leader image
The power to motivate group members around their shared interests is related to how the leadership of the group influences group identity formation and communal unity.
Research on leader images in Canada indicates that voters have developed their own leader image, or "a common leader schema or pro to type... there is indeed a commonality in citizens' images of the various party leaders in any one election" (Brown et al, 1998:
732). Voters expect certain types of leaders for different parties and are apt to elect candidates who are close to their "leader schema." It is also said that the leader prototype held by the citizens remains quite stable over time despite the fact that new leaders have already replaced old ones (Brown et al, 1998: 735). Indirectly, "[T]he process by which
80 leaders are selected has a profound impact on the way in which they define their
constituents" (Jedwab, 2001: 4). Jedwab suggests:
Over generations, the sense of attachment to the source country may diminish; therefore, the leaders' capacity to mobilize the members of a group around such identification is also likely to decline. Conversely, more recently arrived ethnocultural groups do not necessarily share sufficient interests to permit effective mobilization. The need for leadership to appeal to dual and multiple expressions of identity.. .The emergence of groups that define themselves by ethnicity, language, visible minority status, and religion has required leadership that is increasingly able to appeal to multiple identities. (Jedwab, 2001: 4)
The leadership, under multi-ethnic conditions, has to be supportive to multiple
identities, including various biological, social and cultural characteristics that are
embodied in different groups. Candidates of ethnic minority backgrounds, to some
degree, have to be aware of the diversity in Canada, i.e., they have to be able to appeal to
multiple identities instead of being limited by the yokes of ethnocentrism. However,
motivating ethnic voters will not be achieved easily. Rather than being successful in
motivating their community members, ethnic leaders have more first-hand experiences
with the difficulties to appeal to their voters.
4.4.2 Ethnic leadership and motivating the voters
A study conducted by Miriam Lapp (1999) on ethnic leadership discovered that a variety of social and economic reasons cause low voter turnout in ethnic minorities such as the Chinese community. "Lack of interest in politics" was cited most frequently by
Chinese community leaders when asked for reasons why Chinese Canadian voters have
low voter turnout.
Lack of "education" in Canadian politics—poor understanding and unfamiliarity— is considered as one important contributor to the absence of interest in politics of the
81 Chinese community. Regional elections are more important for citizens to actually
participate, whereas these local elections have even lower voting rates than federal ones,
because "the community often failed to recognize that the issues of greatest importance to
them, such as zoning by-laws and parking restrictions, fall under municipal jurisdiction,"
according to one of the interviewed leaders (Lapp, 1999: 17). Other reasons for the
Chinese community's political apathy may include "lack of time and a preoccupation
with other affairs," "election-specific" reasons, "bad weather on election day," "difficult
to mobilize elderly citizens to vote," etc. (Lapp, 1999: 17). It is worth mentioning that
Chinese Canadians are usually immigrants. They are either pressured to earn money to
support their families or by self-employment to offset their disadvantages caused by their
language barrier or impossible credential recognition in the labour market. Specific issues
in federal or regional elections may not directly affect the Chinese community so that the
voters do not show up at the polls. Elderly citizens of the Chinese community, different
from their counterparts in the dominant groups, are particularly hard to motivate,
especially in Chinatown areas.
Community leaders found it very difficult to mobilize elderly citizens to vote. It would appear that the enumeration process was one important reason for this. In the words of one leader: In Chinatown there are a couple of buildings of elderly people, and the elderly don't open their doors to anybody unless you speak the language, that helps a bit. He suggested that employing Chinese enumerators would help increase the number of registered voters in that community. (Lapp, 1999: 17)
Difficulties in motivating elderly citizens in Chinatown areas reveal some historical traces of the aloof attitude of the Chinese community. Elderly citizens may still hold to an impression that they are not accepted or their votes are unwanted, meaningless or have
82 little effect. Enumerators speaking Chinese might at least provide them with a sense of
cultural belonging and make them feel understood.
When asking how they motivate their constituency to vote, Lapp found that most
leaders of the Chinese community do not try to convince people to vote. The few who do
put great effort in calling for voters' support use similar duty argument, such as civic duty
to the state, belonging to larger political unit, etc. Other opinions about how to highlight
the importance of participating are to emphasize the real political consequences of
elections, acquaint with members of constituencies, relate issues to voters directly,101 or
even the argument of "no vote, no complain afterwards." When summarizing Chinese
leaders' mobilization of voters, Lapp's opinion is that "it became clear that participation
in municipal, provincial and national elections was not a significant part of the
community's political culture."
4.5 Summary
Candidates from ethnic minority groups, such as the Chinese community, first have to gain favourable support from their party in nomination. In order to earn the support
from their party, these candidates are apt to be ideologically identified with their own party. On this condition, ethnic candidates are required to go beyond their ethnicity to be elected. For candidates from the Chinese community, like Raymond Chan or Inky Mark, it is extremely demanding to participate in mainstream Canadian politics. They usually have multiple identifications and perform surrogate representation in order to win over voters by appealing to whatever the voters support them for, either because of their
101 According to a leader in Lapp's study, "Usually, when the Chinese community comes out to vote, it's because of an issue that affects them."
83 ideology, working performance, or ethnic characteristics such as language, gender, skin
color or simply sharing the same country of origin.
No matter whether the ethnic candidates have been identified as "ingroup"
members by voters of the same ethnic group or "outgroup" others by other voters, the
party nomination and constituency support level determine their access to mainstream
politics. The demographic features of their constituencies and the proportion of the ethnic
group that supports those candidates are also important for ethnic candidates to win
elections.102 Correspondingly, all major parties nominate ethnic candidates in ethnic
minority concentrated areas. However, ethnic appeal should not be the only consideration
in candidate nomination. Too much emphasis on candidates' ethnic background might
mislead ethnic voters or non-ethnic voters to ignore the original and ultimate criteria of a
representative. It is also important to understand their constituency and their voters'
expectations of them.
102 See "Political Parties And Ethnic Participation: A Question of Access" by Sheila Dhillon. Canadian Issues; Summer 2005: 85-88. "It appears that the access of ethnic groups, in this case, visible minorities, specifically, Asian Canadians and South Asian Canadians, to candidacy depends on the percentage of ethnic groups in the population of a constituency. As well, access of ethnic groups, depends on their political apprenticeship (party membership, running at lower level of government, interest group involvement, and community associations); however, the speed mat vary with the amount of mobilization of the community. There may be differences in community maturation, such as gaps in rates of citizenship acquisition."
84 CHAPTER FIVE: CHINESE CANADIANS AND DEMOCRATIC CANADA:
FACTORS RELATED TO THE VOTING BEHAVIOURS OF ETHNIC
MINORITIES AND CHINESE CANADIANS
5.1 Social Capital
Some scholars believe that participation in political processes is a positive action
by social members to be self-motivated as actors in the society. Increased participation in
community life and political activities, such as voting, implies that the actors possess
higher social capital. Analysis of the social capital of ethnic and visible minorities will
help us to investigate their voting behaviours. Social capital is closely related to one's
socio-economic status. As Kazemipur applies it, social capital refers to "an aggregate
index of three separate but interrelated variables: education, occupation, and income"
(Kazemipur, 2004: 8). One's social capital not only permits the agent to have more social
mobility, but also extra resources to participate in economic and political activities.
Therefore, differences in education, occupation and income will lead to different patterns
of political behaviour. Higher social status increases individuals' esteem and sense of
belonging in society where social members are actively involved. Well-educated
individuals tend to be more active in politics, and the more political knowledge they
have, the more they are likely to vote. They are better able to link their individual and
group interests with issue positions and voting choices (Anderson and Goodyear-Grant,
2005: 1035-1036). The ideal condition is that the political actions of social members are derived from rational choices and an understanding of social norms and responsibilities.
85 The voters' awareness of active participation will then increase the possibilities of a
higher voter turnout. 103
Studying the level of political engagement among immigrants, Bilodeau and Kanji
have discovered that immigrants and local people are nearly equally politically
knowledgeable (Bilodeau and Kanji, 2006: 46). Their study shows that immigrants are
more interested in politics than the Canadian-born population, no matter whether they are
from traditional or non-traditional source countries. When comparing the interest in
politics in four Anglo-democracies, the authors found:
Canadians are among the least interested in politics...This finding is consistent for the local populations as well as for both groups of immigrants. Only immigrants in the United States are less interested in politics than immigrants in Canada. Second, when we compare the results for immigrants against local populations, we find that the gaps between Canadian-born respondents and immigrants stand out from those in other countries. .. .There may be several explanations for these differences. First, immigrants in Canada may appear more interested in politics than immigrants in other Anglo-democracies because the Canadian-born population is less interested than local populations in other countries. Second, there may be differences in the polls of immigrants that settle to different societies and these distinct polls of immigrants could explain higher levels of interest in politics among newcomers in Canada. ...Third, it is possible that immigrants in Canada have better integrated into their host society. ...Only in Canada do immigrants from non-traditional source countries exhibit higher levels of interest in politics than the local population. (Bilodeau and Kanji, 2006: 46- 48)
Bilodeau and Kanji's study is guided by the assumption that immigrants have better
integrated into Canadian society, but only relative to other Anglo-democracies such as the United States. It does not necessarily mean that immigrants are well integrated into the Canadian society. Thus it should not lead to the expectation that there is an equal, or
almost equal, social capital distribution between immigrants and the local Canadian-born
See Nakhaie, M. Reza. "Electoral participation in Municipal, Provincial and Federal Elections in Canada", Canadian Journal of Political Science, 39:2, June 2006: 367, 384.
86 population. On the contrary, evidence shows that immigrants, ethnic groups and visible
minorities have less social capital than other groups in Canada.104 The fact that ethnic
minority groups and immigrants have less social capital may account for their political
passivity. Unique characteristics of voting behaviour of ethnic minorities could be
explained by investigating their disadvantaged social-economic conditions and other
aspects that influence people's political activities, such as education and knowledge of
politics. Proficiency in official languages and institutional promotion during elections
may also influence the voting behaviours of ethnic minority groups. For example,
language barriers between candidates and constituents may hinder their mutual
communication and understanding. And institutional promotion of certain ethnic issues
may manipulate the voting tendency of certain ethnic minority members, for example the
head tax redress issue promoted by the CCNC in the 2006 and 2008 elections. Because of
the limited scope of this chapter, my discussion of the factors that influence the voting behaviours of ethnic minorities will focus on ethnicity, knowledge of politics and socio
economic status, which better illustrate the unique political interests and competency of
ethnic minorities.
5.2 Special Influences on the Voting Behaviour of Ethnic Minorities in
Canada
Understanding the different voting behaviours among dominant ethnic groups and ethnic minorities is only a starting point to analysing the voting behaviour of ethnic minorities in Canada. It is more important that we recognize the differences among
104 See Chapter Five, section 5.3 of this thesis for details of relevant evidences.
87 ethno-cultural and ethno-racial groups in Canada concerning the voter turnout at federal
elections. Also, differences do exist among different generations of foreign-born and
Canadian-born members of the same ethnic minority group. For example, "rates of voter
participation are higher among foreign-born than Canadian-born members of visible
minorities" (Jedwab, 2006: 3). The voting behaviour of a specific ethnic minority could
only be understood when compared to the behaviours of other groups—both that of the
majority and that of other minorities.
5.2.1 Ethnicity
For a long time, people believed that ethnic attachment influenced voter's choices
and made ethnicity an important indicator of the political identification of members of
ethnic minorities.
Many Canadians believe that voter choices are frequently connected with ethnic identification. A January 2006 survey conducted by Ipsos Canada found that some three in four Canadians agree that "members of certain ethnic minorities in Canada tend to vote as a bloc for specific parties or candidates." On the other hand, in the same survey two thirds disagreed that they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who shared their ethnic or religious background. It is worth noting that immigrant and non-immigrant respondents, visible minorities and others were equally unlikely to vote for a candidate on that basis. (Jedwab, 2006: 4)
Jedwab mentions that it was unclear to what extent ethnic attachment encouraged
minority voters to participate in elections. Generally speaking, length of residence is
more influential on ethnic participation in voting than ethnic attachment (Jedwab, 2006:
4). However, some ethnic groups with longer settlement history participate less in political activities such as elections. Lapp's study (discussed in Chapter Three) shows that the Chinese community in Montreal is less active in voting participation than other
ethnic communities such as the Greeks, even though Chinese immigrants settled in
88 Canada much earlier. It is probably because ethnic culture, including ethnic political
culture, as an essential part of "ethnic attachment" actually keeps shaping the political
participation of an ethnic group. Immigrant adaptation is not always the best predictor of
voter participation. Jedwab's analysis on the data of the Ethnic Diversity Survey (EDS)
indicates that:
.. .immigrants born in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America report lower rates of voting in federal elections than the Canadian-born electorate. Immigrants born in European countries tend to report higher rates of such participation than the native-born group....eligible voters who are not members of visible minority groups generally report higher than average voter turnouts. .. .the differences between Canadian-born and foreign-born members of the same group...With the exception of Japanese respondents, immigrants tend to self-report higher levels of participation than non immigrants...
The EDS offers no support for the idea that strong ethnic attachments result in lower rates of voter participation. .. .those with strong connections to ethnicity tend to report higher voter turnout. The EDS reveals that more of those indicating higher levels of belonging to Canada tend to report that they voted in federal elections. However, EDS data also indicate that strong attachment to ethnic communities does not imply weaker attachment to Canada and therefore it would be wrong to assume that minority ethnic groups participate less because of insufficient national identification. (Jedwab, 2006: 7-8)
From the EDS analysis, we find ethnicity is not sufficient in explaining the voting behaviours of ethnic groups. Ethnic attachment might be proportionately related to rates of voter participation, especially in elections where the ethnic voters' count is viewed more significantly and they believe voting will improve their situation. But ethnicity is not exclusive to other identification such as the sense of belonging to Canada. Higher voter participation among those who have strong ethnic attachments is supportive of the theories of minority rights and political participation that expect a more inclusive political
89 environment. Instead of "ethnicity," it is occupying a disadvantaged social position that
makes some ethnic minorities less active in political participation.
5.2.2 Knowledge of politics
Knowledge of politics is another factor that requires special investigation when
studying voting behaviours of recent immigrants and ethnic groups in Canada. A study on
EDS indicates that factual political knowledge does not significantly influence the trust of
immigrants in political institutions, whereas, the local environment is important, too, in
encouraging immigrants to participate (White and Nevitte, et al. 2006). Recent immigrant
Canadians are more likely to vote than other Canadians due to their celebrating of voting
rights and their above-average educational background:
.. .immigrant Canadians could be more likely than native-born Canadians to vote. Growing numbers of immigrants coming from countries where there was no opportunity to vote, and these immigrants may be less likely than other Canadians to take the right to vote for granted. Moreover, even if many immigrants are short on the time, money and first-hand experience needed to participate in Canadian politics, they are well endowed with the basic cognitive resources that facilitate voting. On balance, immigrants tend to have significantly higher levels of formal education than their native-born counterparts because Canada's immigration policy since 1967 has favoured well-educated migrants and skilled labourers. (White and Nevitte, et al., 2006:11)
There are two main assumptions on how soon immigrants integrate into local political activities (White and Nevitte, et al., 2006: 13). One is that the longer the
immigrants stay in their origin political environment—even after their formative years— the more likely their political participation pattern would persist after they immigrate. So their political outlook and ideology would not be changed easily.
The other is that the absolute accumulation of political experience, and interest in it, is more significant in interpreting immigrants' political adaptation. The second view
90 expects immigrants to transfer at least part of their former political experiences into the host environment. White and Nevitte's study shows that the political learning curve is steeper for immigrants, so their adaptation to Canadian political environment proceeds faster than Canadian-born population. The steeper learning curve for immigrant
Canadians implies that age as a regular index indicating political activeness turns to be less significant among immigrants than among native-born Canadians. Usually, a senior
Canadian tends to be more active in the political sphere than juniors. However, the steeper curve and higher voting rates indicate that immigrants absorb Canadian political culture more quickly by transferring political experiences and knowledge gained in their home country to Canada, as well as through exposure to Canadian politics.
According to White and Nevitte, experience with Canadian politics is the main determinant of turnout among immigrant Canadians (White and Nevitte, et al., 2006: 13).
The formative process of political ideology and outlook continue after immigration but to some degree it begins a revolutionary acceleration. The more immigrants are exposed to
Canadian politics, such as elections, the better they transfer their former political experiences into the new environment. As for visible minorities, there is always a concern about under-representation. Therefore, "visible minorities are more likely than other candidates to find the current single-member plurality electoral system unacceptable, are more supportive of certain electoral reform initiatives, and have somewhat stronger and more polarized opinions on whether quotas and affirmative action should be used to redress their under-representation" (Black and Hicks, 2006: 17).
Visible minorities have different perspectives and different starting points from other
91 groups, which leads to their special expectations for a more inclusive political system and
some form of "sociocracy".105
5.3 Socio-economic Conditions of Ethnic Minority Groups
5.3.1 Lower strata; higher unemployment
Socio-economic conditions, education and knowledge of politics are the main
elements that influence civilian voting behaviour (Nakhaie, 2006. Anderson and
Goodyear-Grant, 2005). From White and Nevitte's study, we see that knowledge of
politics and education are no longer the most important factors making the ethnic and
visible minorities different in political involvement. In fact, the social capital possessed by ethnic and visible minorities, as well as their socio-economic status, functions from the very bottom to formulate their political participation pattern.
Some scholars find that a relatively large proportion of ethnic minorities and
immigrants belong to the lower strata of their host society, characterised by relatively low educational attainment, low income, a high proportion of manual labourers, as well as higher levels of unemployment (Coenders, Gijsberts and Scheepers, 2004: 33). These characteristics decide the limited accessibility for ethnic minorities and immigrants to the available social resources that are necessary for political mobility required for active political participation.
In general, ethnic and visible minorities are usually economically disadvantaged.
Recent immigrants living in Canada less than 5 years usually lack business network and
105 Sociocracy endorses a full representation of every member and advocates inclusive decision making, which is, theoretically speaking, exactly what visible minorities are looking for in political involvement. For more information, see
92 relationship, or the required training, efficiency in communication, or relevant working
experiences, etc.106 Their economic conditions are under pressure upon landing as their
access to the labour market is rather limited, and their previous careers are postponed.
Their integration into the local labour market is protected by laws and regulations, but
still hindered by resistance from a variety of social aspects. The "blocked mobility, or
structural barriers, in the larger economy is what pushes many immigrants towards self-
employment or employment in the ethnic enclaves" (Kazemipur, 2004: 13). Higher
unemployment rates show the consequential disadvantages in economic conditions of
recent immigrant-Canadians.
In June 1991, the unemployment rate of recent immigrants was 17.7%, compared with 10.1% for Canadian-born adults. Among men, the rates were 17.P/o for recent immigrants and 10.2%> for the Canadian-born. The corresponding rates for women were 18.4% and 10.0%>. And while unemployment among the Canadian-born tended to decline at older ages, this was not the case for recent immigrants. The rate was 20.4% for recent immigrants aged 45 to 64, two-and-a-half times the figure for the Canadian- bora (7.6%). (Chui and Devereaux, 1995: 17)
Recent female immigrants suffered more from unemployment than male immigrants. Immigrants do not tend to succeed in improving their economic situation as they age as their Canadian-born counterparts did. The overall higher unemployment among immigrant-Canadians unquestionably prevents them from participating normally in political activities.
5.3.2 Lower income; less political participation
From 1980-2000, low-income rates of immigrants kept increasing and the income gap between immigrants and non-immigrants widened during the same period (Palameta,
106 Usually immigrants experience low-income and unemployment more seriously within the first 5-10 years immediately after their arrivals. See Palameta, 2004 and Chui and Devereaux, 1995.
93 2004: 12). Recent immigrants suffer from low-income at a higher rate and frequency than
early immigrants and non-immigrants107. They were more likely than non-immigrants to
have low-income experiences repeated within a controlled period. The likelihood of
recent immigrants to experience low-income is two to three times higher than that for the
Canadian-born, no matter which variables are used (Palameta, 2004: 13-14). Among
recent immigrants, visible minorities count for three out of five.
...(in terms of income gaps among visible minorities) Visible minority status was linked with low income for immigrants, but not for non immigrants. Canadian-born visible minorities were no more likely than others born in Canada to experience low income...visible minority immigrants were significantly more likely than other immigrants to be in low income, regardless of time in Canada...... visible minorities who were in low income at least once, including those born in Canada were more likely than other Canadians with similar characteristics who were not visible minorities to experience low income repeatedly. .. .three groups of immigrants—recent arrivals who had been in Canada for less than seven years, visible minorities, and seniors who had come to Canada in their late 40s or their 50s—were at greater risk of experiencing low income for at least one year. (Palameta, 2004: 14-16)
Lower-income among visible minorities, as shown above, leads to the lack of political participation in visible minority groups, and unemployment is one of the main
causes that make immigrants, especially visible minorities, remaining in the low-income category. Since 1967, when Canadian immigration policy abandoned racial and regional prejudice, immigrants are regarded increasingly as a necessary supplement to the
shrinking Canadian labour market. Occupations for immigrants are no longer limited to laundry, restaurant or seasonal work. However, some scholars find that although ethnicity
See Palameta, " Low Income Among Immigrants and Visible Minorities", Perspectives, April 2004. Statistics Canada—Catalogue no. 75-001-XIE:13-14.
94 has lost its significance in determining the occupation, it still has an influence in
determining the earnings and the rewards to human capital:
In a methodologically sound study of earning differentials among ethnic groups in Canada, [by]Pendakur and Pandakur (1998)...[the] findings were: (1) there are substantial earnings differentials between visible minority and white workers, and these differences cannot be explained by observable characteristics; (2) immigrant white men earn almost as much as Canadian-born white men; (3) immigrant non-white (visible minority) men face an earning gap of about 15.8 percent, compared to Canadian-born white men; (4) controlling for immigration status, a comparison of the earnings of Canadian-born visible minority and aboriginal men with those of Canadian- born white men shows that the former two groups suffer from an earning gap of 8.2 and 12.5 per cent, respectively. This indicates that race remains an influential factor in determining the earnings of Canadians, and such an influence cannot be reduced to immigration status. When it comes to women, the findings are somewhat surprising; (5) Canadian-born visible minority women do not appear to suffer an earnings penalty in comparison with Canadian-born white women; (6) however, Aboriginal women and immigrant visible-minority women face earnings gaps of 6.8 per cent and 9.1 per cent, respectively. (Kazemipur, 2004: 13, 14)
No matter how scholars explain the above findings, the fact that visible minorities
earn less supports the assumption that economic disadvantages have a negative impact on the political participation of visible minorities.
Firstly, as we mentioned in Chapter Three, the preoccupation with attempts to improve economic conditions for their families makes ethnic and visible minorities less concerned about politics. Secondly, economic disadvantages prevent ethnic and visible minorities from acquiring relevant education and further training financed by themselves, which are still the crucial channels for workers to remain competitive in the labour market. When the reduction in their self-investment has no compensatory replacement from the larger society, ethnic and visible minorities will lag behind their counterpart
Canadians in many other social activities including political participation. Thirdly,
95 pressure from economic competition leads ethnic and visible minorities to search for work positions for which they are overqualified. According to a study of the CIC on degree-qualified immigrants, it shows an overall 23.8% of degree-qualified recent arrivals had accepted very de-skilled work in Canada, compared to 20.7% in
Australia.108
More exposure to underemployment affects the esteem of ethnic and visible minorities. Such a trend also intensifies and worsens their relationship with the larger society, especially with people working at those positions. Resistance to ethnic and visible minorities and immigrants in the labour market changes the external criteria of their out-group peers to form unfavourable images of ethnic minority groups. The negative group stereotype influences the group's self esteem and cause loss of interest in political involvement because political participation demands high esteem for individuals and their identified groups, as well as their sense of belonging to the larger society.
"Labour Market Outcomes for Migrant Professionals: Canada and Australia Compared - Executive Summary",
96 5.4 Features of the Chinese Canadian Community in Socio-economic
Conditions and Voting Pattern
5.4.1 Differences in socio-economic conditions within the Chinese ethnic group
Like other visible minorities, Chinese immigrants face similar situations in socio
economic conditions. For instance, they also suffer from low-income, especially during
their early settlement period. In the past, Chinese immigrants were very inwardly self-
administrative, remaining in their native cultural system and ethnic economic sectors
(Con, et al, 1982: 10). Due to a long history of settlement in Canada, there are more
distinctive differences among native-born Chinese Canadians and foreign born Chinese
Canadians.
According to the 2001 Census, prime working age Chinese who immigrated in the 1990s had an employment rate of 61%, lower than the level of 80% for the total population....The employment rate of Canadian born Chinese men aged 25 to 54, at 86%, was the same as that for all Canadian-born men. Meanwhile, the rate for native-born Chinese-Canadian women, at 83%, was in fact higher than the proportion of 76% for all Canadian-born women. (Chui, Tran and Flanders, 2005: 30)
It is very noticeable that being Canadian born eases the employment pressure of
second generation Chinese immigrants. Even though the average employment rate among women is lower than the average among men, native-born Chinese Canadian women, as an embodiment of feminist and racial concern, have advantages in the labour market.
Indirectly, the equal-to-average employment rate among native-born Chinese Canadians shows that a substantial change in the socio-economic conditions between the first and the second and subsequent generations shapes future political participation, such as voting behaviour. If that were to be the case, we could expect an equal-to-average voting
97 rate among the second and later generations of Chinese Canadians as compared with the
total population.
5.4.2 Differences of participation rate within the Chinese ethnic group
In a recent study on diversity in Canada and analysis on the EDS data, Reitz (2005)
suggests that a racial divide in the social integration of immigrant groups grows over time
with their experience in Canada and becomes even larger for the "second generation"
children of immigrants. The Chinese community has a citizenship rate as high as 83.90%,
but the overall voting turnout of this ethnic group accounts only 47.9%. Within the group,
recent immigrant citizens have an even lower turnout rate of only 24.1%. Table 5.1,
Table 5.2 and Table 5.3 are extracted from Reitz's analysis. For complete figures, please
refer to Appendix III.
Table 5.1* Voting Rate in Federal Election by Period of Immigration109
Recent Earlier 2nd Generation
Chinese 24.1 67.6 47.0
Table 5.2* Citizenship Rates and Voting Rates Comparison I
Citizenship Voting turnout in Fed. Elect.
Whites 97.30% 72.6%
All Visible Minorities 78.96% 45.6%
"Recent" and "Earlier" notions were decided by the arrivals of the immigrants. Usually, "Recent" immigrants refer to those who have stayed in Canada for not more than 10 years; while "Earlier" immigrants have been in Canada for over 10 years. Please refer to the EDS for specific definition of relevant terms.
98 Table 5.3* Citizenship Rates and Voting Rates Comparison II
Specific Minority Origins
Citizenship Voting turnout in Fed. Elect.
Chinese 83.90% 47.9%
South Asian 73.30% 45.3%
Black 80.80% 44.9%
Other Visible Minorities 78.00% 44.3%
*Statistics based on analysis of the EDS , Statistics Canada, intercepted from Jeffrey G. Reitz's research, "Diversity,
Inequality, and the Cohesion of Canadian Society: Research Findings and Policy Implications". University of Toronto
September 2005. Refer to APPENDIX III.
From the voting rate by period of immigration listed in the above tables, we see
that recent Chinese immigrants have the lowest voting rates, and earlier Chinese
immigrants have nearly the same voting turnout as the national average. It seems that
longer residence and more active political involvement have a positive relationship for
this group. However, the second generation of Chinese immigrants is similar to the
second generation of other visible minority groups and have fairly low voting rates. As
we discussed above, recent immigrants of ethnic minority groups are more likely to
experience low-income and unemployment, which may postpone their societal
integration and decrease their political competency. The lowest voting rate (24.1%)
among recent immigrants of Chinese background is within the above explanatory scope.
5.5 Summary
The voting patterns of Chinese Canadians are similar to those of other ethnic groups; however, it is distinct in some aspects. Ethnic minorities are disadvantaged in
99 their possession of social capital, and therefore are less interested in political participation, as demonstrated by voting rates. Causes for the inactiveness of ethnic groups in politics include their higher rates of unemployment and underemployment, lower income, difficulties in recognition of their credentials, less efficient official languages, conflicts with local labourers, shorter period of residence, etc.. Chinese
Canadians share most of these characteristics in social capital calculation. They tend to have a lower to average rate of voter turnout, especially among recent immigrants and second generation who are stricken by lower income and less exposure to political activities. It is very clear that the actual integration of Chinese immigrants into Canadian politics cannot be realised in a short period of time. It is not practical to expect that visible minority groups naturally integrate into their host political culture, as do ethnic groups with Caucasian background. Only a gradual improvement in their socio-economic conditions, a continuous increase of social capital and a more favourable and supporting political environment could provide more chances for increased participation of ethnic groups, such as the Chinese.
100 CHAPTER SIX: CHINESE CANADIANS AND DEMOCRATIC CANADA:
CANADIAN MULTICULTURAL CITIZENSHIP
—THE APPLICATION OF THEORIES
6.1 Minority and Minority Problems in Canada: Fischer's View
In his book Minorities and Minority Problems, Fischer has summarized that the
British Canadians are Canada's majority. French-Canadians (Quebecois), Metis, Indians,
Eskimos (Inuit), immigrant groups of European origin (Irish, Germans, Scandinavians,
Italians, Ukrainians, Dutch, Poles and other Slavic People, Non-Slavic East European nationals, Jews, Greeks, Portuguese), non-Europeans (Asians: Chinese, Japanese), Blacks are the minorities in Canada (Fischer, 1980: 48-53). He also views Jews, Lutherans,
Greek-Orthodox Mennonites, Mormons, Hutterites, Dukhobors, etc. as religious minorities (Fischer, 1980: 54).
Firstly, Chinese immigrants are a demographic minority. Secondly, because
Chinese Canadians are different from the majority ethnic group in race, language and culture, they are also a cultural minority in Canada. Thirdly, they are a minority originating from immigration. When describing different types of relationships between the majority and the minorities, Fischer believed that there are "minorities that want to assimilate into the majority population" (Fischer, 1980: 348). He gave examples of immigrant groups. Even though immigrants have complicated reasons for leaving their home country, and sometimes they are very different from the native population, it is still common that they want to be accepted.
Generally speaking, assimilation is one of the solutions to minority problems, even though this solution is also accused of being a major cause of ethnocide. However, it is
101 only functional when the minority is willing to be accepted and assimilated, as is the case with some immigrants. Coexistence of the majority and the minority requires some kind of affiliation, or sympathy, between the two. Language uniformity, Fischer said, is sometimes a condition (Fischer, 1980: 353). In situations where "immigrants are living dispersed among the majority, their assimilation is obviously a much faster process than when they are living in groups by themselves" (Fischer, 1980: 358). But there is resistance to assimilation, either from the majority or from the minority itself, or from both. Sometimes it is because the majority means to put the minority down; sometimes it is because the minority strongly intends to keep its distinctiveness, such as language or religious beliefs (Fischer, 1980: 377-378). Fischer thinks that the future for minority problems would be a further development of plural societies and multinational states in which minorities are strong enough to minimize the transition of individuals of minority groups to the majority. Or a long tradition of integration and mutual tolerance might develop mutual respect between the majority and the minority. In Fischer's view, tolerance, integration, and accommodation may be accomplished by special legal provisions for the protection of minorities. In western democracies, the possible trend is a solution that combines tolerance, minority rights and protection. However legal provisions for minority protection are facing challenges from the principle of majority rule and political equality in democracies. Difficulties for minority rights advocacy also lie in the conflict between liberty for the individual and for an organized body, a nation
(Fischer, 1980: 419-427).
102 6.2 What to Include When Studying Ethnic Minorities
6.2.1 Variables of ethnic minority groups
The social momentum of an ethnic group is decided by a variety of social aspects.
These aspects are presently or potentially changing an ethnic group's size and membership. As Chan Kwok-bun suggests, we should consider a lot of variables when
studying an ethnic group and its social influence, such as the group size relative to the total population, the degree of residential concentration or dispersion, length of
settlement, compatibility with host society in language, religion, race and culture,
education level, experience with extent of discrimination and degree of social mobility in the host country (Chan Kwok-bun, 2005: 83). Chan suggests these variables would change the ethnic groups' membership, and therefore change their powers of influence.
Jedweb takes it a step further saying that "ethnic group" is a force drawn from its members' feelings of belonging rather than a simple collection of statistics or people based on ethnic origin. Ethnic groups, therefore, are a vital social force. They have influences upon the bigger society and they are influenced in return. As Jedwab suggests:
Because what happens in ethnic collectivities can have implications, directly or indirectly, for the society at large, the State is likely to attempt to influence their leadership, its policy orientations, and its activities. Such non-governmental entities, such as churches, political parties, labour unions, business, and the media, may also have an interest in influencing the affairs of ethnic communities. They may attempt to shape the composition of ethnocultural leadership by making it dependent on the external body and its resources or by incorporating the leadership in the larger institutional framework through particular policy communities or interorganizational networks.... Most ethnocultural communities are not well equipped to deal with dissent. Leaders prefer consensus politics and are uncomfortable when faced with active opposition. Organizations based on ethnocultural identity needs have at times become fertile grounds for individual and collective rivalries that have tended to reflect social and political cleavages. (Jedwab, 2001: 4)
103 The integration of ethnic minorities into local society is very complicated. Ethnic
minorities live between the cultures and identities of their host country and their origin
countries. Even though their intentions are to integrate into Canada, their former lives,
and the existing social conditions in their host country may nevertheless prevent them
from achieving a complete identification with the Canadian local cultural and socio
economic environment. In addition, their innate ethnicity sometimes leads to a view that
whatever they are advocating is based on their "ethnic" interests. Such a view sets a more
complicated context for people to advocate ethnic minority rights. The fact is that the
integration efforts from the ethnic minorities usually consist of two processes: to accept
and to be accepted. To accept the norms, identity and values of the larger society is
directly driven by the intention of the ethnic minority groups to integrate and the will of
the host society to accommodate them. To be accepted, however, the ethnic minority
groups must give up part of their norms, identity or values in order to establish a new
hybrid of norms, identity and values that will help them fit in the host society. During both processes, the basic rights of the ethnic minorities should be left intact so that their
final integration is voluntary and successful in terms of making them fully capable to
fulfill their obligations as societal members.
6.2.2 Variables outside ethnic minority groups
The extent to which ethnic minorities are integrated depends on the attitude of the local population toward immigrants. Usually, the more favourable the local environment is to new-comers, the better immigrants will self-motivate to integrate. However, as we discussed in Chapter Four, due to a variety of economic and cultural conflicts, immigrants are not well received in many countries. A study shows that local population
104 held noticeable negative attitudes toward immigrants (Coenders et al., 2004: 29-69).
Their findings reveal that over half of those polled are apt to relate the increase of crime
rate and unemployment to immigrants in the 22 countries under research, Canada
included. Overall, immigrants are not well received and are seen as negative forces for
social stability. It is particularly noticeable that "the resistance to immigrants and
refugees was relatively strong among the lower social strata, that is, among the lower
educated, the lower income groups and among the manual workers, unemployed and self-
employed" (Gijsberts et al., 2004: 104). These lower social strata are where immigrants
and ethnic visible minorities are of high density. Integration of immigrants into the larger
society will never happen without the interactions between the two.
6.3 Multicultural Citizenship: Inclusiveness in Canada
Chinese Canadians have been self-administered for a long time. The Chinese
community has taken the position of the state in welfare, socio-economic and cultural
functions. The Canadian state remained aloof from their in-group affairs and often pulled itself away from assisting the community to integrate into the macro environment for a variety of reasons, ranging from racism to reactionary attitudes. However, as Moore states, this formerly excluded group is "marginalized by the liberal democratic state".
And now "justice requires the recognition and inclusion of these previously marginalized groups." (Moore, 2001: 177-178) Moore argues that multiculturalism does not necessarily jeopardize the common good and unity of society. Both commonality and diversity are necessary for a healthy liberal society.
105 Moore thinks that the state is not neutral between cultures nor between individuals
and that it has a preference for certain cultures and groups. If ethnic minorities become
aware of the fact that there is no state neutrality among cultures and groups, they will
develop their consciousness of co-existence and start their search for recognition, even in
the public sphere. Recognition of individuality of ethnic minorities in culture as well as in
ethnic identity is a form of inclusion of differences. The demand from ethnic minorities
on minority rights and inclusion will then, in Moore's words, "strengthen citizenship by
making the state more inclusive" (Moore, 2001: 190).
In an age of political inclusiveness, conceptions of citizenship are developed to be
more open to different interpretations. Each interpretation emphasizes a specific need of
the citizens and defines a specific relationship between the state and the citizen. In
Ronald Beiner's words, there are several main trends of the conceptions of citizenship
(Beiner, 2003: 167-168). The liberal conception of citizenship sees citizenship as the
"allegiance to the state as something that enforces the rule of law and acts as a protector
of universal human rights." The pluralist conception of citizenship is "provision by the
state of an open framework for the flowering of group identity or group purposes, either
in civil society, or in multicultural subgroups." The welfarist conception of citizenship
views citizenship as the "allegiance to the state defined by receipt of benefits and social
services dispensed by the welfare state". Nationalist citizenship regards citizenship as the vehicle for the furthering of national identity—where "national" is not taken to be merely
a synonym for "civic," but refers to some more specific ethnolinguistic, cultural, or religious community. And lastly, Beiner mentions "Arendtian" citizenship specifically as
"the means for giving effect to our noblest human capacities: our power to realise
106 ourselves as political animals." (Beiner, 2003: 168). These conceptions will develop
along with the increasing demands upon the state to become more and more a tool for the
enforcement of citizenship rights—universal human rights, identity rights, welfare rights,
cultural and religious rights or rights to conduct self-realization. In these conceptions,
citizens' allegiance to this "citizenship rights enforcement tool" is their obligation to the
state. Combination of the rights and obligations, the citizens and the state is "citizenship".
To participate in Canadian nation-building is not only a right but also an obligation for
each Canadian.
Citizens of ethnocultural minorities should benefit from their allegiance to Canada
and be entitled to all the rights that are defined by Canadian citizenship, including
ethnocultural rights and identity rights. To advocate and enforce these rights of Canadian
citizenship demands an enforced representation. This enforced representation could go
beyond any boundaries or territorial links between the represented and the representative
so as to reduce the impact from structural underrepresentation of minorities, such as that
of gender, ideology, or ethnicity.
A more inclusive representation—more inclusive to minorities—could help the
overall integration of Canada and improve democratic development. Richard Munch's
study on nation and citizenship discusses different experimentation tools for integration.
He emphasizes that each country has preference in particular way of integration, such as civic community in Britain, state in France, market in the United States and law in
Germany (Munch, 2001: 2-3). From what Lopez-Pintor proposes on Electoral Insight as
107 measures to encourage communities in electoral participation, we could probably extract
a method for integration in Canada110.
1. Constitutional provisions for the system of government and power- sharing arrangements, signed before the first elections. ... 2. Inclusive representation formulas that provide for list-proportional representation (PR) in sub-national constituencies. ... 3. Quotas and reserved seats from ethnic minorities, similar to gender balance mechanisms... 4. Voter registration provisions that encourage minority ethnic groups... 5. Adding ethnic sensitivity to electoral procedures by interethnic composition of electoral commissions at national and sub-national levels... 6. Use of minority languages for polling and educational materials... 7. Efforts to eliminate hate speech, through media development projects (funded mainly by the UN, OSCE and USAID) and media monitoring. (Lopez-Pintor, 2006: 51)
These proposals include the most possible institutional adaptations of the Canadian
electoral system to be more open and inclusive to minorities, and are more concerned
with the procedural convenience to voters from ethnic minorities. Inclusiveness is viewed
as a fundamental way of integration through political participation in Canada.
6.4 Summary
Inclusion of formerly marginalised groups could help realize the unity of commonality and diversity in the Canadian state. Minority rights are an important supplement to individual freedom and equality in a multiethnic context (Kymlicka, 2001:
163-164). Minority problems present challenges for Canadian democracy, both historically and presently. It is necessary for minority groups to face their obligation toward Canada conscientiously, so they themselves are actively seeking political equality.
110 For a more official reformation recommendation, refer to Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, "Completing the Cycle of Electoral Reforms: Recommendations from the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada on the 38th General Election". Elections Canada, Sep. 2005. Most of Lopez-Pintor's suggestions are in accord to that of the Chief Electoral Officer's reform objectives.
108 It is equally important that Canada as a state recognize its duty to provide soil for political equality. Only when minority groups are willing to seek their inclusion and the state is ready to accept and accommodate the differences among its members, will it be possible for the inclusion of minority groups into decision-making. Only then will the chances to balance majority rule and political equality increase. During this process, multicultural citizenship will help both minority groups and the Canadian state to see their wishes and responsibilities to support each other.
Interactions between minority groups and the Canadian state will set forth more minority problems and issues to challenge contemporary Canadian democracy, and will continue doing so in the future. Currently, Canadian democracy is responding to the interactions between the minority groups and the Canadian state. The struggles of ethnic minority groups for inclusion will push Canadian democracy to improve, and consequently the progress of the larger society will then provide a more favourable macro environment for minorities to be respected and included.
109 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION
Multicultural citizenship is a leading experiment in promoting the politics of
inclusiveness, aiming at including ethnic and visible minorities and other former
marginalized groups into Canadian power sharing and decision-making. In the theoretical
framework reviewd, the Chinese community is investigated as a visible minority, an
ethnic minority and a marginalized group in Canada. Through a historical review on the
development of the Chinese community and discussion on its current political
participation, their exercise of political rights and fulfillment of citizens' obligations, we
found that the Chinese community has been striving for recognition and accommodation
in the larger society. However, historically, they were also victims of racism,
discrimination, and exclusive policies by the Canadian state and society, just like all other
visible minorities in Canada. Also, the differences in language, culture and social norms
from the dominant groups prevent the Chinese community from achieving a smooth
integration into mainstream society. Their socio-economic status was limited and under
developed in the past. Consequently, the group's political integration is slow and
ineffective. Chinese immigrants are still facing problems of economic and social integration. Ethnic distinctiveness, disadvantages in the labour market and a less
accommodating host society with a history of anti-Asian racism are the main obstacles for the Chinese Canadians to perform a more comprehensive participation.
The Chinese ethnic group is one of the many ethnic minority groups who are searching for accommodation and full participation in the Canadian multicultural environment. As Canadian democracy develops, these groups should no longer be isolated. Canadian democracy now encourages their efforts for inclusion in the larger
110 society. Ethnic issues are related to the macro environment as well as the micro world within the groups. The interactions between the ethnic minority groups and the larger society lead to a new quest for coexistence. Inclusiveness is one way to facilitate coexistence and to cross "the political boundaries" (Chan, 2005: 91-92). Recognition of the demands on multiple identities and minority rights will help marginalized minorities
"to be included in democratic debate and decision-making" (Moore, 2001:190).
The case study of the political participation of Chinese Canadians displays the particular voting behaviour of this ethnic group and ethnic candidates' profiles, which reflects the particularity of their citizenship exercise, voting behaviours, leader preferences, etc. They have shared a big portion of political concerns with other
Canadians and other minority groups; however, they have some specific political interests that only they themselves are deeply involved in and sometimes strongly pushing, such as the head tax redress. The socio-economic situation of this minority group is typical in defining their political activity. Moreover, their political ideology is closely related to their multicultural experiences, including unique immigration experiences and multiple self-identifications that are unavoidably involved with their status as Canadian citizens and their ethnic identification with the Chinese Canadian ethnic minority group.
The case of the Chinese Canadians also suggests the necessity for new development of participatory democracy into a more inclusive form. Conceptions of citizenship rights, political participation and representation in Canada need to be interpreted along with the diversity of the Canadian political exerters. Specific measures, such as using working staff that are multilingual or providing more necessary instructions in political activity, should become available when promoting the political participation
111 of ethnic minority groups. The participation of ethnic minority groups, such as the
Chinese community, usually demands a more complicated and strategic promotion from
both in-group and out-group forces.
As discussed in previous chapters, the politics of inclusiveness are required in
order to develop democracy into a combination of majority rule and political equality.
This democracy should be sensitive to the diversity in Canada's political population
while being flexible and reasonable in accommodating minority groups. The advocacy of
Canadian multicultural citizenship provides more opportunities for ethnic minority
groups to be understood and included, begetting the movement for political inclusiveness.
The development of Canada's inclusive politics will go shoulder to shoulder with the
untiring struggles of the ethnic minorities, national minorities and other marginal groups
towards a democracy of broader participation.
Due to the limited scope of this thesis, some important issues related to the political
participation of ethnic minorities are not fully discussed, or discussed without abounding
statistic evidences. For example, the political involvement of institutions of ethnic minority groups in promoting electorates during the federal elections, the functions of media of ethnic minority contents in presenting ethnic issues or electoral campaign, and other political movements of ethnic minority groups, etc. are not discussed in detail in this thesis. The relationship between proficiency of official languages and political competence of ethnic minorities is not discussed fully. And the case study in this thesis did not make a distinction of different interest or regional groups within Chinese
Canadians. For instance, immigrants from Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, and
Chinese overseas from Southeast Asia may turn out to be different electorates. It is
112 difficult to do analysis separately on their voting behaviours without a profound survey on Chinese Canadians. These issues are important for a comprehensive analysis on the political participation of ethnic minorities in Canada.
In conclusion, we return to Taylor: "accommodating difference is what Canada is all about" (Taylor, 1991: 75). Minority rights and more inclusive decision making, such as better parliamentary representation of ethnic minorities in Canada, will provide a healthier environment for all ethnic groups. Political participation of ethnic minority groups will be further improved in the Canadian context. Minority rights are not for the interests of specific groups, but for the benefits of all Canadians.
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CCNC and head tax families take the position that all head tax families directly experienced the racist legislation and therefore redress is incomplete. We urge the Government of Canada to commit to good faith negotiations in the spirit of "one head tax certificate, one claim." What is your Party's position on inclusive redress? Does your Party support direct redress for all head tax families? 2. Bill C-51. Many cultural communities, natural health groups, and alternative and traditional health practitioners are opposed to Bill C-51's stringent regulations on natural health products. What is your Party's position on Bill C-51? What mechanisms would your Party propose to ensure that natural health products are safe? 3. Bill C-50. Numerous community, faith and labour groups including CCNC vigorously opposed the changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in Bill C-50. What is your Party's position on repealing Bill C-50? What alternative legislation would your Party propose? 4. Path to Permanent Legal Status. Canada has established a guest-worker model with regards to tens of thousands of temporary foreign workers and non-status residents who by virtue of their lack of permanent legal status are among the most vulnerable in our society. What will your Party do to ensure that all temporary foreign workers and non status persons have a clear path to permanent legal status in Canada? 5. Immigration Targets. Canada will soon be solely reliant on immigration for net labour force gains and by extension, for maintaining our quality of life. What is your Party's view on expanding the annual immigration target from 250,000 permanent residents to a new target of 1% of the Canadian population or 330,000 people? What is your Party's proposed target range for family class immigration for the next 3 years? 6. Youth Unemployment. Youth unemployment rates are consistently more than double the adult unemployment rates. What will your Party do to improve the employment opportunities for Canadian youth and particularly for immigrant and minority youth? What specific initiatives does your Party propose to improve youth participation and particularly from immigrant and minority youth in all aspects of Canadian society? 7. Economic Security for Seniors. Immigrant seniors face a 10 year residency requirement before becoming eligible to access Old Age Security and other seniors' 128 benefits. A private members' Bill C-362 was proposed to address this situation. What is your Party's position on eliminating the 10 year residency requirement for immigrant seniors? What are your new policies to address the transportation and housing needs of immigrant and minority seniors? 8. Court Challenges Program. The Court Challenges Program was cancelled in 2007 however the Government of Canada has recently announced a new program with minority official-language communities but excluded equality-seeking groups. What is your Party's position on the restoration of full funding of the Court Challenges Program for equality-seeking groups? 9. Employment Equity. The public sector workforce (public service, armed forces, RCMP, crown corporations) is not representative of the diversity of Canada and the Government has set targets for increasing visible minority hiring. What specific plans will your Party implement in order to achieve concrete results in minority hiring, promotion and retention in the public sector? What specific measures does your Party propose to concretely improve the representation in the senior ranks of the public sector? 10. Social Exclusion. Racism is a public health issue and there are numerous cases of newcomers and members of racialized communities unable to cope with the stresses of social exclusion, racism, underemployment and unemployment. What specific plans will your Party implement in order to address social exclusion and racism and its impact on newcomer and racialized communities in Canada? What is your Party's specific strategy on addressing mental health issues? 129 APPENDIX II 2006 CCNC ELECTION PRIMER REDRESS Canada's "National Dream" was realized when the Last Spike was driven to complete the transcontinental railway in 1885. The ceremony excluded the Chinese railway workers who blasted through the Rockies and lay the tracks and, for thousands, gave their lives to the building of this country. Instead of gratitude, the government imposed the head tax on all new Chinese immigrants - $50 in 1885, increased to $100 inl900 and finally $500 in 1903. In all, $23 million in head taxes was paid. Finally, in 1923, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed to stop Chinese immigration altogether until the legislation was repealed in 1947. Question 1: Do you support an all-party Parliamentary resolution to acknowledge the injustice and racial discrimination, and to recognize the suffering of individual Chinese Canadians, their families, and the entire Chinese Canadian community that resulted from this legislated racism, including the emotional and financial hardship, and the forced separation of families? The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) started in 1984 to campaign for redress for the 62 years of legislated racism. Over 4,000 head tax payers and families registered with CCNC across Canada. But after 20 years of foot dragging by successive federal governments, there are only a couple hundred head tax payers or surviving spouses alive today. Question 2: Do you support the return of a symbolic amount to the approximately 250 surviving head tax payers and surviving spouses? In its 2005 federal budget, Prime Minister Paul Martin's government set aside $25 million to address redress claims from several communities but it set preconditions on the so-called Acknowledgement, Commemoration and Education [ACE] program: "no apology, no compensation". Despite widespread opposition, the government rushed to sign an agreement in principle to allocate $2.5 million from the ACE program to the National Congress of Chinese Canadians which accepted the preconditions but which does not represent head tax families. Question 3: Will you rescind the agreement in principle signed with the Congress and stop payment on the $2.5 million ACE program funds identified therein? The process of reconciliation cannot begin until the federal government deals directly with those most affected: the head tax families. It must also negotiate in good faith with groups that the head tax families themselves chose to represent them, not those that the government chooses for them. 130 Question 4: Do you support good-faith negotiations with the representatives of head tax families as to the nature and extent of redress for the impact of 62 years of legislated racism on head tax families and the Chinese Canadian community as a whole, including a transparent and legitimate process of gathering input from the head tax families and the broader Chinese Canadian community? IMMIGRATION It is unfair and discriminatory that there are serious backlogs in processing immigration and sponsorship applications in Beijing and Hong Kong locations where Chinese applicants are concentrated, especially in comparison to other locations such as Paris or London. Delays are particularly long for sponsorship applications. Question 5: What would your Party do to reduce the long waiting time for these applicants? Many Canadians feel that the current point system is too stringent and screens out many qualified applicants. Its emphasis on language capability discriminates against immigrants who are not of Francophone or Anglophone background. In addition, Canada's immigration levels are not meeting target levels, despite the continuing need for workers to build our economy. Question 6: What is your Party's plan to reduce barriers to independent immigrants to Canada? INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS This past summer, international students attending university in St. John, New Brunswick, were attacked by local youth; the story making national headlines. The Canadian Government for all its good intentions, has not been effective in curtailing the growing number of violent incidents targeted at international students. Recently, two international students were shot to death in Ottawa. Question 7: What is your Party's policy on the role of the Canadian Government in guarding the well-being of International Students after they enter Canada? CORE FUNDING Community-based organizations no longer receive core funding for their daily operations and staffing resources which has significantly impeded the participation of organizations in supporting social change and community capacity building. While transparent processes and accountability are important, it is also important that the government recognize and acknowledge the contribution of non-profit organizations in maintaining and sustaining a stable, healthy Canadian society. Project funding is time limited, targeted, and does not acknowledge the infrastructure needed to implement and deliver results. 131 Question 8: What will your Party do to restore core funding to community-based organizations? HEALTH Canada is known for its universal health care system that provides free healthcare for all its citizens and ensures there are no barriers to accessing health care in every jurisdiction of the country. Question9: What will your Party do to ensure that Canada's Health Care System continues to be a universal right of every Canadian and prevent the growth of the private for-profit system? Health care is aright of every Canadian, but many people living in Canada, who are not citizens, continue to contribute to the growth and development of Canada's economic system while waiting to be naturalized. QuestionlO: What will your Party do to ensure that people who are not citizens living in Canada, continue to have access to health care while they are waiting to be naturalized? Canada is a diverse country that is composed of people from a variety of different cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds. Along with languages, and culture, people bring with them different approaches and understandings of health and health care. Question 11: What will your Party do to work towards the recognition and resourcing of different approaches to health care? EMPLOYMENT There is a built in assumption that our immigration eligibility criteria matches the needs of the country, particularly with respect to employment opportunities. Because of a lack of coordination and resources on the part of the government, many newcomers who are successful in their applications to come to Canada, are not able to find employment in their area of expertise and find themselves unemployed or working in jobs where they are enormously over qualified. Questionl2: What will your Party do to ensure that a plan is developed and implemented to facilitate and expedite the accreditation process for internationally trained professionals? 132 APPENDIX III INTEGRATION OF VISIBLE MINORITIES, BY PERIOD OF IMMIGRATION AND GENERATION Reitz, Jeffrey. "Diversity, Inequality, and the Cohesion of Canadian Society: Research Findings and Policy Implications". Black f)45.6 88.2 Other Visible Minority 48.6 92.0 133 Unweighted n's for recent immigrants range from 715 to 770 for Whites; 580 to 622 for Chinese; 433 to 479 for South Asians; 167 to 181 for Blacks and 543 to 585 for Other Visible Minorities. For overall visible minorities the n's range from 1734 to 1867. Unweighted n's for earlier immigrants range from 4843 to 5186 for Whites; 714 to 769 for Chinese; 609 to 675 for South Asians; 396 to 425 for Blacks and 978 to 1032 for Other Visible Minorities. For overall visible minorities, the n's range from 2697 to 2928. Unweighted n's for the second generation range from 11766 to 12069 for Whites; 874 to 897 for Chinese; 703 to 723 for South Asians; 664 to 691 for Blacks and 1040 to 1073 for Other Visible Minorities. For overall visible minorities, the n's range from 3281 to 3384. Unweighted n's for third generation Whites range from 13572 to 14375. 134