Blanshay, Linda Sema (2001) The nationalisation of ethnicity: a study of the proliferation of national mono-ethnocultural umbrella organisations in Canada. PhD thesis http://theses.gla.ac.uk/3529/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] THE NATIONALISATION OF ETHNICITY: A STUDY OF THE PROLIFERATION OF NATIONAL MONO­ ETHNOCULTURAL UMBRELLA ORGANISATIONS IN CANADA Linda Serna Blanshay Ph.D. University of Glasgow Department of Sociology and Anthropology January, 2001. © Linda SemaBlanshay, 2001 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS lowe heartfelt thanks to many people. My Ph.D experience was made profoundly rewarding because of the support offered by participants in the study, my colleagues, and my family and friends. At the end of the day, it is their generosity of spirit that remains with me and has enriched this fascinating academic journey. There are some specific mentions of gratitude that I must make. Thanks to the Rotary Foundation, for first shipping me out to Glasgow as I requested on my application. The Rotary program emphasized 'service above self which is an important and appropriate theme in which to depart on sociological work ofthis kind. Thanks to my 'billeters' for keeping me warm, fed, and smiling on my many research trips over the years: the Kelmans in Toronto, Kim Elliott in Ottawa, and Rafe Bullick in Edinburgh. Thanks to the many educators from Concordia University (notably, Chengiah Ragaven, and Margie Mendel at the School of Community and Public Affairs) and University of Toronto, who encouraged and inspired me in the pre-Ph.D academic years. Each, in his or her own way, planted in me an understanding of the importance of questioning. Thanks. to Colin Coates and Ged Martin at the Centre for Canadian Studies, Edinburgh University, for professional and moral support. Enormous thanks and praise goes to my Doctoral supervisor, Professor Robert Miles. His advice and gentle criticisms helped advance the theoretical rigor of my work. Despite the many obstacles that I faced in pursuing this project, not once did he suggest that I reconsider my ideas or vision. Had it been otherwise, I doubt that I could have finished. Much love and thanks goes to Mom, Dad and Rob for their unwavering support. I don't know if it is like this in all families: They don't know what you are doing or why, but if it is your dream, then it must be valued and supported. This was my experience and has been one of the greatest blessings to realize. To all of my dear friends over these last long years, may our connections continue to grow and may I be able to thank you on many more occasions together in the future. ABSTRACT In Canada, national ethnocultural advocacy groups are highly visible and are consulted by government officials in areas of multiculturalism policy as well as other areas of social policy and constitutional reform. Unlike local 'ethnic' associations that arise for a myriad of community specific purposes, national level 'ethnic' umbrella associations occupy a wholly different political space. One implication of this national level of representation is that who and what the group is becomes re­ configured from a form of social organisation to a form of broad representation. At the national level, the organisation not only comes to represent the concrete aspirations of group members, but also becomes a guardian and advocate of a vision of 'the group'. The process through which the 'group' boundaries are socially and politically constructed is the subject of this thesis. - Writers tend to explain the proliferation of national 'ethnic' umbrella organisations through one of four theories: interest group theory, social movement theory, theories of ethnic mobilisation, and state intervention. There is relative agreement that demographic changes resulting from the liberalisation of Canada's immigration policy in 1967 led to larger and more politically active ethnocultural communities. Also, writers argue that the policy of Multiculturalism established in 1971 created opportunity for ethnocultural political participation as never before. There are strengths and weaknesses to each of these approaches, and they are analysed in the thesis. However, none of the existing theories explain how and why organisations formed at the national level at given periods of time, and how the substantive delineations of representation (ie. in terms of 'racial' or 'ethnic' identities) were determined. The premise of this research is that the organisations cannot be explained in terms ofthe assumption that they are extensions of 'ethnic' groups. Rather, the story of what they are must be addressed through a historical, 'genealogical', study on how they came into being, which involves a critical analysis of the relationship between the organisations and the state. The relationship is studied using conceptual apparatus elaborated primarily in the work of certain European writers, specifically Gerard Noiriel and Robert Miles. The main concept applied is nationalisation, in relation to other processes such as racialisation and ethnicisation, in order to show that interior state processes of group categorisation and social differentiation affect group boundaries of political representation. All existing organisations fitting the criteria of national mono-etbnocultrual umbrella formation were researched (almost 70 in total) in terms of the circumstances of their formations and analysed against a historical narrative of state intervention. The primary research methods used were interviewing with key organisation and government officials, secondary historical research, and archival research on the history of government 'ethnic liaison' programs and primary documents of the organisations. The research does not explore each organisation in depth, but rather analyses the circumstances of their initial establishments, taking into account the migration and incorporation experiences of members, and investigating in particular the interaction of state processes in the organisation fonnation. The aggregate picture of years of formation seen ill the time line of formations, and the evidence of a 'liaison' relationship between government officials and the organisers, show that the national umbrella organisations did not stem from 'ethnic' based political dynamics alone. Rather, they were part of larger processes stemming from the nationalising state. The findings show that there were several booms in national mono-etbnocultural umbrella formation in this century. Following the Second World War, in a new Canadian citizenship regime, Eastern European 'ethnic' umbrella organisations arose, overdetermined by politics of the Cold War. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, new organisations arose to mediate Canada's national unity crisis. In the 1980's, a boom in 'visible minority' based organisation was supported by the government to mediate the country's multiculturalism policy which is a key component of the contemporary politics of national unity. The very centralisation of the organisations at the national level, at given times, reflected Canadian nationalisation and the seeping of the 'national' into civil society with the growth of the social welfare state. However, it was not only in form that 'ethnic representation' mediated the national construct, but also in content. The boundaries and substantive aims as seen reflected in each organisation are cornp~sites of the articulating processes such as nationalisation, racialisation and ethnicisation. The data illustrates the ways in which the state administers difference affecting the possibilities for claims-making and representation. Therefore, these organisations tell a story of not only a history of 'ethnic' politics and a Ubiquitous relationship with government officials, but also shed light on the creation of categories of 'ethnic' belonging that are taken for granted today in the public domain. ABBREVIATIONS ACCCC Advisory Committee on Cooperation in Canadian Citizenship ANF Armenian National Federation AFN Assembly of First Nations ; I AUUC Association of United Ukrainian Canadians BCCC Belarusan Canadian Coordinating Committee : I BUF Black United Front BCCA Bosnian Canadian Community Association BNA Byelorussian National Association CAP Canadian Arab Federation CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation CCC Canadian Citizenship Council CCCM Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism CCEC Canadian Council of Education for Citizenship CCF Canadian Citizenship Federation CCCJ Canadian Council of Christians and Jews CEC Canadian Ethnocultural Council CEPF Canadian Ethnic Press Federation CFAC Canadian Folk Arts Council CHC Canadian Hispanic Congress CHF Canadian Hungarian Federation CIC Citizenship and Immigration Canada CJC Canadian Jewish Congress CLFDB Canadian Labour Force Development Board, Visible Minority Committee CNCR Canadian National Committee on Refugees and Victims of Political Persecution CPC Canadian Polish Congress CSL Canadian