Happy 142nd Birthday, Canada!

To my friends in cyberspace, Happy Canada Day - Bonne Fête du Canada!
Let's all take a moment to recognize just how lucky we are as Canadians... and enjoy some ruminations from Canadians fated to life in America, just like me.

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LITTLE BRITAIN, BIG PLANS

Canadians think of Canada as being a multicultural nation. But having spent a whole week pounding the pavement in London, England -- from Kensington to Westminster, Little Venice to Piccadilly Circus -- I saw incredible diversity on display. It seemed that London has a lock on a new approach to multiculturalism.

I started by asking where all the Brits had gone? Whether at the airport, on the tube, or just walking the streets, London is no longer a city of bad teeth, warm beer and Routemasters. Traditional "Brits" have been replaced by "new Brits" from every corner of the globe, a large majority seeming to come from Africa and the Middle East and bringing with them their cuisine, culture and work ethic. When they arrive in the UK, some are provided with "Council Flats" -- essentially subsidized housing for those who qualify based on need. In an effort to resist "ghettoization" of the city into rich and poor areas, these flats are widely dispersed such that, even in rather "posh" buildings in "posh" neighbourhoods, the Council can assign a refugee family or a family in need. It's a proactive approach, I think, to creating a balanced society where diversity becomes a normal part of everyday life.

Of course, there are those who resist it. I happened to be visiting some people who were less-than-keen to see the full spectrum of veiled women (including those wearing naquib and full burkha), claiming instead that this was a sign of oppression and male domination. They were supportive of the recent ban on Islamic head covering declared by French President, Nicolas Sarkozy. Needless to say, I was scandalized -- just as the government has no place in the bedrooms of the nation, so too should it stay out of the closets of the nation. Worse, this kind of universal declaration by a government creates a dangerous, slippery slope; do we stop sikhs from wearing turbans, or orthodox jews from their traditional black hats or Indian women from covering their heads with saris? Can we judge whether culture or male domination is the reason for head covering? It was a bit ludicrous.

Don't misunderstand me, though. Sharia Law, for example, is not necessarily compatible in the context of a Western justice system, with its fundamentally different tenets. In that sense, establishing parallel justice systems in a country like Canada would not only create a dangerous precedent, I believe it would undermine critical principles of national identity, citizenship and building a balanced multicultural society. I know that we have had these debates in Canada before, which is probably why my mind kept coming back to try and understand how we can learn from other countries seemingly farther along on the path to multiculturalism.

One night, at dinner with different friends, I asked why there wasn't a closer relationship between Canada and the United Kingdom. George, who served with the Queen's Royal Hussars in Bosnia and had experience with Canadian troops while serving there, posited that the French (Quebec) question may be a factor that has kept our two nations from working more closely together. It was an interesting theory. My motivation for asking stemmed from the idea that it would be a natural first step for Canada to move beyond our addiction to America -- important, I think, if Canada is to remain independent and vibrant. But also because the United Kingdom is a natural ally; France much less so, not because of what happened on the Plains of Abraham, but because we have few common symbols between our nations. For the record, I see Quebec as an absolutely essential pillar of Canadian identity and culture.

But I was reminded that, for the same reasons the United Nations is a tricky place to work on account of multiple cultures and multiple languages, so too is building a multicultural society that, at once, respects sensitivities but also continues to build the necessary symbolism and commonality required for a national identity. Lessons learned from years working in an international organization suggest that, the secret to forward momentum in a multicultural organization is to work hard at listening, resist the natural urge to jump to conclusions, conduct frank and open discussions, but also have the spine to be decisive and make informed decisions. Bearing the last point in mind, we are more likely to learn from the United Kingdom experience than from anything going on in the United Nations... or the United States, for that matter!