I am not sure how, but about two months ago, I received a letter from a Canadian lobby group (that shall remain unnamed) which started as follows: “British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have all declared multiculturalism to be a failure”. Part of their argument was focused on the rise of religious extremism in the past ten years, and how such extremists are negatively impacting the progress of Western states. The organization was soliciting monetary contributions for ongoing research and policy work.  As one of my friends would say, “I was shocked and offended”.

I have always viewed Canada’s multicultural fabric as its strength, as an opportunity to exercise tolerance and to learn about people and their practices and benefit from their strengths. However, there is the reality that different cultural groups will look to ‘their own’ as they make significant transitions as recent immigrants, or hold onto traditions that are important to their identity. Yet this should not be a limiting factor in defining what Canada is or represents. To suggest that multiculturalism as a policy has failed is simply not fair.

This past October, I spent two weeks in Guyana, a country situated in the northern part of South America, bordered by Venezuela, Brazil and Suriname. It is the only English-speaking country in South America being that it was a former British colony. The name Guyana derives from a root word meaning ‘the land of many waters’ as three major as well as hundreds of smaller rivers traverse the country.

In Guyana, there is a mix of people of East Indian, African and Aboriginal descent. There is a thriving mix of Christian, Hindu and Muslim religious practices and celebration. The national cuisine reflects these diverse traditions. The different cultural and religious groups have united through marriage or business, yet when it is election time like the time when I was there, there is a strong polarization between those of Afro-Guyanese and of Indo-Guyanese cultural heritage.

In some ways, Guyana is multicultural. Would you not agree? However, the multiculturalism there is not the same as the multiculturalism here in Canada. Here, besides Canadians of Guyanese origin one would find Canadians representing countries the world over. The list can go on. Thus, Canada is also like a ‘land of many waters’. There are the Great Lakes, of course, but it is the diversity of the Canadian people that makes Canada so unique.

Differences are not meant to divide, as the media might promote, but rather to recognize the varied expressions of the human experience. This diversity strengthens our advancement as a country by providing perspective on a range of issues, whether they are political, economical or social. If we don’t optimize on this expression, then yes there is a chance that our elections will become polarized. Yet, there are just so many different groups that such polarization will not come so easily. In a speech given by Malcolm X in the 1960s, he said, “Unity is the right religion”. Differences aside, multiculturalism can help with such unity, and in the expression of these varying cultures through film, music, art, comedy or poetry as promoted by SPEAKout, there is undoubtedly a lesson for people to learn about each other.

Mohammad Zubairi

Guest writer, Mohammad Zubairi is an MD completing his training in Pediatrics at McMaster University. He can be contacted at untitledexpressions@gmail.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/md_mszubairi