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Municipal Roles in Immigrant Settlement, Integration and Cultural Diversity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2012

Livianna S. Tossutti
Livianna S. Tossutti*
Affiliation:
Brock University
*
Livianna S. Tossutti, Department of Political Science, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1; ltossutti@brocku.ca
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Abstract

Abstract. This article examines municipal government roles in immigrant settlement, integration and cultural diversity in six of Canada's most diverse cities. Drawing on documentary and interview evidence, the review of corporate initiatives in Vancouver, Abbotsford, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Brampton addresses three areas: the position or profile of these issues on the municipal government agenda; diversity, human rights and anti-racism policies for city institutions and the broader community; and access and equity policies. The inventory provides the data for a proposed local-scale typology that classifies and distinguishes among cities according to the normative premises underlying the official recognition of cultural differences in the public sphere, the types and extent of initiatives and the locus of bureaucratic authority for these issues. The analysis identified distinct approaches at the sub-state level. Toronto was the only city that has fully embraced a multicultural approach recognizing cultural diversity in most or all aspects of its corporate policies and structures and which grants collective rights to members of disadvantaged groups. The intercultural or civic universalist approaches prevailed in most study sites. Just three cities have developed comprehensive and relatively centralized approaches to these issues. The results suggest that sub-state authorities will not necessarily adopt the discourse and policy responses associated with state-level multiculturalism.

Résumé. Cet article examine les approches des gouvernements municipaux dans six municipalités diverses du canada en ce qui concerne l'établissement des immigrants, l'intégration et la diversité culturelle. L'inventaire des initiatives au niveau de l'entreprise à Vancouver, Abbotsford, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto et Brampton s'adressent à trois secteurs : la position ou le profil d'établissement des immigrants, l'intégration/problèmes de diversité dans le programme du gouvernement municipal; la diversité, les droits de l'Homme et les politiques anti- racisme pour les institutions de la ville et la communauté dans son ensemble; et les politiques d'accès et d'équité. L'inventaire forme la base d'une typologie à échelle locale qui est structurée en trois parties : les prémisses normatives fondamentales soulignant la reconnaissance officielle des différences culturelles dans la sphère publique; les types et l'étendue des initiatives et le lieu d'autorité bureaucratique de ces problèmes. L'analyse de preuves documentaires et d'entrevues a identifié des approches distinctes à l'établissement des immigrants, l'intégration et la diversité culturelle. Toronto était la seule ville a approuver entièrement l'approche multiculturelle qui reconnaît la diversité culturelle et tous les aspects de ses politiques et de ses structures d'entreprise, tout en accordant des droits collectifs aux membres de groupes défavorisés. Les approches interculturelles ou universelles ont prévalu dans la plupart de sites d'études. Juste deux villes ont développé des approches complètes et relativement centralisées à ces problèmes. Les résultats suggèrent que les autorités de sous-état n'adopteront pas nécessairement les réponses de discours et politique qui sont associé avec le multiculturalisme d'état-niveau.

Type
Symposium: Immigration, Multiculturalism, and Identity Politics in Canada and the United States
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 45 , Issue 3 , September 2012 , pp. 607 - 633
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2012

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