This thesis uses philosophical and conceptual analysis to examine communitarian critiques of homogenous liberal conceptions of citizenship and the contemporary recognition pressures in the Canadian polity. It attempts to make some observations on the degree of difference that the Canadian society could support without destroying the sentimental bond of citizenship that develops when citizens feel they belong to the same moral and political community. The assumption made in our introduction is that diversity or differentiation becomes too exaggerated when citizens no longer feel like they are similar and can reach agreement on common objectives. This thesis is consequentialist in nature. It seeks to respond to the question of whether or not the “federal spirit” that has preserved the Canadian state intact can help Canadians take the conceptual leap necessary to accept further differential citizenship for aboriginal and Québecois national minorities who seek expanded self-government and special provisions to preserve and promote their collectivities, and for non-territorial groups united by a shared life situation who seek group rights and representations. In Part I of this thesis we examine theoretical considerations about diversity and uniformity in both liberal and communitarian conceptions of citizenship and review Kymlicka’s attempt to reconcile cultural membership within liberal theory. We observe that liberals reject group rights and radical cultural pluralism out of concern that they may lead to a reduction of individual autonomy and an erosion of cross-group dialogue. We demonstrate that although the liberal state is not completely neutral with regards to the promotion of a certain conception of the good life, it is more neutral than a communitarian state because it provides for individual autonomy and creates a structure for democratic dialogue. However, Kymlicka’s work shows that within the global economy, cultural identity is an increasingly important qualitative element in an individual’s life, providing her with an enhanced local social structure and with personal self-respect. Although a reconciliation of liberal and communitarian conceptions of citizenship appear unlikely in pure theory, in the Canadian context, constitutional provisions have already acted to create elements of individual and collective rights. This reality implies that new theories have to be developed to explain the dynamic between individual and collective rights in particular political cultures. In Part II, we attempt to reconcile the fragmented concepts of citizenship which afflict the contemporary Canadian polity. This Thesis sets out that status quo federalism and homogenous liberal citizenship are threatening the stability of the Canadian polity. However, because of the interactive loyalties and differentiation inherent in the Canadian federal regime, federalism may provide the flexibility to accommodate the demands of Québécois, as well as aboriginal nationalists. Conversely, this thesis maintains that the arguments in favour of a politics of difference for oppressed social and cultural groups should be rejected, not on the grounds that these groups do not exist or that they do not speak in “different voices”, but because it would undermine the democratic dialogue and test the fragile ties which bond citizens to one another. A further reason to reject a politics of difference or radical cultural pluralism is that it would limit the autonomy of individual members of groups who want to be judged by their actions and words rather than their ethnicity, culture or gender. The liberal state can pursue policies to include non-territorial groups without granting group rights and representation. For their part, Aboriginal communities and the province of Quebec should be recognized as distinct societies in Canada. The meaning of distinct society should be defined using section 1 of the Charter as a model. These distinct societies should be given minor group right provisions, in order to preserve and promote their collectivities which do not violate fundamental human rights These minor provisions could be considered reasonable limitations in free and democratic aboriginal and Québécois distinct societies within Canada. Concomitantly, any new constitutional accommodation must also recognize that a precondition of federal citizenship is that all citizens whether members of self-governing aboriginal communities or citizens residing in the province of Quebec must accept decisions of the federal jurisdiction and be able to transcend their personal or national motivations and acknowledge their responsibility to others in the Canadian moral community if they hope to retain the benefits that our community provides all of its citizens.

The following thesis examines stepfamilies in Canada within a socio-demographic framework, using the 2001 General Social Survey (GSS) on families, and is divided into three main sections. First, there is an extended literature review on family theory and the emergence of stepfamilies. This section provides the background for a discussion of why stepfamilies are still often perceived as problematic and, therefore, stigmatized; we also define different stepfamily forms. The question of how to measure stepfamilies is a major concern in this research. Indeed, depending on whether one takes a residential or an inter-residential perspective, the number of households involved in stepfamily life changes substantially. We first present a cross-sectional perspective by describing the stepfamilies examined at survey. The main focus here is to compare stepfamilies with intact and lone parent families in order to see the extent and nature of the differences between them. Our results suggest that stepfamilies do not differ as much as expected from intact families with regard to certain socioeconomic variables, such as income. The next stage involves an analysis of stepfamilies in a longitudinal perspective in order to better understand stepfamily dynamics. In doing so, we focus on stepfamily instability and the likelihood of having a common child, applying the method of event history analysis. In this longitudinal perspective, we find that stepfamilies face a high risk of experiencing a separation and that this risk increases substantially over time; we also find that stepfamily couples living in a common-law union have a higher risk of separation than those who are married. The arrival of a common child within a stepfamily appears to be determined mainly by the age of the mother and of existing children. The younger the mother and the younger the children, the more likely a stepfamily is to witness the arrival of a common child. The most compelling finding of this research lies in the differences observed in the outcomes of male and female respondents with regard to their stepfamily dynamics.

After two decades of a disappointing relationship between Canada and the People's Republic of China (PRC)-- seriously damaged during the Korean War and relieved by wheat sales after the Great Leap-- Pierre Trudeau's government wanted to end China's isolation. The new prime minister was determined to ensure that his country could recognize the Communist regime. Even more surprisingly, Ottawa's opening of relations with Beijing would soon be followed by Washington. Such words as "rapprochement" were therefore repeated in North America as this extraordinary diplomatic event began to unfold in the late 1960s. In hindsight, Sino-Canadian rapprochement seems full of contradictions: at a time when Canada's closest ally was still fighting in Vietnam, and when the Chinese were shouting anti-imperialist slogans during the Cultural Revolution, how could it be possible that Ottawa and Beijing wished to become friends? The central question this thesis poses and answers is why the two governments suddenly shifted positions at such a politically sensitive moment. Offering different ways to understand this thirty-year-old question, the thesis re-examines Trudeau's and Maoist China's remarkable, but often forgotten, diplomatic breakthrough. Indeed, although Canadians were paying closer attention to the nation's "October Crisis" in 1970, the "October Handshake" in Stockholm between representatives of Canada and China in the same month was also a significant event. The success of such a diplomatic achievement could be seen in the Sino-American rapprochement that followed and in China's new place in the world community. Drawing on various historical records, including materials from the archives of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Queen's University, this study explains the agreement between Beijing and Ottawa in 1970 as the coincidence of three crucial conditions: the rapidly changing geopolitical circumstances at the time, a favourable internal political climate, and the matching mentality of the extraordinary players from both countries. Furthermore, while existing accounts of Sino-Canadian rapprochement highlight both countries' external relations, this thesis will argue that an exploration of the dynamics of domestic politics and the roles of individual leaders can expand our understanding of decision-making during the process of normalization of relations between China and Canada. / Thesis (Master, History) -- Queen's University, 2008-08-13 13:45:56.049

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Multiculturalism eludes any simple and straightforward definition. It has come to mean different things to different people. In particular, four broad approaches have been advanced as ways in which to assess the goals and objectives of multiculturalism in Canada. These four approaches are multiculturalism as a social reality, an ideology, a policy, and as a resource. This paper examines how multiculturalism is viewed as a resource. / As a resource, multiculturalism constitutes a vehicle by which various stakeholders can advance their particular goals and objectives. Since there are three primary stakeholders (the government, non-visible minorities, and visible minorities); each group seeks to employ multiculturalism to advance their respective interests. Using the 1991 Multiculturalism Attitude Survey, this paper empirically examines the hypothesis that non-visible minorities are more predisposed towards utilizing multiculturalism to address their symbolic needs, whereas visible minorities are more predisposed towards utilizing multiculturalism to advance their instrumental goals. Furthermore, this paper contends that these different visions of multiculturalism as a resource are better understood as outcomes of intrinsic differences in the very meaning of ethnicity and race to its adherents. While symbolic multiculturalism may be a suitable sociological framework to characterize the meaningfulness of ethnicity for white ethnics, this paper suggests that instrumental multiculturalism is more appropriate to characterize the meaningfulness of race for racial minorities. / The results, however, demonstrate that it is inaccurate to dichotomize the expectations that non-visible and visible minorities maintain towards multiculturalism. Although non-visible minorities are more predisposed to support multiculturalism being used to service symbolic as opposed to instrumental goals, visible minorities are not exclusively preoccupied with advancing instrumental initiatives. Visible minorities demonstrate greater levels of support for resourcing multiculturalism towards symbolic and instrumental ends compared to their ethnic counterparts. This paper suggests several potential explanations for these outcomes.

The Food Habits of Canadians Survey, conducted in 1997--1998 examined food and nutrient intakes of non-institutionalized adults aged 18--65 years (n = 1543) randomly selected from across Canada using the multi-stage random sampling strategy. Dietary intake was assessed by 24-h recall and a repeat interview was conducted in a sub-sample (n = 446). The overall response rate was 26%. Males, younger age adults (18--34 years), single persons and those with lower education levels were underrepresented in the study sample thus limiting the generalizability of the study results. Examination of the characteristics of the selected areas (n = 63) by response rates, indicated that areas with a higher percentage below the low income cut-off level, higher percentage who moved residence in the past 5 years and higher percentage speaking non-official languages as the mother-tongue were associated with low response rates. Additionally, areas with lower percentage females were associated with low response rates indicating that depending on the community characteristics different approaches may be needed to enhance response rates. Within- to between-subject variance ratios for several nutrients were higher when adjusted for age, gender, education, season, smoking and size of family compared to the crude ratios (e.g. for energy 1.07 vs. 0.49 for males). As a result, more days would be needed to reliably estimate usual intake once the data are appropriately adjusted. Examination of the within- to between-subject variability ratios for nutrients by smoking status indicated that the diet of smokers was no more variable than that of non-smokers. However, smokers had higher intakes of total fat (p < 0.05) and saturated fat (p < 0.05) and lower intakes of folate (p < 0.05) and vitamin C (p < 0.05). Smokers also had lower intakes of fruit and vegetables compared to non-smokers (p < 0.05). Given these differences, diet may be a confounder in studies examining smoking