ESPANSIONI DI TESTO

MODULE E - Multicultural Canada (p. 217)

TASK
Read the text below and say if the following sentences are true (T) or false (F).

1 Canadian multiculturalism is based on an assimilation policy.
2 Most Canadians are of British and Irish descent.
3 Most Native Canadians live in reserves.
4 Most French Canadians want Quebec to be independent.
5 Most of the German immigrants have been absorbed by the English-speaking majority.
6 Most of the Italians have not been integrated into the English-speaking majority.
7 Most Italians worked in the construction of Canada's railroads.
8 Many new immigrants today come from Asia.

Canada prides itself on its multiculturalism. The country has developed a unique way of adjusting to the cultural needs of its increasingly diverse population. In contrast to the United States' 'melting pot', Canada has opted for what is often called the 'Canadian mosaic', a model based on accepting diversity rather than assimilation.
Citizens of British and French ancestry still make up the bulk of the population of 30 million, but there are around 60 significant minorities. About half of all Canada's new immigrants today come from Asia.
Today there are approximately one million Native Canadians. About 60 percent are known as Status Indians, which means that they are officially settled on reserve land. However, over 40 percent of Status Indians now live away from reserve land and only 900 of Canada's 2,370 reserves are still inhabited. Most non-Status Native Canadians are now integrated within the rest of Canada's population.
Canadians of British and Irish descent constitute about 60 percent of the country's population.
Since the 16th century there was a steady trickle of English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish immigrants and several mass migrations, prompted either by adverse politics at home or fresh opportunities in Canada. These Irish and British settlers did much to shape Canada, establishing its social and cultural norms and founding its legal and political institutions.
Canada's French-speakers make up about 25 percent of the total population, and are the country's second largest ethnic group. They are mainly based in just one of the ten provinces, Québec. After the British captured New France in the Seven Years' War of 1756-63, most French colonists stayed on as British subjects. The French-speakers maintained their own religious and civic institutions and a feeling of independence that has grown over time. Since the 1960s, the constitutional link between Quebec and the rest of the country has been the subject of political debate, with a strong minority of Quebecois pressing for full independence.
Although there have been German-speakers in Canada since the 1660s, the first major migration came between 1850-1900, with other mass arrivals following both World Wars. On the whole the English-speaking majority has absorbed the Germans but distinctive pockets of German-speakers hold strong today in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and Kitchener-Waterloo in Ontario. German food and drink, especially its beer-making techniques, have added to Canadian cuisine.
The widespread Italian presence in Canada can prove hard to see, as, for the most part, all 600,000 immigrants have merged almost seamlessly with the English speakers. There are however exceptions; in Toronto a large and flourishing 'Little Italy' neighborhood delights both visitors and the city's epicurean residents. The first major influx of Italian Canadians came in the wake of the civil wars that disrupted Italy in the second half of the 19th century; another wave arrived in the 1940s and 1950s after World War II. Immigration continues into the 21th century, with 2 percent of Canadians today speaking Italian as their first language.
During the 1850s, Chinese laborers arrived in Canada to work in the gold fields of British Columbia. Thereafter, they played a key role in the construction of the railroads, settling new towns and cities as their work progressed eastward. A flood of Chinese immigration took place just before the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997. Although Ukrainians are a small fraction of the Canadian population numbering less than 3 percent) they have had a strong cultural influence, especially in the Prairie Provinces, where the cupolas of their churches rise above many midwestern villages.

(Abridged from Canada: Eyewitness Travel Guide, Dorling Kindersley, London, 2001.
Figures updated to 2001 Census.)