Page 463 - The ISA Handbook in Contemporary Sociology

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434 THE ISA HANDBOOK IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY

Ottawa’s mission is to provide service to the and cultural policy introduced by Pietrantonio
minority francophone population of in the first section, and now examined by
4
Ontario, a mission which our department Thériault within the context of the federal
embraces and incorporates into its scholarly political system. He argues that the formal
agenda in a variety of ways. equality of French and English, spelled out in
Pietrantonio’s opening section examines the federal bilingualism policy and the provi-
official institutional discourses about diver- sions of the federal Charter of Rights and
sity in the field of cultural policies. How Freedoms, hamper the Québec government’s
diversity is conceptualized in a number of goal – also recognized federally as legiti-
recent policy documents reveals differences mate – of ensuring the primacy of French
between the federal ways of thinking and within that jurisdiction. Taken together, the
framing issues, and those of Québec. The dif- sections give a sampling of recent and ongo-
ferences are linked to differing national ing research on Canada’s complex ethnic
visions and national projects. The examina- dynamics, without claiming to be exhaustive.
tion of these differences and tensions is a The conclusion draws together the strands of
recurring theme throughout the chapter. In the ethno-linguistic diversity which have been
second section, Laczko situates Canada’s examined.
overall level of internal ethno-linguistic
diversity in comparative perspective. He
argues that Canada’s level of diversity is by DIVERSITY AND CULTURAL POLICIES:
many empirical measures higher than that of
most other developed societies, because it COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE
combines different types of diversity. Next, INSTITUTIONAL DISCOURSE ON
Couton contrasts federal immigration poli- CANADA/QUÉBEC CULTURE
cies with those of the Québec government. (LINDA PIETRANTONIO)
The latter have evolved both in tandem with
and in tension with federal ones. He explains In the study of Canadian society, the ‘man-
how Québec has been able to successfully agement of diversity’ is an important issue
shape its own immigration policy over the relative to Canada/Québec relations. This
past few decades, placing greater emphasis ‘management’ is constructed principally
on recruiting French-language immigrants. through social policies, to which we will
The fourth contribution, by Denis, focuses on refer in this chapter as so many ways of rais-
contradictory features of both Canadian ing the issue of ethnic relations. It must be
immigration policies and other policies emphasized that the expression ‘management
which have framed ethnic relations since the of diversity’ itself, used by certain key
1960s in Canada and Québec. While aspects Québec and Canadian government depart-
of these policies are racist, sexist, and class- ments since the end of the 1980s, was initially
based, certain features are more progressive, proposed by sociologists of ethnic relations
with state policy leading rather than follow- in their analyses of the institutional
ing public opinion, and promoting increased (non)consideration of ethnic diversification
inclusion and rights of social citizenship. of the population in various sectors such as
In the final section, Thériault extends the education, police services, housing, etc. In
analysis of state policies on ethno-linguistic both cases, the expression ‘management of
issues by discussing the differing, and to diversity’ has a strongly Foucauldian mean-
some extent contradictory, language policies ing, that is to say, managing populations as a
pursued since the 1960s by the federal and means of social regulation. According to
Québec governments. These reflect differing Foucault, this practice, mediated by public
visions of language as a cultural tool, bringing policies which are endowed with a discourse
us full circle back to questions of diversity introduced and supported by legislation, first