The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games provide us with an opportunity to showcase Greater Vancouver to the world - diverse, inclusive, creative and one of the best places in the world to visit, live, work and invest.
They also provide us with an opportunity to create legacies that will support the ongoing development of Greater Vancouver as one of the most truly multicultural communities in the world. The potential economic benefits are huge
Immigration has played and continues to play a key role in shaping the character of Canadian society. Although only a minority of Canadians have first-hand experience of immigration, all Canadians have a parent, grandparent or more distant relative who came to Canada as a stranger to a strange land. Because all Canadians share an immigrant past, there would be no Canada without immigration.
April 11th 2010 Chan Centre "Are we there yet?"
Guest lecturer: Wayson Choy
About the speaker:
Wayson Choy explores his personal view that many of us – whether recent arrivals or long-established citizens – suffer fears that may damage Canada’s quest to become a multicultural nation. As an “in-between citizen” all his life, growing up between values and cultures, he proposes some challenging antidotes – “remedies” – that have both lightened and enlightened his life.
Canada is often described as a multicultural nation. But what does that mean? Simply stated, it means that Canadians are not of any one cultural background, race or heritage. Instead, Canadians today reflect a vast diversity of cultural heritages and racial groups. This multicultural diversity is a result of centuries of immigration.
