CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau likes to say that diversity is our strength.
Is it? What does he mean when he says that, and does diversity strengthen or diminish democracy?
The answer is complicated. It starts with an open invitation to full participation in citizenship and a collective willingness to do the necessary work. Work that includes continuing discussions about overarching values, ideals and goals such as human rights, justice, equality, individual freedom and access to opportunity.
Lost in the discussions of immigration and the acceptance of refugees is the responsibility those of us who are already here have to enlighten, inform and educate newcomers about what is expected of them as participants in a global society.
So how are we doing ? Canada grants full access to participation, this we do well.
We say we believe in diversity, but we can’t stop there. We need to do a better job of educating and demonstrating that for our democracy to grow stronger, everyone must embrace one another’s rights. And we must defend each other’s rights.
If I have the freedom to express my opinion then I have an obligation to defend your right to do the same and so on. This is reciprocity.
We invited Zool Suleman, an immigration policy consultant and a powerful civil rights champion for immigrants and refugees to join us for a Conversation That Matters about unity in diversity.
Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue presents Conversations That Matter. Join veteran broadcaster Stuart McNish each week for an important and engaging Conversation about the issues shaping our future. Please become a subscriber and support the production of this program, conversationsthatmatter.tv.