Diversity And Immigration In Canada In The 20th Century

Diversity and immigration have played a major role in Canada’s past, present and future, creating global strength and unity. Canada has become very well known for being a multicultural nation made up of many ethnicities, however this did not exist up until the second World War (WWII). It was during that period of time that the world realized how devastating discrimination can be and how important it is to be accepting of all races. Previously, Canada also showed discrimination against its immigrants through very selective processes and expensive duties. For example, the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 posed certain restrictions on the Chinese immigrants. Very few were accepted and those that were had to pay a high head tax, reaching up to $500
Before the amendments could be made a White Paper (1966) on Immigration policy was commissioned by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson to review immigration legislation and make recommendations on reconstructing it. However it received much criticism and therefore the government appointed a task force with Mel Watkins as the chairman and eight economists. Watkins reviewed the pros and cons of foreign policy and presented them to the government. His recommendations were then used for creating amendments to the previous Immigration Act. The new laws created a points system which was based on nine major pieces of criteria: education and training, personal character, occupational demand, occupational skill, age, pre-arranged employment, knowledge of French and English, the presence of a relative in Canada, and employment opportunities in their area of destination. The criteria was unbiased, thus removing any last elements of racial or any form of discrimination that existed in immigrant administration. Canada’s response to immigration had virtually become “colour blind”, however the approach taken for