加拿大多元文化政策与民族性的复杂性及矛盾性--以加拿大华裔社团的发展为例

Multiculturalism, Ethnicity and Minority Rights——The Complexity and Paradox of EthnicOrganizations in Canada

本文以加拿大埃德蒙顿及卡尔加里市两个华裔社团为个案,通过对其创建和发展历史的研究,展示了族裔社团在为移民提供便利且公平的社区服务方面所发挥的有效作用,并揭示了其在现行的多元文化政策下所折射出的民族性这一概念的复杂性和矛盾性:既是一种重要的资源,同时也是一种牵绊。作为资源,国家可利用民族性来动员族裔社团为民族社区提供服务;也可把民族性作为工具将其政治议题合法化,使族裔专属社团多元化而失去本有的族裔特色,以达到民族同化这一终极政治目标。

Ethno-specific organizations are often criticized for threatening national unity, diluting Canadian identity, and promoting ghettoization and separatism. Drawing from two case studies, this article examines the role of Chinese ethnic organizations in responding to changing community needs in Edmonton and Calgary. The study results suggested that ethno-specific organizations can be an effective alternative in providing accessible and equitable social services for immigrants because they are more closely connected with and responsive to ethnic community needs. The study reveals the salience of ethnicity as both an important resource and a liability. On the one hand, ethnicity was utilized by the state as a way to mobilize ethnic political support to serve an ethnic-specific community; on the other hand, the same ethnicity also became a device for the state to legitimize its political agenda in muhicuhurizing ethno-specific organizations with an ultimate goal of assimilation. To build an inclusive society, it is imperative to treat ethno-specific organizations as an integral part of Canadian society and to adopt minority rights that recognize and accommodate the distinctive identities and needs of ethno-cultural groups and their ethnic communities.