Notes from north of 49ºN

Notes from North of 49ºN

Lyon in Ambush

Last month, I was watching CNN and saw Amber Lyon’s Craigslist trafficking story, which struck me as shoddy gotcha journalism used to stem the tide of CNN’s downward spiralling ratings. Her more recent story covers Craigslist’s removal of the adult services section {replaced with the word “censored” in the US} and also shows the clip I mentioned::

When I saw this, I felt that Amber was conflating trafficking and sex work and that her catching of the founder, Craig Newmark, like a deer-in-the-headlights was for pure dramatic effect. Newmark called her out on her ambush, which she took offense to and got rather huffy about anyone calling into question her journalistic ethics. So, let’s get this straight, she created a fake ad, solicited johns with the words “sweet, innocent new girl with a WILD streak…”, evoking a “To Catch a Predator” vibe, and equated responses to her ad with evidence of intent to engage in underage trafficking. Craig responded, as did CEO Jeff Buckmaster, but the fact of the matter as I see it is that she, along with 17 states’ attorneys general, opted to create a sex panic for ratings and political gain, respectively. Jeff Jarvis’ take is that regulators and old media are going after Craigslist because it’s a technological disruptor upsetting the established power structures. I think there might be something to that, but I’ll wager going after adult services on online sites is like the pornography prosecutions in the late 1980s {see Frontline, American Porn}. Politically, going after sex work on the Internet is low hanging fruit in the court of public opinion and throwing in underage trafficking into the mix is an attempt to make such endeavors by attorneys general appear unassailable. The acid test of one’s motives should be how policy affects the abused. Crackdowns will only serve to drive sex work underground, further exacerbating the issue of helping those who need it.

Markets & Institutions

I feel that this issue of Craigslist as a market creator that doubles as a hotbed of immoral and illegal activities taps into cultural hot buttons that lead us astray from those being abused—the trafficked. There are serious issues to address here regarding the quasi-markets of sex work that aren’t legitimized, yet have been allowed to proliferate on the Internet and in free weeklies. The lack of legitimacy fosters an environment for exploitation and abuse for sex work, by those in positions of power. Sadly, this can involve unscrupulous law enforcement officers taking advantage of their positions. The institutional framework {government agencies, law enforcement, non-profits, etc.} operate within a context where issues of sex work are criminal justice matters, not ones of public health. Melissa Gira Grant in an article today cites three studies on sex work, institutions, and police::

“Even when girls sought out the support they needed – from drug treatment and foster care programs to hospitals and the police – they were denied help because of their involvement in the sex trade…In a University of California at San Francisco study published in 2009, 22 percent of San Francisco adult female sex workers surveyed reported having police as paying customers. Fourteen percent were threatened with arrest if they did not have sex with a police officer. Washington cops fare no better: in a report published on people involved in or perceived to be involved in the sex trade, Different Avenues reveals that one in five people were solicited for sex by the police. They also report that police confiscated safer sex supplies, and strip-searched and assaulted people suspected of prostitution.”

A criminal justice approach sets up a series of power dynamics within a market system and with the advent of sex panics come the temptation to engage in clampdowns.

So, what will happen in light of the Craigslist ban? James Temple of the SF Chron was interviewed on All Things Considered {via Melissa Gira Grant} offering some insights::

If the player doesn’t launch, click here.

He cites what CEO Jim Buckmaster said what would happen, i.e., the adult services ads would move to other parts of Craigslist. This makes it harder for Craigslist and law enforcement to engage in surveillance efforts.

Crime & Punishment

Microsoft researcher, danah boyd, in a HuffPo post addresses several issues regarding the Craigslist ban. I agree with her take on visibility and I feel that forcing sex work and trafficking underground will only serve to harm those being abused. I agree that online spaces can be made risky for criminals, but I’m wary of civil liberties abuses stemming from online activities being monitored. While I haven’t had the experience of talking to many law enforcement officers, like danah has, on the topic of Internet and crime, but I’m wary of increased leveraging on online technologies by law enforcement, particularly in stings or clampdowns. Why? I think this places a great deal of faith that a criminal justice approach to the abuses in sex work will actually help the victims. The system is set up to punish those breaking the law, not addressing the root causes of the issues. The same hold true for the elicit drug trade. I see both substance abuse and trafficking to be better served with a public health approach and I’d rather see more investments there than towards increased law enforcement with the objective of catching perps. On the other hand, as Grant pointed out in this 2009 Slate article, technologies like Craigslist do create a marketplace “commons” where users leave traces that can be used in surveillance to solve crimes, such as the so-called Craigslist killer in Boston. Within our current state, I think there’s a role for a certain amount of collaboration between websites and law enforcement, but one that’s not too cozy.

I do have a suggestion for Amber Lyon’s next journalistic coup. There are no bans on adult services in Canada, so she can go to the border crossings with a camera crew and look for suspicious-looking pervy characters heading to Vancouver, Toronto, and Montréal, bringing only a laptop, a cellphone, and an overnight bag.

Screenshot from Craigslist—Toronto, http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/

Song:: “Prostitute”-Fifteen

Twitterversion:: [blog] Craigslist ban on adult services due to sex panic pressure ignores institutional issues & those needing help. @Prof_K @ThickCulture

Sarah Thomson, Toronto Mayoral Candidate

Crossposted on rhizomicon

Notes from north of 49ºN

Last month, the Toronto Star ran an article on the use of social media in Toronto’s mayoral race. This fall’s election will be the first since the proliferation of social media and the wake of Obama’s campaign 2.0. A CTVGlobemedia poll released this week shows that the race is tightening up, as heir apparent George Smitherman {15.9%} was leapfrogged by Rob Ford {17.8} with a 3.1% margin of error and 37.9% undecided.

Now, most of the candidates have embraced social media with various “chiclets”::

for sites like Twitter and YouTube. The “downside” of social media is that it can be hard or impossible to control. This clip of a documentary where Rob Ford gets on the case of a reporter for calling him a “fat f*ck” was making the rounds on YouTube::

Well, first off, this dispels the irksome myth that all Canadians are mild-mannered and polite. How does this video play in the court of public opinion? It’s hard to say. Some might be turned off by Ford’s confrontational style, but it might be “on code” with his feisty approach and accountability stance. Smitherman is no shrinking violet, so it may be interesting if Smitherman and Ford go after each other and voters can see it on YouTube.

I think Twitter offers an interesting mode for engagement. Provincially, here in the Toronto Centre riding, Liberal MPP Glen Murray does a great job of using Twitter to have conversations with constituents. The mayoral candidates should look to Twitter to both engage voters and mobilize supporters, as well as crowdsource ideas to help round-out platforms. A breakdown of the candidates’ Twitter presence follows, in their order in the CTVGlobemedia poll with following/followers/Tweets::

  1. Rob Ford {17.8%} 151/663/256
  2. George Smitherman {15.9%} 1,540/1,609/119
  3. Joe Pantalone {10.1%} 508/591/245
  4. Rocco Rossi {9.1%} 1,019/1,432/732
  5. Sarah Thomson {5.8%} 1,017/1,082/1,066
  6. Giorgio Mammoliti {2.5%} 618/474/ 274

I think it’s important for candidates to follow their followers in order to get the most out of Twitter and the conversations it can foster. Rossi and Thomson are Tweeting frequently and it would be interesting for their campaigns to gauge and analyze how Twitter affects metrics for the various functional areas of the campaign, e.g., volunteering, fundraising, attendance at events, etc.

Song:: XTC-‘Mayor of Simpleton’

Twitterversion:: [blog] Can #Twitter be a gamechanger in #Toronto mayoral race, offering conversations & engagement? #ThickCulture #VoteTO @Prof_K

Notes from North of 49ºN

The above AP video shows Pennsylvania House of Representatives member Joe Sestak, who beat White House supported Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary talking about an unpaid job offer discussed by Bill Clinton last year. The skinny is that Rahm Emanuel greenlighted Bill Clinton offering Joe Sestak an unpaid position of influence in consideration for not running against Specter in the 2010 primary. Sestak declined. This wasn’t enough for Republican Rep. Darrell Issa or pundit Liz Cheney. Issa is claiming that this will be Obama’s Watergate and citing 18 U.S.C. § 201 on bribery and wants an investigation. {As an aside, Issa was instrumental in the 2003 California Gubernatorial recall election that replaced Gray Davis with Arnold Schwartzenegger}. Cheney wants the same, accusing the White House of a smokescreen::

YouTube Preview Image

The U.S.C. bribery statute clarifies what consists of a bona-fide bribe, which hinges on the influence of an “official act”. What is an official act? Here is is:

“the term ‘official act’ means any decision or action on any question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding or controversy, which may at any time be pending, or which may by law be brought before any public official, in such official’s official capacity, or in such official’s place of trust or profit.” [*]

The idea is to limit influence on law, not a decision to run for office. While I’m not a fan of Emanuel or these types of tactics, I see this as politics-as-usual and within the scope of the law. I think pressing this one is a lost cause and more blowing smoke, but it may well be “run-it-up-the-flagpole-and-see-who-salutes” season. Happy Memorial Day.

And they call Toronto The Big Smoke.

Song:: Ben Folds Five-‘Smoke’

Twitterversion:: [blog – #ThickCulture] Sestak-Clinton-@WhiteHouse controversy. Whose smokescreen is it anyway or much ado about nothing? @Prof_K

Montréal comic, Samir Khullar AKA "Sugar Sammy", www.themovienetwork.ca

Notes from north of 49ºN

“Sugar Sammy” is an Indo-Canadian comic with a cultural studies degree from McGill who wants to portray the visible minority experience in Québec. While getting some acclaim in the anglophone realm and even had had a HBO special, the multilingual Sammy {who speaks Hindi, Punjabi, English, and French}, was up for an Olivier award for Québec humour.

A few weeks ago, I blogged about a Wind Mobile ad airing here in Canada that uses cultural stereotypes of south Asians as a part of its humour.  In that post, I brought up the Apu “problem”, where a Simpson’s character also uses cultural stereotypes to get laughs and to shill for 7-11 with a promotional tie-in in 2007. In this stand-up clip, Sammy goes after Apu and how it’s voiced by a non-South Asian {Hank Azaria} and how media portrayals of South Asians tend towards the weird {go to 3:05}::

While using race as fodder for comedy is nothing new, there’s arguably more room for alternative cultural narratives, particularly with the proliferation of social media. Sammy’s experience of being Indian in a francophone region of a predominantly anglophone country is a story of confluences of culture, politics, and power. In Québec, Bill 101/Loi 101 is the law of the land, where the primary language of instruction in the province is French, as part of attempts to make French language the norm in the province.

Mr. Khullar delivers his routines in flawless French, the result of being streamed into French school along with all the immigrant children in his multicultural neighbourhood of Côte-des-Neiges in Montréal. At the time, the lack of choice wasn’t a big hit in the Khullar household.

But today, the thirtysomething comic acknowledges it’s given him his chance at succeeding on home turf.

‘I’m a child of Bill 101,” he says. “I’m happy I went to French school, because my French wouldn’t have been this good. The more languages I speak, the more people I reach.'”

Sammy’s jokes hit themes where many anglophones would fear to tread—at least in front of an audience at a comedy show. He touches on the cultural stereotypes of the Québécois, but he can do so in perfect French::

video [French]:: “Les Québécois” skit, nominee for Olivier Award

While it may seem like a double-standard that Sammy can poke fun of cultural stereotypes of the Québécois and it seems offsides that the dominant culture poke fun of the South Asian stereotypes, one could say it’s a matter of the dynamics of cultural power and which group has it. Arguably, Sammy gets away with his comedic critiques with respect to Québec audiences because {1} he’s not anglo—i.e., he’s not a member of the dominant anglophone Canadian culture that many in Québec see as hegemonic and {2} he speaks perfect French.

Sammy didn’t win the Olivier award, but you’d be hard-pressed to know that if you just followed the anglophone press. I had to dig deep and use my rudimentary French to find the winners on the Radio-Canada {French CBC} site.

When it comes to comedy in Canada, I think it’s safe to say there’s one safe target no matter who you are. Americans. Of course, this a topic for another blog.

Song:: Malajube-‘St. Fortunat’

Twitterversion:: [blog] Multilingual Indo-Canadian comic Sugar Sammy negotiates cult. boundaries in post-Bill/Loi 101 Quebec #ThickCulture @Prof_K

Notes from north of 49ºN

A shorter, more applied version of this appears on rhizomicon.

The above Wind Mobile commercial is for a Canadian cellphone carrier, competing with the big three, Bell, Rogers, and Telus. The humour is derived from characterizing the major wireless carriers as entities that turn a nominal charge into a much larger one with extra fees and charges. Another facet is the use of a South Asian hot dog vendor to make the point, using an accent and cultural stereotypes familiar in North America. The South Asian-Canadian population was 4% of the population in 2006, categorized as visible minorities., i.e., visibly not one of the majority race in a population.

Is this Wind commercial offensive?

This reminds me of a 2007 Guardian UK piece by Manish Vij criticizing the use of The Simpson’s character of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon by 7-11 as part of a tie-in promotion.

“Apu is quite a unique character on The Simpsons. Unlike the show’s parodies of policemen and Irish-Americans, he’s the only character to mock a small American minority relatively unknown in the mainstream, and he’s by far the most visible immigrant. For desis (South Asians) growing up in America, just one eighth as concentrated and visible as in the UK, Apu shadowed us at every turn. Until the rise of American Idol chanteur Sanjaya Malakar, Apu was the most widely-known Indian after Mahatma Gandhi. And he has that fake Peter Sellers simulacrum of an Indian accent: Apu’s voice Hank Azaria, a Greek-American, is a brown man doing a white man doing a brown man.

To be sure, Apu has many redeeming qualities: a loving wife, passive-aggressive cunning, and a Ph.D. Culture-vulture Simpsons fans have felled entire forests in arguing that he’s a parody of a stereotype, rather than the stereotype itself. But the plain fact is that most viewers are laughing at Apu, not with him. They’re enjoying the simple pleasures of a funny, singsong brown man with a slippery grasp of English.”

Manish states that not all South Asians were against the promotion, but quotes a post on an online 7-11 franchise forum::

“This is an absolute embarrassment for our company… The vast majority of franchisees are immigrants… [A]ccepting our portrayal of Apu is nothing less [than] accepting the images portrayed years ago in the US of black people with very black faces, big lips and white teeth… [T]hat image is considered racist, so does Apu [seem] to me… I cannot imagine any store willing to rebrand to Kwik-E-Mart even for a day… I am not proud to be part of this promotion.”

Some commenters on the Guardian’s site and elsewhere this was discussed were quick to say the reaction is overly-PC and that The Simpsons have poked fun of the Scots with Groundskeeper Willie.

It’s easy to get into pissing matches about who one can and cannot make fun of in a post-racial world, isn’t the real issue about cultural power, privilege, and dominant and dominated positions? Does the rise of black cultural power in the US explain why outrageous stereotypes and iconography are now taboo? While some may eyeroll at complaints by groups that point out racism as overly-PC, isn’t protesting/complaining one means of how cultural power is obtained/negotiated?

The problem is that the stereotypes often serve to reinforce unflattering or negative attitudes towards a stigmatized outgroup. So, in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle {2004}, despite Kumar being an upper-middle class medical school candidate who speaks perfect English without an accent, local thugs use cultural power to harass him with the taunt,”thank you, come again.” Later in the film, Kumar used the taunt ironically right back at his harassers::

The lines of cultural power and privilege can get blurry. Media and advertising infuse meaning and shape attitudes, but what’s a marketer/advertiser to do? The use of stereotypes is meant to increase the efficacy of the communication, i.e., ideally the content resonates more with the audience. On the other hand, should marketers and advertisers steer clear of using stereotypes in a non-ironic way, in order to protect the brand from being labelled as insensitive? Some might say that those who take offense need to “get over it,” but before someone goes on the record as saying that, perhaps they should ask themselves how much cultural power they have.

Twitterversion:: Wind Mobile hotdog cart ad in Canada uses stereotypes to make a humourous pt. Is it offensive or benign? #ThickCulture @Prof_K

Song:: M.I.A. -‘World Town’

Canadian Press/Harris/Decima National Vote Intention Poll, 15-25 April 2010

Notes from north of 49ºN.

In both Canada and the UK, voters are getting tired with the status quo and giving increasing support to third parties. We’ll see how it plays out on the UK next week with their elections, in light of the recent rise of the Liberal Democrats. In Canada, the latest Canadian Press/Harris Decima poll showed a surge for the New Democratic Party, at 20%, while the two major parties {Conservative Party and Liberal Party} have both fallen below 30%. BTW, here’s a post on “house effects” in Canadian polls, showing that the Harris Decima methodology tends to disfavour the Conservatives. I haven’t done a province-by-province analysis for Canada in a while, but I tend to watch Ontario closely, as it’s a bellwether region. The NDP is polling strong in Ontario at 19%. Apologies that some of the numbers on the following graphic are a bit fuzzy.

The NDP is polling at an all-time high in British Columbia at 31% and are in a tie with the Liberals and Conservatives with women voters. Nationally, the Greens have also held steady over the past year, dancing around the 10% mark.

Stephen Harper’s Conservative minority government is flailing in light of the Guergis/Jaffer affair and the recent kerfuffle over revealing documents relating to the Afghan detainee torture scandal.

Twitterversion:: Canadian Press/Harris poll shows spike for #NDP. Strong showing in BC and among women #ThickCulture

Song:: Julie Doiron-‘Consolation Prize’

EKOS Federal Voting Intent Poll-Decided Voters, 22 April 2010

Notes from North of 49ºN

In the wake of the bizarre Helena Guergis scandal centred around Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and a MP from Ontario who he kicked out of caucus, the Conservatives held their ground and the Liberals lost a few points. Additionally, EKOS reported that this was the 16th. consecutive poll where no party received more than 33%. The direction of the government poll has 46.6% saying the government is going in the wrong direction and 41.4% saying the government is going in the right direction, with 12% saying don’t know/no response.

The gap in favour of the Liberals in bellwether Ontario is well within the margin of error with the Conservatives polling at 33.1%  and the Liberals at 34.6% +/- 4%.

Disillusionment anyone?

One possibly interesting pattern is the stability of support for the minor parties {NDP, Greens, and Bloc} since last October.

Twitterversion:: Post-Guergismania EKOS poll shows Liberals slipping. NDP, Greens, & Bloc with fairly steady %s since Oct’09 #ThickCulture @Prof_K

Song:: Portishead-‘Numb’

Notes from north of 49ºN
This blog is crossposted on rhizomicon.

Helena Guergis is awash in controversy and is currently an independent MP from Simcoe-Grey in rural Ontario. I saw a Globe & Mail article that rubbed me the wrong way, but I initially couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Sarah Hampson’s snarky article, using “bonfire of the tiaras” in the title, makes some interesting points. Are “beauty pageants” incompatible with feminism? Sarah quips::
“But how could she mince around in high heels and then, in the next breath, work as a crisis volunteer for rape victims and march in Barrie’s Take Back the Night rally? Isn’t that a conflict of character?”
This paints a black and white picture, but Sarah’s last few paragraphs muddy the waters::

“The fact of the matter is that beauty pageants are an opportunity to get noticed; to be somebody at a young age; to get ahead. If you’re beautiful, what’s wrong with using it? Athletes use their physical prowess. Scholars flaunt their talents. Ambitious men (and women) boast about their accomplishments, easing them into every conversation.

That Ms. Palin and Ms. Guergis were both beauty contestants says three very simple things.

They’re ambitious; they’re opportunistic; and they’re vain. Which is why politics was so perfect for them, despite how their careers ended.”

First off, I’m not sure Palin or Guergis’ careers in politics have ended, so that bit may be premature. What struct me was the part about getting noticed and capitalizing on it.

Last year, on Bitchmagazine, there was a post about a heptathalon competitor who was the first black Miss England. The poster, Mandy Van Deven, offered these thoughts about the winner, Rachel Christie::

“It seems to me that she’s pushing the boundaries of several stereotypes about what makes a woman attractive. In fact, according to The Independent, “she entered the contest in the hope of launching a modeling career that might fund her athletics training.” So the lady was just using the contest to meet her “real” desire: to be an Olympian. Nothing wrong with hustling the system, right?”

While it may be easy to brush aside pageant winners as less-than-credible women, do these attitudes do violence to the feminist project? What should one make out of women who aren’t the historical stereotype of pageant contestants, but are athletes or well-rounded individuals seeking to use the system to their advantage. On the one hand, when I saw that some Canadian women athletes were in a swimsuit calendar, I thought the objectification took something away from their “brand”, but in a market-based reality, does this “selling-out” afford them the chance to compete or pay expenses?

Is there a point where a woman goes from being exploited to being savvy, if she’s in on the “game”? So, if she’s know’s it’s all a game to get attention and to capitalize on it, is she engaging in a subversion of the hegemony? Or, is it always exploitation?

I must say I’m a bit uncomfortable with marginalization of people because of their past and I think a more nuanced discussion about what women “do” is in order. While I get the idea of a normative feminism with ideals, at the end of the day, for many it’s about creating opportunities in a market-based world.

As for judging a book by its past covers, remember that Kristin Scott Thomas was the female lead in Prince’s Under the Cherry Moon {1986}.

Twitterversion:: Globe&Mail article discusses Guergis, Palin, beauty pageants, & politics. What does all of this say re: feminism in 2010? @Prof_K

Song:: Seal-‘It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World’




Helena Guergis, Member of Parliament {Independent} for Simcoe-Grey in Ontario
Notes from north of 49ºN
My last post on the Toronto Sun featured a photo of Helena Guergis, who was the cover story for a brewing scandal in Parliament that caused her to resign her cabinet position and get turfed from the Conservative caucus. I’ll hold off from commenting on that story, as it’s evolving and includes an RCMP probe.
It hasn’t been a good year for Guergis. Earlier in the year, she had a meltdown on her birthday where she yelled at airport staff in Charlottetown, PEI. A few weeks ago, there was another incident which I found to be interesting. Apparently, one of her staffers used a pseudonym and posted a pro-Guergis comment in a local paper, after someone posted a negative comment about Guergis.YouTube Preview Image
Guergis tried to smooth things over, but in the CBC report, some residents of her riding {Simcoe-Grey} were put off by this. A while back, one of my students had a corporate internship where their job was to scan Internet discussion groups and plant positive “word-of-mouth”. I’ve always wondered the degree to which paid or volunteer shills were doing similar work in social media, particularly on comments on news articles. I have no idea how prevalent, if at all, this practice is, but I would hazard to guess that there is a great temptation to use social media to generate as much advantage as possible.
I don’t think it’s too much to ask for that politicians and their staff follow a policy of transparency when it comes to communications. It’s fine to advocate for a position or a candidate, but if you’re somehow affiliated with a politician’s office, full disclosure would be the best policy and there should be rules that enforce this. In this day and age of tracking IP addresses and websleuthery, I’m convinced that 95%+ of users have no idea of how trackable they are and pseudonyms only go so far.
Twitterversion:: MP staffer caught posting comments on newspaper’s website w/a pseudonym & causes backlash. How improper is such shillery? @Prof_K
Song:: Matchbox 20-‘Bed of Lies’

Downtown Montréal signage, en français, August 2006 after American Sociology Association Annual Meetings. Kenneth M. Kambara

Notes from North of 49ºN

A recent Globe and Mail article by John Ibbitson states that Québec has immigration policies that hinder diversity and that the province lacks cultural integration. He starts by comparing Ottawa in Ontario and Gatineau, just across the river in Québec. The former has 19% of the population being a visible minority, while the latter has 6%.

Québec is allowed to set it own immigration policy. I knew this to be the case in 1992, as when I filled out my paperwork to visit at McGill, I had to have documents for Canada and Québec. The policies for immigration favours French speakers and those willing to integrate into Québec society. This tends to work against potential immigrants from China and India who are much more likely to have English-speaking skills or intentions to obtain them. Compounding the matter is that the province doesn’t have the resources to help immigrants integrate into Québec society, along with cultural clashes, such as a niqab-wearing woman getting kicked out of a government-funded CÉGEP French language class.

Ibbitson also makes the curious allegation that francophone sending regions tend to be impoverished areas which aren’t the most “vibrant regions,” when compared to China and India. He goes on to argue that the lack of immigration will cause cities in Québec to start dying. This is an elitist argument couched in pragmatics.

What Ibbitson fails to recognize is the context in which Québec immigration policy takes place. Québec contains a distinct culture, but within a predominantly anglophone nation. Historically, the Québec experience is one that exists within and at times resists the dominant cultural order of anglophone Canada. The immigration policies are meant to preserve the cultural order in Québec in light of this, but it puts immigrants in a bind. Immigrating to Québec means living in a region with a distinct culture that’s a minority within the nation of Canada. That’s a double-whammy or perhaps better termed, double-jeopardy. This “disincentivizes” immigration to Québec, reflecting the difficult terrain where culture, region, and nation intersect.

Within this era of globalization, can Québec realistically preserve its culture through its various policies? I’m not sure I have the answer to this, but I feel that Québec needs to figure this issue out on its own, for better or worse, despite my federalist tendencies. While there may be delicious irony in pointing out that Québec, which has brought upon bilingualism to Canada, appears to be closed to multiculturalism; the more interesting issue is how to foster better economic integration. Montréal is becoming increasingly diverse, with the immigrant population projected to go from 21% in 2006 to 31% in 2030, although these percentages are below the percentages of other major Canadian cities. The main problem is one of jobs. Despite immigrants oftentimes having better qualifications than native Quebeckers, they lack the networking with the francophone majority and subsequently face much higher unemployment rates.

I don’t see much point in encouraging more immigration to Québec if policy doesn’t address the issues of jobs and opportunities. Programmes that foster more economic integration of immigrants could be viewed as undermining the preservation of Québec culture, so there’s the rub.

Nevertheless, I think Ibbitson has it backwards. Rather than attracting a “better class of immigrant” from “vibrant” areas of the world, I think Québec should work on creating vibrant regions {most likely Montréal and certain areas of the Eastern Townships/Les cantons de l’est that are close to universities and open to diversity} that attract the flows of globalization, in terms of people, finance, technology, etc.

Twitterversion:: Globe&Mail’s Ibbitson says Quebec must fix its lack of diversity, but bigger issue is econ. integration for immigrants. http://url.ie/5cpv @Prof_K

Song:: Les Trois Accords-“Loin d’ici”