Immigration, Diversity and Social Inclusion in Canada’s Cities

Foreword It is now widely acknowledged that Canada's cities need help if they are to reach their economic potential and offer a high quality of life to their citizens. Indeed, there is growing evidence that social and economic conditions have deteriorated for many urban citizens, the most vulnerable being single-parent families, Aboriginal people, recent immigrants, visible minorities, elderly women, and the disabled. Major questions remain as to what kind of help the cities need and from whom. And here much attention has turned to the federal government, even though the constitution says that municipalities are the " creatures " of the provinces, and most provinces guard this role jealously. To help clarify the potential roles for Ottawa, CPRN commissioned four papers. The first four focus on urban poverty, immigration, Aboriginal people, and housing. A fifth provides an overview of the ideas in the first four papers, and includes the reflections of a diverse group of Canadians from many sectors who participated in a Roundtable. Each of the papers provides a summary of the state of knowledge in their area and then sets out possible actions for the federal government. All four papers point to the challenges of governance of our cities. And, despite the constitutional division of powers, there is no question that the federal government is one of the key actors in Canada's cities by virtue of the fact that so many people live in cities and so much economic activity takes place there. The government is an actor as an employer, as a regulator, as a source of transfer payments to individuals, and as a taxing authority which sets many of the incentives with respect to social and economic behaviour. However, the federal government is only one of many actors. None of the policy actors – federal, provincial, municipal, corporate or voluntary – is in a position to function effectively on its own. The actions of all the actors are part of a densely woven fabric of governance which shapes the economic and social sustainability of cities. This paper, by Martin Papillon, explores the federal role in promoting sustainable ethnic and cultural diversity in Canada's urban communities. I would like to thank the author for his excellent survey of the literature, his thoughtful proposals and his active participation in the Roundtable, as well as Leslie Seidle, who ably conceived, organized, and edited all the papers during a six-month …