Visible minority

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A visible minority is defined by the Canadian government as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada, in connection with that country's Employment Equity policies. The qualifier "visible" is important in the Canadian context as historically its political divisions from the period of colonial history have traditionally been determined by language (French vs. English) and religion (Catholics vs. Protestants), which are "invisible" traits.

The term visible minority is sometimes used as a euphemism for "non-white". This is incorrect, in that the government definitions differ: Aboriginal people are not considered to be visible minorities, but are not necessarily white either. Also, some groups that are defined as "white" in the United States census, such as Arab-Americans, are defined as "visible minorities" in the official Canadian definition. In some cases, members of visible minorities may be visually indistinguishable from the white population, while in other cases non-whites are not a minority in a local population (cf. Demography of Canada).

Since the reform of Canada's immigration laws in the 1960s, immigration has been primarily of peoples from areas other than Europe, many of whom are visible minorities within Canada. Legally, members of visible minorities are defined by the Canadian Employment Equity Act as "persons, other than Aboriginal people, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour."[1] The term is used to address the labour market disadvantage of this group.[2] The United States equivalent classification —"people of color"—is similar, but also includes Aboriginal Americans. Historically, it specifically referred to persons of mixed race, particularly of African and European ancestry.

Visible minorities in Canada

Over five million Canadians identified as a member of a visible minority group in the 2006 Census, accounting for 16.2% of the total population. This was an increase from 2001, when visible minorities accounted for 13.4% of the total population; an increase from 1996 when the proportion was 11.2%; and a major increase over 1991 (9.4%) and 1981 (4.7%). The increase represents a significant shift in Canada's demographics related to increased immigration since the advent of its multiculturalism policies.

Based upon the annual immigration intake into Canada since the last census in 2006, accompanied by the steady increase in the visible minority population within Canada due to the higher fertility levels of minority females when compared to Canadian women of European origin, researchers estimate that by 2012, approximately 19.56% of the population in Canada will be individuals of non-European (visible minority) origin. The Aboriginal population within Canada, based upon projections for the same year (i.e. 2012), is estimated to be 4.24%. Hence, at least 23.8% of Canada's population in 2012 were individuals of visible minority and Aboriginal heritage. Projections also indicate that by 2031, the visible minority population in Canada will make up about 33% of the nation's population, given the steady increase in the non-European component of the Canadian population.[3][4]

Of the provinces, British Columbia had the highest proportion of visible minorities, representing 24.8% of its population, followed by Ontario at 22.8%. In the 2006 census, South Asian Canadians superseded ethnic Chinese as Canada’s largest visible minority group. In 2006, Statistics Canada estimated that there were 1.3 million South Asian people in Canada, compared with 1.2 million Chinese.[5] In 2001, there were approximately 1 million Chinese Canadians, representing 3.5% of the country’s population, followed by South Asian Canadians (3.1%) and Black Canadians (2.2%).

List of Canadian census subdivisions with visible minority populations higher than the national average

National average: 19.1%
Source: Canada 2011 Census[6]

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

Ontario

Quebec

Legislative versus operational definitions

According to the Employment Equity Act of 1995, the definition of visible minority is:

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“members of visible minorities” means persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour;[7]

This definition can be traced back to the 1984 Report of the Abella Commission on Equality in Employment,. The Commission described the term visible minority as an "ambiguous categorization", but for practical purposes interpreted it to mean "visibly non-white".[8] The Canadian government uses an operational definition by which it classifies as visible minorities the following groups: "Blacks, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Latin Americans, Pacific Islanders, South Asians, and West Asians/Arabs."[9] However, a few exceptions are applied to some groups. According to the Visible Minority Population and Population Group Reference Guide of the 2006 Census, the exception is:

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"In contrast, in accordance with employment equity definitions, persons who reported 'Latin American' and 'White,' 'Arab' and 'White,' or 'West Asian' and 'White' have been excluded from the visible minority population. Likewise, persons who reported 'Latin American,' 'Arab' or 'West Asian' and who provided a European write-in response such as 'French' have been excluded from the visible minority population as well. These persons are included in the 'Not a visible minority' category. However, persons who reported 'Latin American,' 'Arab' or 'West Asian' and a non-European write-in response are included in the visible minority population."[10]

The term “non-white” is used in the wording of the Employment Equity Act and in employment equity questionnaires distributed to applicants and employees. This is intended as a shorthand phrase for those who are in the Aboriginal and/or visible minority groups. In this context, the use of the term non-white does open the door to ambiguity. For example, people who are Arabs or Latin Americans or even some South Asians may consider themselves to be white, yet the federal government treats Arabs and Latin Americans as members of the visible minority category.[11]

Controversy

The classification “visible minorities” has attracted controversy. In March 2007, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination described the term as racist because it singles out a group.[12] Another criticism arises regarding the composition of “visible minorities” as defined by the Canadian government. Critics have noted that the groups comprising “visible minorities” have little in common with each other, as they include some disadvantaged ethnic groups and other groups who are not economically disadvantaged.[13][14] The concept of visible minority has been cited in demography research as an example of a statistext, meaning a census category that has been contrived for a particular public policy purpose.[15][16]

Since 2008, census data and media reports have suggested that the "visible minorities" label no longer makes sense in some large Canadian cities, due to immigration trends in recent decades. For example, "visible minorities" comprise the majority of the population in Toronto, Vancouver, Markham, Richmond, Burnaby, Greater Vancouver A, and Brampton.[17] In the United States, such cities or districts are described as majority-minority. But, the term "visible minority" is used for the administration of the Employment Equity Act, and refers to its statistical basis in Canada as a whole and not any particular region.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Visible Minority Population and Population Group Reference Guide, 2006 Census from StatsCan
  2. ↑ Hasmath, R. (2012) The Ethnic Penalty: Immigration, Education and the Labour Market. Burlington, VT and Surrey, UK: Ashgate.
  3. ↑ "Minorities to rise significantly by 2031", cbc.ca
  4. ↑ "Visible minorities to make up 1/3 of population by 2031", CTV, March 2010
  5. ↑ One in 6 Canadians is a visible minority, CBC, 2 Apr 2008
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Employment Equity Act (1995, c. 44) Act current to Oct 20th, 2010
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ "Visible Minority Population and Population Group Reference Guide," 2006 Census Statcan
  10. ↑ Visible Minority Population and Population Group Reference Guide, 2006 Census - Catalogue no. 97-562-GWE2006003 Statcan
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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