Canada has had a history of prejudice and discrimination. However, efforts have been made in the recent past to improve social integration, which is aimed at allowing people of different races and cultures to co-exist. Prejudice involves the negative judgment of an individual or group of people based on their religion, ethnicity or race. Discrimination is excluding the individual or group completely from participation because of prejudice. The Charter of Rights and Freedom ensures that equality is protected. Race and ethnicity shaped the roles of the Canadian workers as their job description and wages were determined by the skin culture or culture. The blacks, Asians, and West Indians, for example, were laborers who received low wages while the whites were on the higher end.
Prejudice and discrimination in Canada can be traced back to the start of the settlements between the Aboriginal people and the European colonizers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The European settlers always viewed the natives as noble savages and soulless barbarians. The only factor that cemented the relationship between the two groups of people was the fur trade. There was, however, conflicting interest when it came to matters to do with the large-scale settlement and, therefore, racism thrived as the Aboriginals were seen as an impediment rather than people who would aid in the economic development. It is, therefore, clear that racial discrimination in Canada did not begin two centuries ago.
Discrimination and prejudice against the African Americans, the African Canadians, and West Indians is the first example that shows the role race played in developing the Canadian working class and unions. Race formed the central principles in matters that involved organizing workers especially during the construction of the Canadian railway system. The minorities were hired to work in the dining and sleeping departments. Most Canadian employers preferred these groups as they believed that they were easy to manipulate. The white rail workers, however, objected to the employment of these groups since they believed that they undermined the railway unionism and white manhood. Within no time, the labor unions demanded the division of the workforce based on race. The blacks were consequently locked into low-waged positions. Initially, they had the option to work wherever they wanted. From then onwards, segregation was embraced by the employers and the unionists as a rationale for ensuring that there was peace at the workplace. The blacks, however, did not agree with the terms and within no time, they resisted the segregationist policies and finally formed their union. The scope of the Jim Crow practices was brought to light by the black unions while at the same time demanding for a change in the trade unionism and railway industry (Mathieu, 9).
Apart from the anti-black campaign in Canada, there were also anti-Chinese sentiments which form the second example of how race helped develop the Canadian working class. Vancouver, for example, experienced heavy anti-Asian campaigns by agitated white Canadians. Various factors led the white labor movement to exclude the Asian workers. The first factor was social psychology. According to Peter Ward, social psychology led in matters that involved race relations, therefore, causing the Oriental problem. The proponent believed that ideas, social structures and human agency formed the social products that were responsible for producing a particular social environment. To understand racism, it was important to apply ideological factors and also put into consideration the social context of the historical place and time (Creese, 24-26).
Racial exclusion was another of the factors. The element concentrated on the economic factors either combined with cultural differences or psychological differences. Paul Phillips amongst other proponents argued that racial exclusion by the white Canadian workers could be explained by the competition between the low-wage Asian workers and the high-wage white workers. Labor competition was the central cause of racial and ethnic division in the Canadian working class. Therefore, the white Canadians advocated for exclusion as the Asians were highly unassimilated and difficult to organize. This was however not true as the white workers never made any attempts to organize the Asian laborers. The latter was also greatly involved in matters to do with labor militancy, which suggests that it was possible to organize the Asians as they had solidarity. It was, therefore, unfair to exclude the Asians. Marking them as permanent “foreigners” and denying them their political rights was also wrong and the white workers should, therefore, have reshaped their practices (Creese, 27).
Some episodes described the marginalization of the Squamish and the Tsleil-Waututh Longshoremen that signify prejudice due to race. The North Shore, which marked their territory, was encroached by the white Canadians during the expansion of Vancouver. The modern forms of urbanization and industrialization marginalized these communities with their forms of livelihood such as fishing and hunting, and getting restrictions from the government-imposed laws. To deal with the encroachment, the communities participated in the wage-labor economy. The first union in Vancouver was formed by the longshoremen in 1906. The union among many others responded to the pressures exerted by the increasingly competitive workforce, which was experienced at the turn of the century. Their primary interest was to advocate for the livelihood and the economic interests of the communities, at a time when there were social pressures in Canada (Parnaby, 68).
The first decades of the nineteenth century were deeply divided by ethnicity in the logging camps, just as in the railway construction industries and other sectors. Most of the workers in the logging camps were white. In previous years, most of the workers were from Asia and India. For this reason, there was a lot of division in the region, which hindered the restructuring of the industry that would affect the longshoremen. Organized activism led some of the members of the communities to join the Knights of Labor, an American trade union. Years later, representatives were nominated, who later traveled to London, England, where they directly petitioned the issue of land title to the then King of England King Edward VII.
Racial discrimination and ethnicity contributed to the vertical, mosaic of the incomes and occupation in Canada. The whites, who were mainly from England, were on top of the rank while the black Canadians and the Chinese got the most menial jobs. Economic power belonged to the British and the French. The highest levels of prejudice were experienced during the period of intense nationalism. The first world too was a tough time for the Germans and workers from Hungary, as they were considered as “enemy aliens,” which made them be easily dismissed from their jobs. Other acts of discrimination involved placing them under police surveillance, closing down their language schools and churches and suppressing their newspapers. In 1919, the Order in Council passed a rule that barred the minority groups from immigrating to Canada. Racial prejudice went as far as denying the minority citizens their right of voting. The issue continued to be felt even after the world war two.
In conclusion, the Canadian Society has had a history of discrimination. The mistreatment of the various groups was previously contributed by lack of knowledge of what to be expected from the immigrants or the minorities. White Canadians should have learned how to fuse their culture with other communities while at the same time appreciating differentiation. The Charter of Rights and Freedom should form the basis for uniting the society hence achieving equality.
Works Cited
Creese, G. "Exclusion or Solidarity? Vancouver Workers Confront the “OrientalProblem”." B.C. Studies (1988): 24-51: 80. Print.
Mathieu, S. "North of the Colour Line: Sleeping Car Porters and the Battle Against Jim Crow on Canadian Rails, 1880-1920." Labour/Le Travail (2001): 9-41: 47. Print.
Parnaby, A. "The Best Men Ever to Work Timber: Aboriginal Longshoremen on Burrard Inlet, 1863-1939." The Canadian Historical Review (2006): 53-78: 87. Print.
