Statement on Canadian Multiculturalism Day 2018

June 27, 2018
(OTTAWA) –

“On Canadian Multiculturalism Day, we celebrate the diverse cultures that contribute to our society,” said Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands). “I wholeheartedly endorse Chief Justice Richard Wagner’s recent description of Canada as a moral superpower when compared to countries which play lip service to inclusion instead of practising it. Canada should be proud of its capacity to accommodate and celebrate difference, to make multiculturalism work, and we must protect it fiercely. We need only look to our southern neighbour to see how a country once known as a sanctuary for the dispossessed can rapidly descend into bigotry and xenophobia. Canadians are fortunate to live in a functioning liberal democracy that embraces diversity — but we must never take it for granted.”