James S. Frideres

A homeland for the Cree : regional development in James Bay, 1971-1981

A Homeland for the Cree is an invaluable study of how the first James Bay project was negotiated between the Cree and the Quebec government. Richard Salisbury follows the negotiations which began in 1971 and analyses the changes to Cree society over a ten-year period in light of the regional development in James Bay.

The quality of marriage and the passage of time: marital satisfaction over the family life cycle*

This paper examines the effect of the passage of time on the quality of marriage. A devel- opmental approach is employed and marital satisfaction and happiness among a sample of Calgarian couples are assessed over the family life cycle. The evidence reveals a consistent pattern, showing a curvilinear association between marital satisfaction and stage in the family life cycle for both hus- bands and wives. Marital satisfaction declines steadily from the beginning of marriage to the period when children exit the family unit. From then on, all couples experience increased marital satisfac- tion as they move through the post-parental period into retirement. The introduction of control vari- ables revealed significant gender differences, but did not destroy the original curvilinear relationship. The data demonstrate the way in which the intersecting of family and work roles affects husbands and wives variedly as they face role strains at different transitional points in the family life cycle. Both our research strategy and the results obtained underline the unitary character of family and work relations and thus demonstrate the usefulness of conceptualizing the family as a unit with a set of developmental task requirements inside and outside the household.

Ethnic identity: Myth and reality in Western Canada

Abstract The paper analyzes eleven research projects which have focused on the issue of ethnic identity. Each study addresses the question of how important ethnicity is to the individual. The results suggest that ethnicity, as measured in the present studies, is of little importance to Canadians. Ethnicity, however, should be viewed as an adaptive response to the conditions governing the context for acquisition of scarce and desired goods! What is clear is that assertions of the universal and constant import of ethnicity to Canadians are not true.

Social and Economic Context and Attitudes toward Immigrants in Canadian Cities.

It has long been a part of the conventional wisdom among both social scientists and laypersons that periods of unemployment are characterized by higher levels of prejudice and discrimination directed at immigrant groups, particularly those of a minority ethnic or racial background. Yet surprisingly little research has addressed this issue. This article presents a study of the effects of a number of socioeconomic features of Canadian cities, particularly their unemployment rates, on the attitudes toward immigrants of their native-born residents. Using data from a national study of ethnicity and multiculturalism, we estimate several regression models predicting three separate dimensions of attitude toward immigrants and including as independent variables both individual characteristics and structural characteristics of city of residence. We find no evidence of a sizeable effect of local unemployment rate on attitude toward immigrants. Of the other contextual variables included in our models, the only one consistently influencing these attitudes is rate of population growth. Of the individual level variables included in the models, educational attainment and income, along with mother tongue, exhibit the strongest and most consistent effects on the attitude dimensions.

Measuring the effects of public participation programs

Since public participation programs became fairly widely advocated in the late 1970s, there has been concern in industrial, government, and academic circles with the rationale for and the effects of such programs. While public participation effects are most often treated in the context of social impact assessment (SIA), the two phenomena are separable and do occur independently. Relatively few practitioners of impact assessment suggest public participation programs as the preferred methodology for SIA. It is far more common to find more quantitative systems analysis or a version of cost-benefit analysis utilized in this area (Sassone 1977). On the other hand, public participation programs are sometimes put in place in response to a perceived demand by the powerless to participate actively in the decisions that directly affect them, even where there is no SIA involved. In democratic systems it has proven difficult simply to ignore such a demand. However, it is also the case that public participation programs differ greatly (Goldenberg 1984). There is a wide variety of such programs, and some of the apparent disagreement concerning their effects is a product of the difficulty of comparing incommensurables that go by the same label (Shields 1977). Public participation programs, whether developed in the context of SIA or not, vary in their purposes and in the degree to which the public participates. Many critics have, in fact, suggested that there is an inverse relation between the extent of real participation (i.e., involvement of members of the public in a decision-making capacity) and the frequencies of programs of the kinds to be described here. Some critics have suggested that so-called public participation programs exist where they do only to satisfy either legal requirements or perceived ethical ones. In these instances, the existence of anything called a public participation program satisfies the requirement, exclusive of the content or effect of such a program. Obviously, in such instances the quality of the program is irrelevant. Most commonly, only a few of the public will participate to any

Discrimination in Western Canada

JAMES S. FRIDERES is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Calgary, Alberta. Four years ago, a report on perceived discrimination by Eastern Canadian Japanese and Blacks was reported in Race (Henry, 1969). In general, he found that while Japanese Canadians seem to experience little discrimination, Blacks reported that they were subjected to a considerable amount. Unfortunately little attention was focused on possible correlates of the tendency to perceive discrimination. The present study attempts to address the same general issue but with several significant variations. It is hoped, however, that the findings presented in the present paper will serve both as an extension of Henry’s work and as a stimuli for further

Multiculturalism and intergroup relations

Introduction Multiculturalism and Government by Huguette Labelle Taking Into Account: The Other Ethnic Groups and the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism by Jean Burnet Contemporary State Policies Towards Subordinate Ethnics by Heribert Adam The Vesting of Ethnic Interests in State Institutions by Raymond Breton The Hutterites: Current Developments and Future Prospects by Edward D. Boldt Ethnic Relations in an Aging Multicultural Society by K. Victor Ujimoto Ethnic Diversity and Pattern of Retirement by Richard A. Wanner and P. Lynn McDonald Asian Americans: From Pariahs to Paragons by Peter I. Rose Integration: Structural Discrimination or Time Lag? The Case of Israel by Aaron Antonovsky The Acquisition and Transformation of Identities by Sheldon Goldenberg Nonhyphenated Canadians--Where Are You? by Joseph E. DiSanto Canadian Ethnicity and the Year 2000 by Raymond Breton American Ethnicity and the Year 2000 by Peter I. Rose

Visible minority groups and second-language programs: language adaptation

Since World War II, Canadian society has experienced a series of Immigration fluctuations. During the 1950s and early 1960s (with an expanding economy), an average of 130,000 immigrants per year entered Canada, although there were wide fluctuations in the total number (see Table 1). The late 1960s saw an even more expansionist Immigration policy and the number of immigrants increased substantially, peaking in 1974 with over 200,000 immigrants. The present phase began in the early 1980s with a decrease in Immigration, partially äs a result of unfavorable

Canada's Changing Immigration Policy: Implications for Asian Immigrants

Canada has accepted immigrants since the turn of the century and has been a major player in the world wide movement of people. However, until the 1960s, most immigrants were white and from Western Europe. By the late 60s, Canadas immigration policy took on a more universalistic criteria and immigrants from around the world were able to enter. In 1971, Canada established a multicultural policy, reflecting the multi-ethnic composition of Canadian society. However, a quarter century later, economic and ideological pressures have forced the government of the day to rethink its immigration policy. The present paper reviews Canadian immigration policy and assesses the current situation. An analysis of the 1994 immigration consultation process is presented which led to the new changes in immigration policy. Recent changes in the organizational structure of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and its policy are evaluated. The implications of the new immigration policy are discussed, particularly as it relates to Asian immigration.

Jewish - Gentile Intermarriage : Definitions and Consequences

Les éventuels effets négatifs de mariages dont les conjoints pratiquent des religions différentes ont été l’objet de beaucoup de discussions mais de peu de recherches empiriques. Dans cet article, les rapports entre ces mariages et les principales caractéristiques sociales et psychologiques des enfants qui en sont issus sont examinés. Le concept de mariage mixte est opérationnalisé de deux manières : la croyance nominale des époux (juif-juif et juif-gentil) et la correspondance réelle entre l’identité religieuse et ethnique des époux. Aucune preuve de conséquences négatives n’existe, quelle que soit la manière dont le concept est opérationnalisé. Il est dès lors possible que les bases théoriques sur lesquelles sont fondées ces affirmations d’effets négatifs soient incorrectes.