Discrimination in Canada and Europe: Perceptions, Experiences and Attitudes

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Discrimination in Canada and EuropePerceptions,
Experiences and Attitudes

• Launch of Canada Barometer
• International Association for the Study of Canada
  
• Jack Jedwab
• November 6, 2008

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Survey on Discrimination and Human Rights in
Canada

• The Survey commissioned by the Association
  for Canadian Studies and conducted by the firm
  Leger Marketing between September 9th and 11th,
  2008 via web panel. Most questions were the same
  as those conducted for Eurobarometer in its
  survey Discrimination in the European Union
  Perceptions, Experiences and Attitudes Fieldwork
  February March 2008 Publication July 2008

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Launch of Canada Barometer and the International
Association for the Study of Canada

• The launch of the survey results is designed
  to introduce a new series of surveys that the ACS
  will be conducting in partnership with Leger
  Marketing under the title the Canada Barometor
  that will be issued four times per year beginning
  this week and where possible will include
  international comparative data and analysis. The
  results will also be employed under the auspices
  of a second new initiative launched this week,
  the creation of the International Association for
  the Study of Canada (IASC)

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Intl Association for the Study of Canada mandate

• A division of the Association for Canadian
  Studies (ACS), the International Association for
  the Study of Canada (IASC) is a think-tank that
  will promote bilateral and multilateral exchange
  of knowledge between Canada and other countries
  on issue of mutual concern and interest. It will
  pursue its mandate by organizing forums,
  generating publications and engaging in
  partnerships on social research

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ACS-MIPEX

• The Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX)
  measures policies to integrate migrants in 25 EU
  Member States and 3 non-EU countries. It uses
  over 100 policy indicators to create a rich,
  multi-dimensional picture of migrants'
  opportunities to participate in European
  societies. MIPEX covers six policy areas which
  shape a migrant's journey to full citizenship.
  Results for Canada were provided by the ACS.
  Overall Canada ranked 6th on the index

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In 2007 Canada ranked 3rd when it came to
anti-discrimination indicator

• Canada's anti-discrimination framework
  ranks third after Portugal and Sweden. It would
  attain best practice on definitions and concepts
  if the law forbade religious- and
  racially-motivated public insults. Canada reaches
  best practice on fields of application like 9
  other MIPEX countries. The law protects victims
  from racial, ethnic, religious or nationality
  discrimination in employment, education, social
  protection, health, housing and other areas.
  Although enforcement mechanisms protect
  complainants from victimization and provide a
  wide range of sanctions, NGOs (specifically,
  legal entities with a legitimate interest in
  promoting equality) cannot bring forward a case
  without a specific victim, even for cases of
  systemic discrimination. Canada and SE are the
  only MIPEX country where equality policies have
  achieved best practice (see box).

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Canadians perceive Ethnic and Racial
Discrimination to be most widespread
Widespread Total Male Female
Gender 47 38 56
Language 57 54 60
Age 47 40 53
Disability 52 44 59
Religion 60 53 68
Sexual Orientation 67 62 72
Ethnic Origin 72 68 76
Skin Color 70 66 73
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Canadians more likely than Europeans to think
discrimination is widespread
Widespread Widespread
Canada EU 27
Gender 47 36
Language 57 -
Age 47 42
Disability 52 45
Religion 60 42
Sexual Orientation 67 51
Ethnic Origin 72 62
Skin Color 70 -
10
Francophones more likely to perceive
discrimination as widespread than others except
on the basis of age
Widespread French English Other
Gender 54 48 36
Language 66 56 52
Age 43 52 37
Disability 58 57 31
Religion 74 56 57
Sexual Orientation 78 68 53
Ethnic Origin 82 71 66
Skin Color 84 68 60
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Perception of Ethnic Discrimination in EU and
Canada
Ethnic Discrimination
Netherlands 79
Greece 76
France 76
Italy 76
Sweden 76
Denmark 75
Canada 72
Lithuania 28
Latvia 27
Poland 23
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Canada 4th when it comes to perceived
discrimination on sexual orientation
Sexual Orientation
Greece 73
Cyprus 72
Italy 72
Canada 67
Portugal 65
France 62
United Kingdom 50
Finland 49
Spain 48
Slovenia 46
Netherlands 45
Hungary 45
Romania 45
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8th when it comes to age
Age
Hungary 67
Czech Republic 58
Latvia 52
Portugal 51
Slovenia 49
United Kingdom 48
Greece 47
Canada 47
France 46
Italy 46
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Second when it comes to religion
Religion
Denmark 62
Canada 60
France 57
United Kingdom 56
Italy 55
Netherlands 55
Belgium 53
Sweden 51
Greece 48
EU 42
Spain 41
Austria 41
Poland 27
Ireland 19
15
4th when it comes to gender
Gender
Spain 54
Sweden 50
Italy 49
Canada 47
France 46
Greece 44
Portugal 43
Hungary 38
United Kingdom 36
Czech Republic 36
EU 27 34
16
15 of Europeans say they were discriminated
against in past 12 months
17
Canadian Percentage reporting discrimination
higher
In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination Total French English Other
TOTAL Agree 29 39 27 21
Strongly Agree 10 17 9 6
Somewhat Agree 18 22 18 15
Total Disagree 65 53 68 69
Somewhat Disagree 21 28 17 15
Strongly Disagree 44 26 51 45
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Francophones more likely to have witnessed
discrimination
In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed Total French English Other
TOTAL Agree 41 45 43 33
Strongly Agree 18 20 19 13
Somewhat Agree 24 25 25 20
Total Disagree 50 46 50 54
Somewhat Disagree 20 27 17 23
Strongly Disagree 29 19 33 31
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Three in Ten Europeans report witnessing
discrimination in the past year
20
Younger Canadians more likely to report having
experienced discrimination
In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination
Total Total 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65
TOTAL 1-2 29 42 32 33 30 24 14
Strongly agree 10 11 11 13 12 9 4
Somewhat agree 18 31 21 20 18 15 10
TOTAL 3-4 65 50 62 59 67 70 80
I don't know 5 7 6 7 3 5 4
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Youngest Cohort think racial discrimination is
most widespread
Very widespread Religion Sexual Orientation Ethnic Origin Racial Identification Age Gender Disability
18 to 24 26,4 27,0 25,4 35,4 12,4 10,1 27,7
25 to 29 28,1 31,5 35,6 33,7 16,9 15,9 17,0
30 to 34 30,3 27,6 36,3 32,7 14,1 14,6 14,7
35 to 39 14,7 26,9 24,6 26,7 10,4 16,5 14,8
40 to 44 18,1 18,8 16,9 17,4 8,1 8,8 9,4
45 to 49 17,9 13,3 16,6 17,1 7,0 7,0 9,6
50 to 54 18,2 22,4 21,1 27,0 12,8 15,0 18,4
55 to 59 25,2 16,1 22,0 20,3 12,6 9,3 13,4
60 to 64 18,9 17,8 18,9 17,0 12,3 7,5 5,7
65 years or older 14,7 19,3 15,9 16,5 11,3 5,3 6,4
Total 20,6 21,7 22,5 23,8 11,5 10,4 13,5
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Of those who witnessed discrimination racial id
and sexual orientation most common
In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed
Strongly agree Very Widespread Fairly wide-spread Fairly Rare Very Rare
Gender 19 39 30 11
Age 21 42 24 12
Religion 30 43.5 18 6
Sexual Orientation 38 46 12 2.5
Ethnic Origin 35 52 9.5 1.5
Racial Origin 43 4.5 8.5 1.5
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Canadians more likely than any other country in
EU to have friends or acquaintances with
different cultural background
I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine
Age Age Age Age Age Age Language Language Language
Total 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 French English Other
TOT 1-2 83 90 78 86 83 82 82 67 87 89
Strong agree- ment 59 70 60 59 58 55 53 39 61 73
Some- What agree 25 19 18 27 25 27 29 28 26 15
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Those saying they are part of a minority somewhat
more likely to say they have experienced
discrimination
I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority
In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
Strongly agree 12,8 8,7 10,5 10,5
Somewhat agree 22,4 28,3 23,5 15,4
Somewhat disagree 23,0 29,7 36,6 19,0
Strongly disagree 37,2 29,0 22,9 53,2
I don't know 3,1 3,6 5,9 1,8
I prefer not to answer 1,5 ,7 ,7 ,2
Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0
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More interaction with others means more
discrimination
I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine
In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
Strongly agree 13,8 4,9 4,4 5,6
Somewhat agree 19,4 21,6 13,2 13,9
Somewhat disagree 16,7 29,7 35,1 18,1
Strongly disagree 46,2 38,1 45,6 55,6
I don't know 2,9 5,1 1,8 4,2
I prefer not to answer 1,0 ,5 2,8
Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0
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Only slight difference in degree to which
majority and minority identifiers say they have
witnessed discrimination
I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority
In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
Strongly agree 20,3 14,4 21,7 17,2
Somewhat agree 28,4 28,1 25,0 23,9
Somewhat disagree 15,2 28,8 28,9 20,9
Strongly disagree 30,5 18,7 19,1 33,3
I don't know 5,1 7,9 5,3 4,8
I prefer not to answer ,5 2,2 ,0
Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0
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More with other friends also more likely to have
witnessed discrimination
I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine
In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
Strongly agree 24,7 8,1 5,3 12,7
Somewhat agree 24,0 29,6 17,7 19,7
Somewhat disagree 15,9 28,3 39,8 18,3
Strongly disagree 29,0 26,4 31,9 43,7
I don't know 6,0 7,3 3,5 2,8
I prefer not to answer ,3 ,3 1,8 2,8
Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0
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Minority anglophones more likely to say they have
experienced discrimination
Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? / I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? / I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? / I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? / I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? / I am part of a linguistic, ethnic or racial minority
English In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
Strongly agree 18,9 11,9 8,8 8,3
Somewhat agree 34,0 32,8 25,0 14,2
Somewhat disagree 15,1 20,9 35,0 15,9
Strongly disagree 22,6 28,4 28,8 60,8
I don't know 3,8 4,5 1,2 ,5
I prefer not to answer 5,7 1,5 1,2 ,3
Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0
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Francophones with other friends more likely to
have Experienced discrimination
I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine
In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination French Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
Strongly agree 29,9 8,7 6,4 4,5
Somewhat agree 28,3 23,9 8,5 20,5
Somewhat disagree 18,1 34,8 51,1 22,7
Strongly disagree 21,3 21,7 29,8 40,9
I don't know 2,4 10,9 4,3 6,8
30
Anglophones with other friends more likely to
have experienced discrimination
I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine I have friends or acquaintances that are of a different cultural or language background than mine
English In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
Strongly agree 12,5 4,4 3,7 ---------------
Somewhat agree 18,5 22,3 14,8 3,8
Somewhat disagree 15,1 21,8 25,9 11,5
Strongly disagree 51,1 48,9 55,6 84,6
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Six in Ten Canadians believe authorities do a
good job of protecting human rights
Strongly and SomewhatAgree Following do a good job of protecting human rights Total French English Other
The government of Canada 62 50 66 66
My provincial government 62 60 64 59
The Human Rights Commission 59 63 59 56
The Police do a good job protecting our rights 66 63 66 68
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More you witness discrimation less likely you
think govt doing a good job in protection of HR
In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed In the past 12 months, I have witnessed someone being discriminated against or harassed
The government of Canada does a good job of protecting human rights Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
Strongly agree 10,5 8,3 6,8 17,1
Somewhat agree 38,6 56,1 57,3 55,9
Somewhat disagree 31,8 26,1 23,0 14,0
Strongly disagree 14,6 5,0 6,8 7,7
I don't know 4,1 4,2 4,9 4,1
I prefer not to answer ,4 ,3 1,3 1,4
Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0
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More you have experienced discrimination less
likely you think gov does good job in protection
In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination In the past 12 months I have personally experienced discrimination
The government of Canada does a good job of protecting human rights Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
Strongly agree 6,5 8,3 6,6 15,3
Somewhat agree 37,3 47,5 59,0 55,6
Somewhat disagree 31,4 32,0 24,6 16,1
Strongly disagree 18,3 9,0 6,0 5,9
I don't know 5,9 2,9 3,5 5,7
I prefer not to answer ,7 ,4 ,3 1,4
Total 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0
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ACS Conference to Mark UN Declaration
of Human Rights December 8 and 9 at McGill Univ
More Results to Be Released at ACS Conference
to Mark the 6oth Anniversary of the UN universal
Declaration of Human Rights to be held on the 8th
and 9th of December, 2008 at McGill University.
For more information go the web site at
www.acs-aec.ca or contact James Ondrick at
514-925-3097