Canada too accommodating to minorities, poll says

Agence France-Presse INQUIRER.net
Posted date: April 18, 2008

OTTAWA -- Most Canadians believe their country is too accommodating when it comes to its "visible minorities," according to a survey released Thursday.

The Strategic Counsel poll for The Globe and Mail and CTV, found that a hefty 61 percent of those asked thought Canada does too much for members of the visible or non-white minorities.

In mostly French-speaking Quebec province the figure soars to 72 percent, the survey found.

The study also showed a sharp difference between people's opinions on the question in urban and rural settings. While 55 percent of those in big cities thought concessions to minorities were too numerous, the percentage soars to 71 percent in communities with fewer than 30,000 people.

Almost 9 out of 10 people surveyed (88 percent) said their community was welcoming to these minorities, the survey found.

The poll of 1,000 people was taken April 10-13, and has a 3.1-percent margin of error.

Members of Canada's "visible minorities" in 2006 topped five million or just over 16 percent of the population.

According to data from the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs, Filipinos living in Canada number some 790,000 as of June 2007.

Of this number, some 570,000 are permanent residents. Most (some 420,000) are covered by the Philippine consulate in Toronto. Some 180,000 are covered by the Philippine embassy in Ottawa while some 190,000 by the Philippine consulate general in Vancouver.