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anada has become a post-national, multicultural society. It contains the globe within its borders, and Canadians have learned that their two international languages and their diversity are a comparative advantage and a source of continuing creativity and innovation. Canadians are, by virtue of history and necessity, open to the world. The Right Honourable Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, June 2000.

When my daughter was five years old, she attended Huron Public School in downtown Toronto. Thanks to a student culture that was racially, ethnically and religiously diverse and where more than 100 different languages were spoken, she learned as much about Chanukah and Kwaanza each December as she did about Christmas.

Vanessa knew that fried potato latkes taste delicious and that it's a lot of fun to spin a little wooden dreidl while singing the dreidl song. Her best friends came from Hong Kong, India, Iran, Hungary, the Dominican Republic and... Edmonton. Her life was enriched because she was able to enjoy so many different traditions. She had become a child of the world, a true "Canadian" in every sense of the word.

			Celebrate Canada, celebrate diversity!
			On June 27, 2003, Canada celebrated its first official Multiculturalism Day. Aimed at moving Canadians towards a better reflection of the diverse culture in which we live, this initiative provides seed money for community groups to develop their own ideas about how to enjoy our unique Canadian traditions. Now that's something to celebrate, Canada!

Celebrating our multicultural society is as Canadian as, well...watching a hockey game on Saturday night. And in fact, in 1971, Canada became the first country in the world to adopt an official Multiculturalism Policy. This became law in 1988 when Parliament passed the Canadian Multiculturalism Act. According to the department of Canadian Heritage, which has a mandate to strengthen Canada by fostering an inclusive society, multiculturalism is founded on the belief that society is resilient, harmonious and more creative when everyone is accepted and respected for who they are.

As a direct result of Canada's commitment to multiculturalism, approximately 200,000 immigrants from all over the world choose this country as the place to call home each year. In fact, immigration has now outpaced the natural birth rate, accounting for 53% of this country's overall population growth. It is estimated that by the year 2006, one in six Canadians will be a member of a visible minority. At that time, Canada's largest city -- Toronto -- will become the most multicultural city in the world, say experts, more diverse than even New York and London. And Vancouver, the place where the immigrant population is growing the fastest, is also expected to join the ranks of the world's most culturally integrated cities.

Most immigrants settle in one of Canada's three major urban centers: Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. And while much of Canada's immigrant population has historically been of European descent, today the largest number of people coming to this country are from Asia.

A society made up of many different cultures is an enriched environment in which to grow, say experts. Dr. Irvin Wolkoff, whose parents emigrated to Canada from Poland in 1948 and 1949, knows this firsthand. He was born in Toronto in 1952. "My view of a 'normal world' was one in which everybody came from someplace else or had parents who came from somewhere else," says Dr. Wolkoff, now a psychiatrist in private practice. "It was very stimulating growing up with kids, both Jewish and Gentile, whose parents came from Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia and occasionally, the Caribbean and Hong Kong."

Exploring and sharing the rich traditions of so many cultures taught Dr. Wolkoff how to think about things from many different perspectives. "The more ways you can think about things, the more intelligent you become," he says. It also taught him that for all our cultural differences, people share the same hopes and fears. And that, he adds, can be very effective in reducing stress and anxiety. "Every parent who is raising kids is worried about the same things. Once you learn that, bumping up against people whose culture you don't know won't stir up anxiety because you understand that you're not that different."

In Saskatoon, Dr. Aruna Thakur, remembers vividly the early days in Canada after emigrating from India in 1967. Her sense of humour carried her through some of the cross-cultural misunderstandings that occasionally cropped up. One particular story, which stemmed from the fact that everyone in the tiny East Indian community was obliged to worship at home because there was no temple, has her chuckling still. "My son was in Grade One at the local school with all the other Canadian children," recalls Dr. Thakur. "He told the class that he didn't need to go to church because God was in our basement!"

Dr. Thakur, who is a clinical professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan as well as president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, knows the importance of celebrating diversity. "We are all immigrants to begin with," she says. "We came because of our own problems and made Canada our home." Instead of feeling threatened by cultural differences, it's important to recognize that diversity brings a strength and uniqueness to society. "We cannot stop what's happening in the world at large, but we are a global village," she points out. "We can become more tolerant of others and we can start right in our own community."

Dr. Thakur feels strongly that is everyone's responsibility to make an effort to reach out to new Canadians. In her practice, where she sees lots of patients from India and China, Dr. Thakur finds it very helpful to ask: How would you do it back home? "Everyday life and everyday language expresses an awareness," she explains. "You've got to understand what that means and figure out where a person is coming from, literally and figuratively."

Sharing multi-cultural activities, "is like opening the door of a next-door neighbour and seeing how they live," says Dr. Thakur. "This makes everyone feel more comfortable, more tolerant," she adds. "After all, most of our fears stem from ignorance."

In Saskatoon, where all schools are public, embracing multiculturalism begins in the classroom. "Learning about food, dress, customs and festivals for the past 20 years has really helped," she says. In fact, many parents find their school-age children are the bridge that connects them to other parents of different racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds. "My advice to families who are interested in learning more about the diverse society in which we live is to always listen to your children," advises Dr. Wolkoff. "We've met a lot of interesting people through our children -- in meetings at class, sleepovers and birthday parties."

At Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, Ont., more than 50 countries of origin are represented by the student body, including Sri Lanka, Pakistan, the Phillipines, Iran, Afghanistan, Argentina, Central America, Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana. When physics teacher Ranjana Kiran, who is of East Indian origin, joined Sir Winston Churchill in September 1988, she initiated a program of activities aimed at getting students to learn and experience everything different cultures have to offer.

Called Cultural Connections, the week of intense cross-cultural exchange kicks off with a keynote speaker and "mini-dialogues" between students and up to 25 invited guests who answer questions during intense 75-minute information sessions. On flag day, everyone wears a paper flag with their country of origin and at lunchtime, the Phys Ed department organizes games of an ethnic nature, such as cricket. Song and dance, a fashion show and foods from around the world encourage students from one culture to get actively involved in sampling the best of other cultures.

		Ethnic and religious holidays and festivals Dec. 1 Advent - Marks the beginning of a four-week period during which Christians prepare for Christmas Dec. 8 Bodhi Day - Buddhist celebration of the enlightenment of Buddha Dec. 8 Feast of the Immaculate Conception - Roman Catholic Holy Day of Obligation Dec. 20-27 Chanukah - Jewish Feast of Lights holiday celebrating the rededication of the Temple Dec. 25 Christmas - Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Christ Dec. 25 Taiwanese Constitution Day Dec. 26-Jan. 1 Kwanzaa - An African American seven-day spiritual festival related to the spirit and rituals of the harvest festivals of Africa Jan. 1 Solemnity of Mary - Roman Catholic Holy Day Jan. 1-3 Japanese New Year Jan. 6 Feast of the Epiphany Jan. 7 Greek Orthodox and Eastern Christmas Jan. 14 Maghi - Sikh Holiday Jan. 22 Hsin Nien - Chinese New Year Jan. 22 Tet - Vietnamese New Year Jan. 30- Feb. 2 Hajj - Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca.

Now in its 16th year, Cultural Connections has become so popular that even students who have graduated from Sir Winston Churchill make a point of returning each May just to say hello and have lunch. "We've had such a good response at the grass roots level," says Kiran. "Staff at Sir Winston Churchill credit the program with keeping potential friction between different cultural groups at bay.

Back in Saskatoon, Dr. Thakur's son -- the same one who thought God lived at his house -- announced he was getting married to a Caucasian woman who was a U.S. citizen. When the bride expressed a desire to have a traditional Indian wedding, the Thakurs were delighted to include her family and friends in the ceremony. "The best way to get to know another person's religion is to attend a wedding," claims Dr. Thakur. "The more you understand and accept about another culture, the better adjusted you are mentally and the more you feel accepted by the community at large."

The folks at Heritage Canada suggest you let your imagination and creativity loose to come up with ideas on how you can celebrate our multicultural diversity. Here are some suggestions to get you started!

1. Bolster your own sense of Canadian identity. Go through family photos with your children or grandchildren.
2. Welcome new Canadian citizens into your community and become more familiar with their different cultures.
3. Take your family to visit a national or local historic site. If you're in the Ottawa area, for instance, take the opportunity to visit the Grand Hall, an exhibition of Canada's Aboriginal people at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
4. Learn the words to our national anthem -- in both official languages.
5. Plan a day of exploration with your family, friends or neighbours to rediscover aspects of your local heritage in museums, schools, senior citizens' residences, art galleries and so on.

			Test your knowledge of Canada
			What Canadian city has the honour of being the most multicultural in the world, according to the United Nations? Name the first European whose voyage of exploration landed him on Canada's east coast on June 24, 1497. The largest Native population north of the 60th parallel is famous for their art. Name them. What UNESCO World Heritage Site in Alberta has been named after a prehistoric species of animal? More than 100 years ago, the first French-Canadian since Confederation became Prime Minister of Canada. Who was he? Name the first woman to be elected to Canada's Parliament more than 75 years ago in the first federal election in which women had the right to vote. Answers: 1. Toronto 2. John Cabot 3. Inuit 4. Dinosaur Provincial Park 5. Sir Wilfred Laurier 6. Agnes Macphail

A recent Government of Canada survey of diversity trends in Canadian society reveals that about 50% of Canadians continue to have a strong connection to their ethnic origins. However, it also shows that the longer people live in this country, the more likely they are to participate in groups or organizations and to vote in elections. Preliminary analysis of data collected in the Ethnic Diversity Survey, which was conducted from April to August 2002 and involved interviews with 42,500 Canadians in nine languages (English, French, Cantonese, Mandarin, Italian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Spanish and Vietnamese) is available on the Statistics Canada Web site.

If you're like many people who watch the news and thank their lucky stars you're living in Canada, here's some good news. You can sponsor a person or a family and help them get out of a potentially life-threatening situation. Under the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, you can sponsor a refugee from Sierra Leone, for example, or get a group of friends together and sponsor a family to provide accommodation, clothing, food and settlement assistance for one year from the refugee's date of arrival. Contact your local Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) office for an application form or go online. You don't need to name a refugee; CIC can match sponsors with refugees.

Here's another reason to feel proud to be Canadian: Of the 189 members states of the United Nations, only nine have established annual resettlement quotas for refugees. One of them is Canada. In addition to Canada, countries who take in large numbers of refugees each year include the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.