Thank you. As the member knows, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, which was adopted in 1988, describes multiculturalism as “a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity”.
In my judgment, it's important for us to ensure that multiculturalism doesn't become a kind of fixed relic, a kind of shibboleth in our political discourse. It has to be something that's dynamic and changes with changing needs. For me that means a focus on a multiculturalism that leads to social cohesion and successful integration of newcomers. I think most of our cultural communities are sufficiently robust and well resourced that they don't need government subsidies to do their own activities, to celebrate their own heritage. I think we need to focus more on bringing communities together, to make sure that we don't experience the kind of ethnic enclaves that we see in parts of Europe and elsewhere. That's why I have asked the multiculturalism program to put its emphasis on projects that respond to the concrete need for integration, building bridges between communities, and also assisting youth at risk.
I'd be happy to come back to the committee sometime, perhaps, and share in greater detail the modifications we're making to the multiculturalism program to make it respond more directly to the need for integration.