English, French hold differing views on integration of newcomers: poll

Excerpt:

As the nation celebrates Canadian Multiculturalism Day on Wednesday, a new survey finds that anglophone and francophone Quebecers hold very different views on how newcomers should integrate, and particularly on whether female police officers should be allowed to wear hijabs.

While a majority of both groups said they held positive views of immigrants, francophones were more likely to respond in the affirmative when asked whether immigrants should give up their customs and traditions, or if the influx of non-Christian immigrants posed a threat to society.

At the same time, despite much debate in the province over the difference between the federal policy of “multiculturalism”, which encourages minority groups to maintain their cultural identities, and the Quebec push to embrace “interculturalism,” which emphasizes that French culture is dominant and encourages different groups to interact, the survey found that few Quebecers make the distinction between the two schools of thought.

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