Multicultural media in Canada

Multicultural media in Canada also referred to as “ethnic media” or “third media” (as it does not use either French or English language) is media, which responds to the needs of ethnic minorities of Canada. The objective of multicultural media in Canada is to create a voice for a community of a particular ethnic background, challenge social injustices, and foster cultural pride for minority and immigrant Canadians. Ethnic media do not always target new immigrants, though much of this particular media works to eliminate feelings of isolation in the dominant culture. Multicultural media also services Canadian-born individuals of a visible minority as well as diasporic ethnicities. Ultimately, multicultural media in Canada, whether it is delivered in English, French or the respective language of the culture, is to contribute to the cultural maintenance and ethnic cohesion of the culture in question but also help members of minorities to integrate into larger Canadian society. The third-language media are especially important for new immigrants, as they are usually the main source of information for those who have yet to become proficient in one of the official languages. Thus, third-language media provide crucial information on education, training, and job seeking for these immigrants.

The promotion of multicultural media began in the late 1980s as the multicultural policy was legislated in 1988. In the Multiculturalism Act, the federal government proclaimed the recognition of the diversity of Canadian culture. Thus, multicultural media became an integral part of Canadian media overall. Upon numerous government reports showing lack of minority representation or minority misrepresentation, the Canadian government stressed separate provision be made to allow minorities and ethnicities of Canada to have their own voice in the media.

Today ethnic media is available across Canada from small newspapers to full-fledged broadcasting stations run by the private sector, such as OMNI TV. Due to the difficulty of acquiring licensing and space on the electromagnetic spectrum due to costs and threshold of the spectrum itself, many ethnic cultures in Canada have third-language channels through satellite television. However, this still creates exclusion of minorities from mass media as found in Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's review of the 1999 Ethnic Broadcasting Policy found technological access and financial constraints hindered many ethnic minorities from accessing specialty television.

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