Environics poll on Canadian's Perceptions of Discrimination
March 15, 2010 - 9:45am
One in three Canadians believe that Aboriginal Peoples and Muslims are the frequent targets of discrimination, a CBC-commissioned poll suggests.
About 28 per cent of the 2,000 surveyed by pollster Environics Research Group in February and March also said Pakistanis/East Indians often suffer from intolerance, while 20 per cent said blacks regularly faced it.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/03/15/discrimination-poll-2010.html#ixzz0iFj1ViX6
The other 2/3rds report being visually impaired.
I think the operative word here is "often". If someone asked me if I thought Muslims in Canada were often, sometimes, rarely or never discriminated against - I'm not sure how i would answer. I'm sure that discrimination happens "often" across Canada in that I'm sure that there are hundreds of documented incidents. But what constitutes "often" in the life of an individual? If I'm Muslim and once every two years i over hear a racial slur directed at me - does that constitute "often" or "rarely"?
Supposedly homophobia is rampant in Canada. I think the last time I experienced it was about 35 years ago in an elementary school yard - so does that mean that gays and lesbians often, sometimes, rarely or never experience discrimination?
not surprised at the results of this survey. do we really need a survey to tell us that some people are discriminated against in this country? take a look at government policy!
not to mention , the poll used a random sample of people, for all we know they were mostly white. it doesn't tell us how many people actually experienced discrimination often, just how many people perceive OTHERS experience it.