Canada too accommodating to minorities, poll says
OTTAWA (AFP) — Most Canadians believe their country is too accommodating when it comes to the country's "visible minorities," according to a survey released Thursday.
The Strategic Counsel poll for The Globe and Mail and CTV, found that a hefty 61 percent of those asked thought Canada does too much for members of the visible or non-white minorities.
In mostly French-speaking Quebec province the figure soars to 72 percent, the survey found.
The study also showed a sharp difference between people's opinions on the question in urban and rural settings. While 55 percent of those in big cities thought concessions to minorities were too numerous, the percentage soars to 71 percent in communities with fewer than 30,000 people.
Members of Canada's "visible minorities" in 2006 topped five million or just over 16 percent of the population.
Almost 9 out of 10 people surveyed (88 percent) said their community was welcoming to these minorities, the survey found.
The poll of 1,000 people was taken April 10-13, and has a 3.1 percent margin of error.
