Season 1 • Episode 5
LatestMulticulturalism has been official Canadian state policy since the 1970s, but in Quebec xenophobia and Muslim hatred are flaring up. Emy Koopman explores the fear of foreigners and speaks with 'the Schindler of Guelph'. Without migrants, the vast country of Canada couldn't prosper. Thanks to a selection system, the newcomers are often more highly educated than the average Canadian. It sounds idyllic, but since Trump's election, thousands of Americans have crossed the border, sparking xenophobia and Muslim hatred in French-speaking Quebec, traditionally concerned about preserving its own cultural identity. In early 2017 it came to a shooting in a mosque. Emy Koopman follows victims of that attack on the way to the trial against the perpetrator.
Breathtaking natural beauty, tolerant, safe and prosperous. That is the picture we have of Canada in the Netherlands. But is it really that paradisical, or does Trudeau's country know how to put on a mask of civility? Writer Emy Koopman travels in Paradise Canada from Vancouver to Montreal and looks at the problems brewing beneath the surface. The series delves into all the urgent themes of our time and examines the state of Canada with racism and gender equality, migration, climate change and the welfare state. Emy Koopman speaks to famous Canadian intellectuals such as Charles Taylor, Margaret Atwood and Jordan Peterson.
