Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau: Mcgill University

Political Conflicts Dept: For good or ill, multiculturalism is a groundbreaking development in the theory and practice of modern liberal democracies. It is hailed as a remarkable global advance by some, and blamed as the cause of troublesome cultural and political conflicts by others. However, in the heat of debate, the foundational role of Canadian political thought and statecraft in the multicultural project has been largely overlooked, according to Montreal Gazette. The multicultural vision was born in Montreal in the early 1960s when Trudeau penned "The New Treason of the Intellectuals" for Cit Libre, the influential journal he co-founded and edited. is an assistant professor of religion, law and ethics at McGill University. This month Canadians are marking the 40th anniversary of their officially multicultural country: on Oct. 8, 1971, Canada became the first country in the world to declare multiculturalism as its state policy. As the intellectual and political architect of multiculturalism, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau put forward a deep theory of the multicultural liberal state and, as a statesman, pressed for a robust enactment of this theory in public policy and constitutional reform. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.