KYLE WARWICKPOLITICAL SCIENCE 492

OCTOBER 6 , 2010

Completing the Mirror:Indo-Canadian Representation in

Municipal Vancouver Politics

Outline

1. Background2. Why this topic?3. Questions4. Possible Answers5. Methods6. Key Literature 7. Obstacles8. Questions and Suggestions

Background

20% of all Indo-Canadians live in VancouverIndo-Canadians are second largest visible

minority in VancouverVery heterogeneous group; this

categorization contains many sub-groups, Sikhs from Punjab being the largest

Somewhat geographically clusteredIndo-Canadians have faced history of under

representation, overtly racist policies

Background

In recent years, increasing number of Indo-Canadians have achieved high profile roles federally and provincially

Examples from City of Vancouver alone- Ujjal Dosanjh, Herb Dhaliwal, Kash Heed, Wally Oppal, Rob Nijjar, Mobina Jaffer

Unlike Chinese community, this increase in federal and provincial representation has not been repeated at municipal level

Why This Topic- Personal

I live in Vancouver (South)Have been represented by an Indo-Canadian

Member of Parliament for majority of my lifeFirst hand involvement in my riding since

2004Later became involved in civic politics –

absence of Indo-Canadian politicians seemed glaring

Why This Topic- Scholarly Significance

Canada has wealth of literature on multiculturalism, minority representation

Municipal level seems under studied, both on ethnic representation and in general

Possible discrimination inherent in at-large voting system a running concern in Vancouver politics

Case study work exists in some suburbs – contribution towards picture of GVRD as a whole

Ongoing and unresolved debate about importance of representatives mirroring constituents

Tentative Primary Research Question

What is/are the cause/causes of Indo-Canadian underrepresentation in the governance of the City of Vancouver?

This is a complex puzzle – this one question triggers many more...

Additional Questions

Is under representation equally prevalent at non-elected levels, as at elected levels? (advisory groups/managers vs Boards/Council)

Does a legislature need to mirror a population in order to legislate fairly towards it?

If composition of legislature is important- how to make it more representative?

Are areas/islands of representation clustered in any significant way?

Possible Answers

Electoral system a likely factor –geographic clustering

Civic issues less salient for Indo-Canadians?Delta case study suggests civic committee

membership is predictor of electoral successPossible unconscious racism of electorate?Current elites biased towards members of

own socio-cultural groups?

Methods: Very Likely

Continue broad sweep of literature for background (more on upcoming slide)

Contact City of Vancouver for primary sources (composition of senior staff, committees, archives)

First hand interviews- want to get broad cross section of real people

Community feedback- do not want to misrepresent/misappropriate voices

Methods: Possible

Comparative approachConsidering Surrey and Los Angeles as

possible subjects of comparisonLos Angeles has wards – useful in examining

electoral systemSurrey shares at large voting and weak party

system with Vancouver – achieved critical mass of population

Key Literature

Sharon Anne Petersen – MA Thesis provided idea for topic

Multiculturalism- Kymlicka, Taylor, other 390 favourites

Indo-Canadian first hand accountsUBC connections- Ken Carty, Frederick Cutler,

Juanita SundbergKennedy Stewart- Vancouver electoral reformBarman, Smith- Vancouver political historyLightbody, Nylen, Davidson, if comparative view

Obstacles

Lack of deep contacts in Indo-Canadian community

Challenge of accurately representing views of very heterogeneous community

Space limits- topic leads neatly into other minority groups, and other levels of government

Controls for confounding variables- particularly if employing comparative perspective

Questions, Comments, Suggestions

All of the above are extremely welcomeIn particular, is comparative approach

worthwhile, or too ambitious?