Not Jewish enough?

Editorial

It came as a surprise to the Independent last week when news arrived that we are not considered an ethnic publication. That is the word from the advertising firm handling placements for Elections Canada.

Each election cycle, the federal arm's-length body places a substantial number of advertisements in mainstream and ethnic media. The ads tend to be the sort reminding people to vote and answering some of the frequently asked questions that are likely to arise, especially among people with limited voting experience in Canada.

But when a Jewish Independent ad rep contacted the agency, we were told that there would be no ads this year for the Independent, because we are not an ethnic newspaper. By the definition of the firm – and by extension, if not by explicit diktat, the definition of Elections Canada – the Independent is not an ethnic publication because it is in English.

Such an assertion is an important policy statement. If ethnic Canadians (and their media) are defined primarily through use of a lingua franca other than either of the two official languages, this is a dramatic redefinition of our traditional perceptions of multiculturalism. Under such qualifications, one would have to accept that French-speaking Haitian immigrants in Quebec are not ethnic Canadians, despite their status as immigrants and as members of a visible minority. Hong Kong Chinese who speak English would not qualify either. What about French-speaking people from Gabon or English-speaking Zimbabweans? Would we be more ethnic if we published our paper in Hebrew or Yiddish?

The irony of the Independent's classification as non-ethnic media is accentuated by the fact that, while one arm of the federal government is declaring us not ethnic enough, another branch of the government accepts the Independent as ethnic in the paper's application for federal postage subsidies available to non-mainstream newspapers, magazines and other publications. (For this, we are grateful.)

On the one hand, it seems, a Jewish newspaper is ethnic enough to qualify under one federal branch. On the other hand, because we write in English, we're not ethnic enough to qualify under another. In answer to the old question, "Too Jewish?" the federal government gives two different responses.

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