Ellen Gee and Steven Prus, in an article entitled "Income Inequality in Canada: A 'Racial Divide'" (http://www2.arts.ubc.ca/cresp/geepap.pdf) , discuss several of these issues, particularly that of the educational divide. Many studies in the past have attributed the irregularities of the national income distribution to the lack of education of women and immigrants. Gee and Prus disagree, stating that, "Our analysis does not accord with the conclusions of Mentzer & Fizel (1992) that income inequality can be erased by raising the educational level of low-income ethnic groups... Rather, our findings point to the importance of public policy interventions regarding job acquisition and equal pay."

In fact, another study has shown that, due in large part to Canada's famous point system, there is a higher percentage of educated individuals among immigrants than there is among natives of Canada. It's not education that dooms immigrants; it's the lack of a proper system to validate degrees earned in other countries, as well as certain imbalances toward minorities in the workplace.

Earlier in the paper, Gee and Prus also point out that inequality itself isn't equal: "The most 'privileged' labour force participation pattern belongs to men of Other European origins - they are the most likely to be employed full-time, and the least likely to have an interrupted job history and unemployment/non-involvement in paid work. The least 'privileged' pattern occurs for Aboriginal men and women... ...English mother tongue seems to yield some benefits for both men and women." They go on to say that, "Self-employment varies quite considerably across ethno-cultural groups. Overall... men with an ‘other’ mother tongue have a high likelihood of being self-employed, as do immigrant men."

This means two things. The former part of the quote indicates that discrimination is not a blanket reaction from all Canadians to all immigrants, which means that if one finds oneself discriminated against, it is the work of one individual.

The latter part of the quote, meanwhile, indicates the determination of those who come to this country. Discriminated against or even just invested with the entrepreneurial spirit, men and women immigrants often start their own businesses. The inequality they've overcome to get to that point - and which they must still sometimes face in their course of their dealings - has done nothing to prevent them from reaching their goals.

And what's more Canadian than that?