MCMANUS: What about the multi-cultured mosaic?
MCLUHAN: That is an amazing ploy to preserve the cultural identity of Quebec and other minorities. It’s to...
MCMANUS: Why do you call it a ploy, though?
McLUHAN: The Quebecois are terrified of being merged in the American culture. I think it's as simple as that. And I think they're right. They're absolutely vulnerable. We're all vulnerable to the Americans, and they're a very attractive and wonderful people, and I think we could easily become merged in their lives, as we tend to be anyway.
MCMANUS: Does that mean, in order to lessen their fears, we attempt to paralyze different immigrant groups coming in at the state of their arrival?
MCLUHAN: And keep their cultures intact and separate. That is the meaning of the multi-cultural mosaic. The mosaic is static. It isn't in a state of constant inter-animation, or interplay. No, it's static. And that's exactly the way the French want to remain; they want to remain just the way they are. And so it's not that easy. So this is an amazing, as I say, ploy developed to make this possible. I don't know if it will work, but I certainly don't wish them ill on this manoeuvre. It is a kind of media ecology, you see? It's a way of using our available resources in communication to keep people apart. And to keep them intact without merging. So it is, I think, it's a drastic move. I never heard of it occurring in any other country, did you? I never heard of a multi-cultural mosaic as an idea for immigration. It's an amazing strategy of survival. Survival, however, is a legitimate goal in life, especially in a fast-changing world.