ABSTRACT
The debate on religious accommodation in the workplace has been on the increase in many countries receiving immigrants over the recent years as more immigrants are retaining their cultural values and customs as well as beginning to exercise their rights and freedoms in living and working in their adopted country of residence. As a country of immigrants, Canada is also adapting to this challenge. Although Canada has always welcomed immigrants, the earlier immigrants were predominantly white Anglo-Saxon people from Europe while the majority of the more recent immigrants are visible minorities. Canada has the highest proportion of foreign-born population amongst the G8 countries, at approximately 6,775,800 in 2011 representing 20.6 per cent of the population, living mainly in four provinces – Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta (Statistics Canada, 2013). The 2011 National Household Survey (NHS) reports that, during the five-year period of 2006 to 2011, about 1,162,900 foreign-born people immigrated to Canada, primarily from Asia, Africa, Caribbean, Central and South America, making up 17.2 per cent of foreign born and 3.5 per cent of the total population (Statistics Canada, 2013).
