Drawing on his experience as a social scientist, Walter Johnson outlines some of the challenges posed by the increasing ethno-cultural diversity of North American society through an examination of immigration history, the current debate over immigration policy, and the "hot button" issues of multiculturalism, racism, employment equity legislation, and racial profiling. Johnson documents the effects of government policy on aboriginal populations; reviews recent data from Corrections Canada and the United States Department of Justice to illustrate how social and ethnic inequality affects the likelihood of being incarcerated; and examines the tension between religious tradition and the secular nature of society; the increasing generational conflict; the rise of street gangs; and controversies over the changing role of women.