The speech examines mainstreaming of handicapped students in the context of Canadian culture. Integration is seen to be a more appropriate term since it better reflects the pluralism of Canadian society. Basic goals of the Canadian educational system as a whole are identified and recent legislative actions at the provincial and federal level in Canada are summarized. Different models of integration are described including the resource room model, the revolving door model, the specialist teacher, the resource teacher/consultant, individualized instruction, and the segregated classroom within the regular school. Integration requires accessible school buildings, professional and paraprofessional support services, and provision for continuous assessment. The paper specifically reviews the St. John (New Brunswick) 5-year plan for implementation of a fuller integrative model, and reactions of consumer/participants. Presented are the plan's statement of philosophy and identified goals of special education. Evaluation indicates greater personnel needs especially in such areas as speech pathology, psychotherapy, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy. An inservice program to train special education teachers to provide resource/consultant services rather than pull-out services is noted. After the first year of the program, responses of teachers have been generally favorable though they report an increased workload. Negative responses of one student are cited. (DB)