Working site on citizenship and multiculturalism issues.
2013/10/09 Leave a comment
Interesting. Rather than exploring the opening by former premiers Parizeau, Bouchard and Landry, we come back to the crucifix in the National Assembly. Likely a trial balloon. But no right for institutions or municipalities to have exemptions from the proposed Charter, save for a transition period.
Québec songe à retirer le crucifix de l’Assemblée nationale | Denis Lessard | Politique québécoise.
2013/10/09 Leave a comment
Bilingualism from a BC perspective by Henry Yu – English and Asian languages. Resentment by English speakers with other languages remains an issue; being able to recognize that people live in both and the opportunities for exchanges and getting to know each other remain:
One of those legacies is the odd belief that it is better that we all speak only English for the benefit of those who can only speak English, rather than allowing those who can speak both English and other languages to be respected and even rewarded for being able to speak many languages. English is extremely useful as a lingua franca, a language used in common by many people who can also speak other languages. That is fundamentally different than saying we should all speak only English all the time.
In this city, almost all those under the age of 25 who can speak Chinese can also speak English. They have the wonderful ability to speak multiple languages.
Those Cantonese-speaking youngsters on the bus likely use English most of the time at school and work. Why be angry at them for being able to also carry on a conversation in another language?
2013/10/09 Leave a comment
Commentary by Stéphanie Gaudet, sociologist, on the notion of choice, and the absence of imams in the discussion over religious obligation and choice, and some of the mixed messages that result. Messages either affirming choice or not from a faith perspective would be interesting to hear, and might flush out some of the more fundamentalist and less tolerant approaches to matters of faith.
Je pense que la Charte a été très malhabilement présentée et discutée. L’iconographie représentant l’interdiction des signes ostentatoires est grotesque et, disons-le, nous ridiculise en tant que société. Je pense toutefois qu’il faut faire une analyse critique de ce qui se passe sous nos yeux. Il y a un faux débat sur la notion de « choix » du port du voile. Les femmes laïques et musulmanes se jettent en pâture devant les médias, mais il faut se poser la question : qui est absent du débat ? À mon avis, les grands absents sont les hommes qui portent le discours musulman : les imams. Les leaders religieux qui, comme dans toutes religions à travers l’histoire, ont une emprise importante sur les discours et les modes de vies de leur communauté.
Voile, avortement, etc. – Des limites de la notion de «choix» | Le Devoir.
Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Dish on Christian fundamentalism, and how it can be equally sterile and limiting, who starts with a quote from the Pope on the importance of doubt:
If a person says that he met God with total certainty and is not touched by a margin of uncertainty, then this is not good. For me, this is an important key. If one has the answers to all the questions—that is the proof that God is not with him. It means that he is a false prophet using religion for himself. The great leaders of the people of God, like Moses, have always left room for doubt.
And then continues with his personal reflections:
I discovered my faith as a joyful, wondrous, mysterious thing. When it came time for me to go to what Americans call high school, I was enrolled for a while at a Catholic Grammar school, until my parents took me for a visit. Its dourness, brutality, darkness and rigidity made me and my parents shudder and they mercifully placed me at a Protestant high school. I think I probably owe my faith to that decision. If I had been exposed more fully to the dark side of the Catholic church and its institutions – and you only have to look at the hideous history of the church in Ireland for how dark it truly was – then I almost certainly would have rebelled completely. I have authority issues, as some readers may have noticed.
2013/10/09 Leave a comment
My first international interview in the Catalan newspaper, La Vanguardia. Given the similarities between some of the identity issues in Catalonia and Quebec, a fair degree of interest in Quebec debates. One of my quotes:
Para Griffith, autor de un ensayo y un blog sobre el multiculturalismo, los signos religiosos deben permitirse “mientras no interfieran en las obligaciones del servidor público. Voy a un hospital. La enfermera me saca sangre. Lleva hiyab. ¿Y qué?”, dice. Impedir a alguien trabajar para el Estado y practicar su fe “excluye y ofrece a las personas menos oportunidades”.
2013/10/08 Leave a comment
An interesting overview from a former military chaplain on how Canada, and the military, have addressed multiculturalism and pluralism from a faith perspective. Silent on the recent cuts to the chaplain program that disproportionate hit on non-Christian religions.
With decades of real life experience in peace, peacekeeping, and war, the chaplain branch has developed a strong expertise in religion/state affairs. The focus of the chaplain is service to all members and their families. Chaplains provide services that include pastoral counselling, advocacy, the promotion of spiritual wellbeing, and facilitating the faith requirements of everyone. In order to provide leadership to the Canadian military and to complete their mission in operational theatres, commanding officers turn to chaplains for their understanding of ethics, deep-seated conflict, and world religions. Chaplains work together in effective teams regardless of their gender, rank, sexual orientation, creed, or cultural background. This is a group of religious professionals who are long past any effort to proselytize people from one faith group to another, acknowledging such activity as arrogant and ineffective. To ensure the highest quality of service the chaplain branch has a sophisticated training program for their vocation, an advanced system of professional oversight, internal monitoring/promotion of well-being of chaplains, a code of ethics, long-term planning mechanisms, and well-designed accessible manuals.
Pluralism accommodated: Canada’s religion, state relationship | hilltimes.com.
2013/10/08 Leave a comment
Andrew Cohen on the proposed Charter. While I agree on his overall assessment on the cynicism of the PQ for playing identity politics, I am not sure that all is working out as well as he portrays for the PQ. Yes, the debate has been largely between Montreal and the hinterland (but Quebec city and Sherbrooke will likely also have reserves), the divisions among the sovereignist ranks, and the strong opposition from the healthcare sector among others make this strategy less of a slam dunk than I think the PQ anticipated. We shall see.
The Jews, Muslims, immigrants and anyone else with eyes see the Quebec Charter of Values for what it is: the sad, fearful cry of a tribal society led by well-tailored cynics.
2013/10/08 Leave a comment
This opinion piece suggests that UN and international organization staff have more of a common mindset – secularism – than Canadian and other societies. The international organization elite may be more uniform than they think. Interesting.
Not to mention the unique focus on Muslim fundamentalism, not other religions.
2013/10/08 Leave a comment
A short piece on the Royal Proclamation that recognized aboriginal rights in 1763. These have now been enshrined in Section 25 of the in Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Of course, implementation of the Royal Implementation and aboriginal rights was another matter.
2013/10/07 Leave a comment
Tom Flanagan on the Quebec values charter and why one needs to let the internal QC debate take its course, which will likely end up reasonably. A stronger position in favour of provincial, rather than individual rights than many.
Given the tenor of QC debates to date, and just how poorly the proposed Charter has been received, he is largely right, although it was necessary for all federal politicians to lay down some markers.
Why Ottawa’s right to procrastinate on the values charter – The Globe and Mail.
2013/10/07 2 Comments
An interesting reflection by Ross Douthat of the NY Times on religion in the West, how the centre is “hollowing out,” with the more orthodox, traditional or conservative tendencies becoming relatively stronger. Some interesting longer-term implications for many religions:
But the test of his [Pope Francis’] approach will ultimately be a practical one. Will the church grow or stagnate under his leadership? Will his style just win casual admirers, or will it gain converts, inspire vocations, create saints? Will it actually change the world, or just give the worldly another excuse to close their ears to the church’s moral message?
Click image for book purchase
Multicultural Meanderings 