The Show Begins: Quebec secular charter hearings set to begin

Lots of coverage on the start of the Quebec hearings and will continue to post the more interesting articles. First, some basic background (Quebec secular charter hearings set to begin – Montreal – CBC News).

More interestingly, the sequence of  witnesses appears to favour those in favour of the Charter at the beginning. Feels similar to the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, which started its hearings in the regions, with witnesses strongly against accommodation, with the tone shifting as the hearings moved to urban areas like Montreal. Not sure if this is a wise strategy (for proponents of the Charter) given that people may remember the last submissions, more negative on the Charter, more than the first series, but we shall see:

Un début à l’avantage du gouvernement

Minister Drainville states that the government can count of the support of many Liberal party members. This may well be true, but there is also a lot of opposition among sovereignist ranks, so the net effect may balance out (Drainville dit pouvoir compter sur l’appui de militants libéraux). No signs of flexibility as the PQ government continues to dig in its heels (​Drainville: l’interdiction des signes religieux n’est pas négociable).