Darmanin: The need for cultural intelligence in anti-racism policy

2025/07/08 3 Comments

While the emphasis on a wholistic policies covering all groups is welcome, hard to see how “cultural intelligence” as a term improves the reality on the ground compared to other terminology and what concrete impacts on change it might have:

…What policymakers truly need is a more comprehensive framework: cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence, or CQ, is a globally recognized way of assessing and improving effectiveness in culturally diverse situations. Unlike traditional cultural competence programs, cultural intelligence develops four core capabilities: CQ drive (motivation to work across cultures), CQ knowledge (understanding cultural differences without stereotyping), CQ strategy (planning effectively across cultural contexts), and CQ action (adapting behaviour appropriately). 

Cultural intelligence is a more holistic approach that recognizes culture as the broader context within which all identity categories operate. It acknowledges that effective policy must go beyond checking boxes for different demographic groups to understanding how cultural values, communication styles, and worldviews shape how policies are received and implemented. 

The cultural-intelligence advantage 

Cultural intelligence predicts success across domains relevant to policymaking: judgment and decision-making, negotiation, trust-building, innovation, and leadership. In policy contexts, culturally intelligent approaches create more effective, equitable, and culturally sensitive policies that resonate with diverse populations. 

Rather than asking whether a policy affects Black Canadians differently than other groups, a cultural-intelligence lens would require policymakers to understand how cultural factors shape the entire policy environment. This includes recognizing how cultural values and norms significantly shape policymaking, and how policies that are not culturally sensitive may be met with resistance or fail to achieve intended goals. 

Practical implementation 

Implementing cultural intelligence in policy work requires several key shifts. First, policymakers must develop cultural competence and sensitivity (CQ drive and knowledge) that enable them to better understand the needs of diverse cultural groups and develop policies that are responsive to these needs. This goes beyond demographic analysis to understanding how cultural frameworks shape policy reception and effectiveness. 

Second, policy development must incorporate cultural impact assessments (CQ strategy) and engage with diverse stakeholders to gather insights into cultural values and norms. This requires creating systematic processes for cultural intelligence among policymakers and public officials through targeted training and education that develops motivation, strategic thinking, and adaptive cross-cultural skills. 

Third, policy evaluation must regularly assess cultural responsiveness, checking in with policymakers to adjust based on how policies perform across different cultural contexts (CQ action). This is a fundamental shift from static policy lenses to dynamic, culturally intelligent governance. 

Moving forward together 

The EDI backlash does indeed represent a critical moment for policymaking. But rather than retreating into separate initiatives for marginalized groups, a more nuanced approach needs to acknowledge the interconnected nature of oppression while fostering bridges across communities. Cultural intelligence provides this framework by focusing on the cultural contexts that shape all identity experiences. 

This does not mean abandoning targeted anti-racism initiatives. It means embedding them in a broader cultural- intelligence framework that recognizes how culture shapes the entire policy landscape. When policymakers develop cultural intelligence, they become better equipped to design policies that address systemic racism while building coalitions across marginalized communities. 

The authors’ call for moral fortitude in the face of backlash is well-taken. However, moral fortitude alone is insufficient without analytical tools to understand and respond to cultural complexity. By embracing cultural intelligence as a foundational policy competency, institutions can move beyond fragmented approaches to build more effective, inclusive, and transformative governance systems that serve all Canadians equitably. 

The conversation initiated by the authors is an important step. The next step will be to broaden that conversation to include the cultural-intelligence framework, which can transform policy approaches in an increasingly diverse society. 

Source: The need for cultural intelligence in anti-racism policy

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Locaux de prières à Dawson et Vanier: Une étude importante absente du rapport d’enquête

2025/07/08 Leave a comment

Interesting omission:

« Il y a un manque de nuance flagrant dans ce rapport », constate Frédéric Dejean, professeur au département de sciences des religions de l’Université du Québec à Montréal.

Spécialiste des questions religieuses, il reste perplexe devant certaines observations faites sur les locaux de prière dans le rapport d’enquête visant les collèges Dawson et Vanier, dévoilé la semaine dernière.

Surtout, il s’étonne de voir que ses travaux, qui portent précisément sur cette question, ne figurent nulle part dans le document.

Avec deux autres professeurs de l’Université de Sherbrooke, M. Dejean a étudié il y a quelques années les pratiques d’accommodements religieux dans les établissements d’enseignement supérieur, dont les locaux de prière.

La demande venait directement des ministères de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur, qui ont financé l’étude.

Au total, les chercheurs ont mené une centaine d’entrevues dans 17 cégeps et universités à travers la province, qui ont servi à élaborer un guide sur les accommodements religieux destiné aux intervenants et aux gestionnaires.

Les résultats de l’étude ont été transmis au gouvernement caquiste en 2019. « On a fait un travail qui donnait un état des lieux assez juste en matière de locaux religieux », affirme Frédéric Dejean.

Le rapport d’enquête sur les collèges Dawson et Vanier, rédigé par des fonctionnaires de la Direction des enquêtes du ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, n’en fait pourtant aucune mention, bien qu’il s’attarde longuement sur la question des locaux de prière

Pour le chercheur, c’est un problème. Certaines informations rapportées ne correspondent pas à ce qu’il a observé dans ses recherches.

Conclusion sans base scientifique

Un passage du rapport affirme que les locaux de prière ne font « qu’alimenter un climat de radicalisation, de repli communautaire et de méfiance réciproque à l’intérieur du cégep ».

Cette information, présentée « comme une vérité qui ne se discute pas », n’a aucune base scientifique, soutient Frédéric Dejean.

Elle provient d’une lettre ouverte signée par un groupe de militantes québécoises en faveur de la laïcité publiée dans les médias en 2023, comme le rapportait La Presse.

« Ce n’est pas du tout un texte de recherche », critique le professeur.

Plus loin, le rapport soutient que les salles de prière peuvent être vues « comme un privilège, voire un élément facilitant la radicalisation et le prosélytisme », encore une fois sans référence. 

Frédéric Dejean déplore que le rapport ne s’appuie pas sur des données probantes pour aborder « un sujet aussi sensible et complexe ».

Selon ses recherches, la réalité est beaucoup plus nuancée. « Il y a énormément de cégeps, universités qui ont des locaux religieux. Dans la plupart des institutions, ça se passe très, très bien. »

S’ils peuvent parfois représenter un « irritant », les accommodements religieux ne constituent pas un « problème majeur » au sein des établissements d’enseignement, concluait l’étude à laquelle il a participé. 

Mais il ne faut pas « non plus être complètement naïf », souligne le professeur, qui travaillait au collège de Maisonneuve lorsqu’un groupe d’élèves radicalisés étaient partis combattre en Syrie. 

Pour cette raison, l’étude recommandait aux directions qui fournissaient des espaces de prière d’effectuer un suivi serré de leur utilisation. 

Il est à noter que les collèges Dawson et Vanier n’ont pas participé à l’étude. L’échantillonnage incluait toutefois d’autres établissements anglophones, comme le collège Champlain. 

Laïcité de l’État

Contacté par La Presse, le cabinet de la ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur, Pascale Déry, a affirmé qu’il ne commenterait pas la façon dont a été réalisée une enquête indépendante.

Commandée par la ministre, l’enquête visait à évaluer si les collèges Vanier et Dawson avaient pris toutes les mesures nécessaires pour assurer la sécurité des élèves, dans le contexte du conflit explosif au Moyen-Orient.

Le rapport a finalement conclu que les deux cégeps anglophones ont agi en conformité avec les encadrements légaux et ministériels.

Il a toutefois ouvert la porte au gouvernement pour qu’il resserre certains règlements et lois s’appliquant à l’ensemble du réseau collégial, notamment la Loi sur la laïcité de l’État.

À la sortie du rapport, la ministre Pascale Déry a déclaré qu’elle n’hésiterait pas à « encadrer ou corriger certaines pratiques ».

Source: Locaux de prières à Dawson et Vanier Une étude importante absente du rapport d’enquête

“There is a glaring lack of nuance in this report,” says Frédéric Dejean, a professor in the Department of Religious Sciences at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

A specialist in religious issues, he remains perplexed by some observations made on the prayer rooms in the investigation report for Dawson and Vanier colleges, unveiled last week.

Above all, he is surprised to see that his work, which deals precisely with this issue, does not appear anywhere in the document.

With two other professors from the University of Sherbrooke, Mr. A few years ago, Dejean studied the practices of religious accommodation in higher education institutions, including prayer rooms.

The request came directly from the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, which funded the study.

In total, the researchers conducted about 100 interviews in 17 CEGEPs and universities across the province, which were used to develop a guide on religious accommodations for stakeholders and managers.

The results of the study were transmitted to the Caquist government in 2019. “We did a job that gave a fairly fair inventory in terms of religious premises,” says Frédéric Dejean.

The investigation report on Dawson and Vanier Colleges, written by officials from the Investigations Directorate of the Ministry of Higher Education, does not mention this, although it dwells at length on the issue of prayer rooms

For the researcher, this is a problem. Some of the information reported does not correspond to what he observed in his research.

Conclusion without scientific basis

A passage in the report states that the prayer rooms “only feed a climate of radicalization, community withdrawal and mutual distrust within the CEGEP”.

This information, presented “as a truth that cannot be discussed”, has no scientific basis, says Frédéric Dejean.

It comes from an open letter signed by a group of Quebec activists in favor of secularism published in the media in 2023, as reported by La Presse.

“This is not a research text at all,” criticizes the professor.

Further on, the report argues that prayer rooms can be seen “as a privilege, even an element facilitating radicalization and proselytism”, again without reference.

Frédéric Dejean regrets that the report does not rely on evidence to address “such a sensitive and complex subject”.

According to his research, the reality is much more nuanced. “There are a lot of CEGEPs, universities that have religious premises. In most institutions, it’s going very, very well. ”

If they can sometimes represent an “irritating”, religious accommodations are not a “major problem” within educational institutions, concluded the study in which he participated.

But we must not “be completely naive either,” says the teacher, who worked at Maisonneuve College when a group of radicalized students went to fight in Syria.

For this reason, the study recommended that directions that provided prayer spaces closely monitor their use.

It should be noted that Dawson and Vanier Colleges did not participate in the study. However, the sampling included other English-speaking institutions, such as Champlain College.

Secularism of the State

Contacted by La Presse, the office of the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, said that it would not comment on the way in which an independent investigation was carried out.

Commissioned by the Minister, the investigation aimed to assess whether Vanier and Dawson Colleges had taken all the necessary measures to ensure the safety of students, in the context of the explosive conflict in the Middle East.

The report finally concluded that the two English-speaking CEGEPs acted in accordance with the legal and ministerial frameworks.

However, he opened the door to the government to tighten certain regulations and laws that apply to the entire collegiate network, including the Act respecting the Secularism of the State.

At the release of the report, Minister Pascale Déry said that she would not hesitate to “frame or correct certain practices”.


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Marcus Kolga: University of Toronto education project risks reinforcing Russian disinformation

2025/07/05 Leave a comment

Sigh. Historical amnesia:

…Titled “Post-Soviet Canadian Diaspora Youth and Their Families,” the project claims to explore the integration experiences of youth whose families came to Canada from countries colonized and oppressed by Soviet Russia. While its stated intent may indeed be to foster a deeper understanding of these communities, the project’s language and conceptual framing are historically inaccurate, politically insensitive, and risk reinforcing harmful Kremlin-aligned stereotypes about the very groups it aims to study.

By lumping together all nations once occupied by Soviet Russia into a single “post-Soviet” identity, the project risks distorting the unique histories, cultures and political experiences of Canadians who are of Baltic and Ukrainian heritage, as well as all nations that were violently subjected to Soviet cultural annihilation. Worse, this framing unintentionally echoes Russian propaganda efforts that seek to blur the line between occupier and occupied, casting doubt on the legitimacy of these nations.

The project defines the Soviet Union as “formerly the largest country in the world,” and a “multinational and multicultural country … experimenting (with) communist ideology.” This portrayal omits critical context about the violent and repressive nature of Soviet colonization. There is no mention of the mass deportations, forced famines or repression that defined millions of lives under Soviet Russian rule.

Particularly disturbing is the project’s inclusion of a map that depicts Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as part of the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, most North American textbooks marked these nations differently to denote their illegal occupation. The map used by OISE more closely resembles those found in Soviet schoolbooks, presenting occupation as full annexation and thereby indirectly legitimizing Russia’s imperial conquest.

While this may seem like a simple and innocent error, it reflects a deeper failure to recognize that the Baltic nations didn’t just “transition to different, non-communist forms of statehood” in 1991, as the project claims. These were independent nations illegally invaded and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, a pattern Russia repeated with its 2014 occupation of Crimea. Their reassertion of independence in 1991 was not the birth of new states, but the restoration of sovereign ones whose continuity Canada rightly recognized. Then-prime minister Brian Mulroney was the first G7 leader to formally re-establish diplomatic ties with the restored Baltic governments.

This key fact in Canadian foreign policy is ignored. As then-prime minister Justin Trudeau stated in 2016: “Canada never recognized the Soviet Union’s occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and always supported their struggle to restore independence during decades of Soviet occupation.”…

Source: Marcus Kolga: University of Toronto education project risks reinforcing Russian disinformation

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Content changes for the 2026 Census of Population: Ethnic or cultural origins, religion, immigration, citizenship and place of birth

2025/07/05 Leave a comment

The most notable change, IMO, is the decision to collect religious affiliation data ever 5 years, instead of every 10:

Religion

Changes evaluated in the  2024 Census Test

  • Statistics Canada evaluated the inclusion of the question on religion in the 2026 Census to address the increased demand for more frequent data on religious groups (i.e., every 5 years rather than every 10 years).
  • The list of examples was reviewed and updated to ensure relevance for the 2026 Census.

Resulting approach for the  2026 Census of Population

  • The questionnaire will include the same question on religion as the 2021 Census, with an updated list of examples directly in the questionnaire to reflect the highest-frequency responses in the previous cycle.
  • The extensive list of examples provided via hyperlink will remain the same as in 2021.

Why are these questions asked?

A question on religion has been included in the Census of Population every 10 years since 1871, reflecting a long-standing, continuing and widespread demand for information about religious affiliation and diversity in Canada.

Information on the religion of the population is commonly used by governments, as well as by religious groups, denominations and associations across the country. For example, these data support the planning of programs and inform decisions on where to establish places of worship such as churches, synagogues, mosques and temples. Additionally, this information is used to evaluate the need and potential for separate religious schools in some provinces. It also provides insights on the diversity of Canada, highlights the unique experiences of various religious groups and supports efforts to combat hate crimes.

Current trends and data gaps for this topic

Religion is a core dimension of ethnocultural diversity in Canada. Combining religion with other variables, such as ethnic or cultural origins, racialized groups, languages, and immigration data, is essential for conducting intersectional analyses and providing a detailed portrait of the diversity of the Canadian population.

Historically, data on religion have been collected every 10 years, with the most recent data being from the 2021 Census. Statistics Canada heard from key stakeholders and data users that there was an increased need for benchmark data on religious groups to respond to the rapid changes in Canadian society through immigration and the increased diversity of the population, as summarized in 2026 Census of Population Content Consultation Results: What we heard from Canadians. The 2021 Census measured the rapid growth of some religious groups since data were last collected in 2011. For example, the proportion of the population who reported being Muslim, Hindu or Sikh has doubled in the last 20 years. In addition, the share of the population reporting no religious affiliation, or a secular perspective (atheist, agnostic, humanist and other secular perspectives) rose from 16.5% in 2001 to 34.6% in 2021.

To ensure that the census measures important trends in society, continues to produce relevant and high-quality data, and meets the increased demand for more frequent data on religious groups, Statistics Canada considered including the question on religion in the 2026 Census to increase the frequency of data collection. Canada is an increasingly diverse country, and the inclusion of this question on a more frequent basis will better measure the growing religious diversity in the country. One minor change was introduced: the list of examples presented directly in the questionnaire was updated to reflect the highest-frequency responses in the previous cycle.

These changes have been carefully analyzed, discussed with stakeholders and guided by expert advice to preserve the relevance and overall quality of the data on religion, as well as to ensure that legislative and policy requirements continue to be met.

Source: Content changes for the 2026 Census of Population: Ethnic or cultural origins, religion, immigration, citizenship and place of birth

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Une réflexion sur la laïcité dans les cégeps s’impose

2025/07/03 Leave a comment

Discussion of some of the excesses of student organizations:

….« Comment peut-on considérer qu’une salle de prière constitue un droit acquis dans un collège qui doit respecter les articles 2 et 3 de la Loi sur la laïcité de l’État stipulant que les principes de la laïcité doivent être respectés en fait et en apparence ? » demandent avec raison les enquêteurs.

En effet, bien que les établissements d’enseignement supérieur ne soient pas soumis à la directive du ministère de l’Éducation (MEQ) interdisant les pratiques religieuses dans les écoles, ceux-ci sont néanmoins tenus de respecter les principes de la laïcité, dont la neutralité religieuse. Mais voilà, l’ambiguïté persiste : la neutralité religieuse consiste-t-elle à accommoder toutes les religions, ou bien à n’en accommoder aucune ? Concrètement, dans le cas des lieux de prière, faut-il, comme le suggère l’agente des services sociaux du collège Vanier, répondre aux demandes religieuses des étudiants de toutes les confessions ou bien, comme l’exprime clairement la directive du MEQ, n’en considérer aucune ?

Dans cette directive du MEQ, on peut lire que « l’aménagement de lieux utilisés à des fins de pratiques religieuses dans une école […] est incompatible avec le principe de la neutralité religieuse de l’État ». L’interdiction de salles de prière y est notamment justifiée par le respect de la liberté de conscience des élèves qui doivent être protégés contre les pressions directes ou indirectes les incitant à se conformer à une pratique religieuse, et parce que de tels accommodements sont de nature à entraver le bon fonctionnement des écoles.

Tous ces arguments sont également valables pour les cégeps. Bien que plus âgés, les étudiants sont pour la plupart toujours mineurs à leur arrivée au collège. Par ailleurs, on ne peut ignorer que ces salles de prière ne sont pas toujours des lieux de recueillement paisibles, mais deviennent parfois des foyers de radicalisation et des lieux de recrutement pour des conflits à l’étranger.

Songeons, par exemple, au collège de Maisonneuve, qui fut, en 2015, le foyer de recrutement d’étudiants pour le djihad en Syrie. Afin de répondre à leur demande, la direction du cégep avait mis à la disposition des étudiants une salle pour les prières du vendredi, ce qui n’a fait qu’alimenter le climat de radicalisation, de repli communautaire et de méfiance réciproque à l’intérieur du cégep.

En conclusion de leur rapport, les enquêteurs recommandent de « mettre en place les mécanismes appropriés afin de s’assurer du respect et de l’application des articles 2 et 3 de la Loi sur la laïcité de l’État ». On ne peut que seconder cette recommandation ! Mais encore faut-il que la neutralité religieuse soit clairement définie, non pas comme une porte ouverte à toutes les demandes religieuses, mais bien comme l’absence de toute reconnaissance de celles-ci et du prosélytisme religieux dans les cégeps.

Et pour commencer, aucune accréditation ne devrait être accordée à un club étudiant à vocation religieuse. Du reste, la Loi sur les cégeps ne prévoit aucunement une telle chose.

Source: Une réflexion sur la laïcité dans les cégeps s’impose

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Adams and Parkin: Our elbows may be up, but have Canadians really changed?

2025/07/02 Leave a comment

Notable shift:

…Even more concerning, our continuing social values research has picked up a striking mood shift in Canada over the past two years (originating before the start of Mr. Trump’s second term), in the direction of a more hard-nosed survival-of-the-fittest mindset. We’ve become less willing to prioritize progressive ideals – such as openness to immigration, gender equality and environmental sustainability – ahead of material concerns such as financial security. This is true particularly of younger Canadians, and also of first- and second-generation immigrants whose shift of support to the Conservative Party in the Toronto suburbs cost the Liberals their majority in the recent election (and could cost them victory in the next one if the same mood prevails). 

We arrive then at Canada Day after months of profound anxiety and significant political change that oddly haven’t changed us that much. We are still the same country facing the same centrifugal challenges with new ones added to the mix. If and when the threat from the U.S. subsides, a long list of other thorny problems will come into clearer view.

All the more reason to welcome Canada Day – yes, to celebrate, take a break from politics and world events, and count our blessings in the company of family and friends, but also to rest up and ready ourselves to take on more challenges ahead.

Source: Our elbows may be up, but have Canadians really changed?

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Canada’s multicultural ideal is fraying. This is how we hold on to it

2025/07/02 Leave a comment

Not a bad take:

What does Canada owe its immigrants? And what do immigrants owe Canada? This unspoken contract, rooted in mutual respect and opportunity, has defined our national identity for decades. It now feels strained.

To strengthen it, we must learn to manage contradictions without facing the ruptures seen in other liberal democracies. And we must acknowledge the deepening sense of anxiety, injustice, and exclusion that many Canadians now feel. This requires more than slogans about unity. It demands policies that protect vulnerable communities, education that teaches context, and leaders who resist the temptation to pander to outrage. It also requires moral imagination to make space for different stories, different hopes and different griefs, without turning from the work that justice demands, and without forcing false equivalence. It also requires a daily choice: for Canadians to remain curious about each other’s histories, and for immigrants to invest in the civic fabric of their adopted home.

I write this not as someone who claims to speak for every immigrant. I can’t. My family’s story is just one thread in Canada’s immigrant fabric. But I know what it feels like to carry the weight of a name across continents. I know what it means to feel both grateful and unmoored, proud and uncertain.

Canada does not promise a life without tension. It promises something harder — and better. The chance to sit at a kitchen table, decades from now, with snow falling outside, and to tell your children: We didn’t run from the past. We built a future strong enough to hold it.

Arjun Gupta is a law student at the University of Ottawa. 

Source: Canada’s multicultural ideal is fraying. This is how we hold on to it

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AI Review of “The New Electoral Map and Diversity”

2025/07/02 Leave a comment

Interesting to read an AI Review of my Hill Times article The New Electoral Map and Diversity. Reasonable take:

….Summary of the Work

The manuscript offers a detailed examination of Canada’s reconfigured electoral map—now totalling 343 ridings—and its impact on the representation of immigrants, visible and religious minorities, and Indigenous peoples. It provides a side-by-side comparison of the 2013 and 2023 ridings using data on population percentages. Key insights focus on how demographic shifts, driven particularly by higher immigration rates, have yielded notable changes in suburban regions with an increase in ridings that have between 5% and 20% visible or religious minorities, while Indigenous representation shows a slight downward share of population in certain ridings.

The author highlights how these shifts may manifest in future elections—particularly 2025—when a new cohort of naturalized citizens will become eligible voters. This could lead to both an increase in elected minority candidates and the need for political parties to navigate the interests and tensions of increasingly diverse ridings.

Strengths

  1. Clarity of Data Presentation:
    • The manuscript uses clear tables and figures (e.g., Figures 1 through 7) to illustrate changes across various demographic groups, offering a robust breakdown of regional and group-based shifts.
  2. Timely Focus:
    • With a federal election looming and ongoing immigration trends, the study delivers an immediate perspective on how the new electoral map might influence representation and campaign strategies.
  3. Comprehensive Scope:
    • The analysis considers multiple forms of diversity—visible minorities, religious minorities, and Indigenous populations—providing a well-rounded view of demographic changes.
  4. Relevance for Policy and Electoral Strategy:
    • By noting the shifting landscapes of marginal ridings and growth areas, the manuscript offers insights valuable to policymakers, political parties, and electoral reform advocates.

Areas for Further Development

  1. Methodological Transparency:
    • While the descriptive statistics are informative, clarifying the exact data sources (e.g., census data files and how the boundaries were mapped from 2013 to 2023) would bolster replicability. A brief discussion of how ridings were reallocated from old to new boundaries would further help readers understand the transition.
  2. Intersectional Analysis:
    • The manuscript could benefit from an intersectional lens, exploring how demographic factors (e.g., visible minority status combined with religious identification) may yield complex patterns. Currently, the study addresses religious and visible minorities separately; acknowledging overlaps may provide deeper insights.
  3. Electoral Outcomes and Voter Turnout:
    • Adding potential scenarios or brief references to how these demographic changes may affect turnout or party competition could supplement the descriptive findings. While this is outside the primary scope, a short reflection could give a sense of real-world impact.
  4. Indigenous Context:
    • Further elaboration on how growth in immigrant populations may affect Indigenous communities could strengthen the discussion. These points are alluded to, but additional depth on policy or community-level implications would clarify the evolving political dynamic.
  5. Longitudinal Comparisons:
    • If longer-term data (beyond the 2013 to 2023 cycles) are available, referencing previous realignments or older demographic snapshots could confirm whether the highlighted trends are accelerating, plateauing, or changing in nature.

Style and Structure

The manuscript is mostly well-organized, with clear headings and subheadings. However, some sections can be streamlined for readability:

• Figures and text could be more closely integrated. For instance, highlighting main findings from a figure in the paragraph immediately following that figure helps the reader connect the visuals to the written analysis.
• Where tables and figures convey similar data, consider whether both formats are necessary or whether they could be combined.

Overall Impression

This work significantly contributes to the understanding of how newly created ridings intersect with demographic changes, underscoring shifts for multiple minority groups and offering a snapshot of potential impacts ahead of the 2025 election. By expanding the methodological detail and further situating these findings within longer-term trends or intersectional dimensions of representation, the manuscript would offer an even more robust resource for analysts, political parties, and community stakeholders interested in the evolving face of Canadian democracy.

Source: AI Review of “The New Electoral Map and Diversity”

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Happy Canada Day/Bonne fête du Canada

2025/07/01 Leave a comment

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Le Devoir editorial: Religion et écoles, ce mauvais ménage

2025/06/30 Leave a comment

Classic Quebec overly rigid approach to laïcité in terms of religious symbols, rather than substantive as in the case of Bedford, along with useful background to Quebec history behind laïcité:

Il lui a fallu de la ténacité, de l’audace et bien sûr cette finesse de jugement politique qu’on lui a reconnue partout où elle est passée. En devenant l’architecte de la déconfessionnalisation du réseau scolaire, Pauline Marois a signé une réforme québécoise fondamentale, dont le legs durable a transformé la gouvernance des écoles et ouvert la voie aux débats contemporains sur la laïcité.

La commande était ambitieuse. Et c’est le premier ministre Lucien Bouchard qui la lui donne lors de son premier conseil national du Parti québécois, en 1996. Sa mission ? Remplacer la religion par la langue pour distinguer les écoles primaires et secondaires québécoises, alors toujours divisées selon des critères confessionnels. La réforme de la ministre de l’Éducation d’alors, Pauline Marois, permet la création de 72 commissions scolaires linguistiques, en lieu et place des 154 commissions scolaires catholiques et protestantes.

Cette transformation historique s’inscrit en droite ligne avec le travail amorcé lors de la Révolution tranquille, période charnière de modernisation d’un Québec encore très imprégné des diktats de l’Église catholique. Dans son percutant rapport, le « rapport Parent », diffusé en 1960, la Commission royale d’enquête sur l’enseignement dans la province de Québec exprimait déjà le souhait de remplacer les commissions scolaires confessionnelles. Le Québec des années 1930 en comptait environ 2000.

Forte d’une vision progressiste et de son engagement envers l’égalité des chances, la future première ministre entreprend de rallier le milieu éducatif et la société civile autour de l’idée que l’école publique est ouverte à tous, indépendamment des croyances religieuses. Elle embrasse cette réforme pour quelques raisons majeures, qu’il est intéressant de revisiter aujourd’hui, près de 30 ans plus tard. Comme elle l’explique à l’Assemblée nationale pour convaincre l’opposition en mai 1996, c’est d’abord pour « mettre en place une organisation scolaire susceptible de favoriser l’intégration des immigrants à la communauté francophone ». La loi 101 les oblige à fréquenter les écoles francophones, mais plusieurs s’inscrivent naturellement dans les écoles francophones associées à des commissions scolaires protestantes, « qui sont plutôt de culture et d’environnement anglophones ». Ensuite, pour respecter la réalité et la volonté de la minorité anglophone ; puis, pour alléger les structures ; et enfin, pour assurer un exercice plus démocratique et plus équitable des libertés de conscience et de religion.

La tâche n’est pas mince. Entre autres difficultés, Pauline Marois a dû obtenir de modifier la Constitution de 1867 et son article 93 qui garantissait des droits et privilèges aux écoles catholiques et protestantes. La minorité anglophone a toutefois maintenu son droit inaliénable de gérer ses établissements scolaires. À ce jour, en dépit de la réforme de 2019 qui a aboli les commissions scolaires au profit de centres de services scolaires, les commissions scolaires anglophones ont d’ailleurs maintenu leur modèle.

Le gouvernement de la Coalition avenir Québec a grandement contribué à la poursuite de ce travail de laïcisation des structures, avec l’adoption de la Loi sur la laïcité de l’État (loi 21). L’histoire récente nous apprend d’ailleurs que les architectes de ce vaste chantier ont encore du pain sur la planche. Le ministre de l’Éducation, Bernard Drainville, a déposé cette année un projet de loi (94) dont l’objet premier est de « renforcer la laïcité dans le réseau de l’éducation ». Comme sa prédécesseure Pauline Marois en son temps, il croise avec ce projet une certaine résistance, car il propose de franchir un pas de plus dans la laïcisation, notamment avec l’obligation d’avoir le visage découvert en tout temps dans toutes les écoles, et ce, tant pour les élèves que pour le personnel.

En 2024, l’épisode de l’école primaire Bedford a choqué le Québec. À la faveur de reportages chocs, on découvrait que dans cette école, dans d’autres aussi, se jouait une réalité parallèle. Un groupe d’enseignants d’origine surtout maghrébine imposait sa propre loi et ses modes de gestion de classe et de pédagogie, en contravention totale avec les principes de laïcité, de respect de la langue française et d’égalité hommes-femmes. Vendredi, le ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur publiait aussi les conclusions de sa propre enquête sur les tensions religieuses vécues aux collèges anglophones Dawson et Vanier : entre autres conclusions, on y recommande un resserrement de la Loi sur la laïcité de l’État dans le réseau collégial. Même si plusieurs obstacles se dressent sur la route du Québec dans sa démarche de laïcisation de l’État, il ne doit pas fléchir.

Les bases sur lesquelles s’appuyait jadis Pauline Marois pour déconfessionnaliser le réseau scolaire demeurent donc d’une totale pertinence, tant pour l’importance de renforcer la langue française que pour celle de participer à l’intégration des communautés culturelles à la société québécoise, en tout respect des valeurs liées à la laïcité.

Source: Religion et écoles, ce mauvais ménage

It took her tenacity, audacity and of course that finesse of political judgment that was recognized wherever she went. By becoming the architect of the de-confessionalization of the school network, Pauline Marois signed a fundamental Quebec reform, whose sustainable legacy transformed the governance of schools and paved the way for contemporary debates on secularism.

The order was ambitious. And it was Prime Minister Lucien Bouchard who gave it to him during his first national council of the Parti Québécois, in 1996. His mission? Replace religion with language to distinguish Quebec primary and secondary schools, then always divided according to confessional criteria. The reform of the then Minister of Education, Pauline Marois, allowed the creation of 72 language school boards, instead of the 154 Catholic and Protestant school boards.

This historical transformation is in line with the work begun during the Quiet Revolution, a pivotal period of modernization of a Quebec still very impregnated with the dictates of the Catholic Church. In its powerful report, the “Parent Report”, released in 1960, the Royal Commission of Investigation on Education in the Province of Quebec already expressed the desire to replace the confessional school boards. Quebec in the 1930s had about 2000.

With a progressive vision and her commitment to equal opportunities, the future Prime Minister is undertaking to rally the educational community and civil society around the idea that public school is open to all, regardless of religious beliefs. It embraces this reform for some major reasons, which it is interesting to revisit today, almost 30 years later. As she explained to the National Assembly to convince the opposition in May 1996, it is first of all to “set up a school organization likely to promote the integration of immigrants into the French-speaking community”. Law 101 obliges them to attend French-speaking schools, but many naturally enroll in French-speaking schools associated with Protestant school boards, “which are rather of English-speaking culture and environment”. Then, to respect the reality and will of the English-speaking minority; then, to lighten the structures; and finally, to ensure a more democratic and more equitable exercise of freedoms of conscience and religion.

The task is not thin. Among other difficulties, Pauline Marois had to obtain an amendment of the Constitution of 1867 and its article 93, which guaranteed rights and privileges to Catholic and Protestant schools. However, the English-speaking minority has maintained its inalienable right to manage its schools. To date, despite the 2019 reform that abolished school boards in favor of school service centers, English-language school boards have maintained their model.

The government of the Coalition avenir Québec has greatly contributed to the continuation of this work of secularization of structures, with the adoption of the Act respecting the secularism of the State (Act 21). Recent history tells us that the architects of this vast construction site still have work to do. The Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, tabled this year a bill (94) whose primary purpose is to “strengthen secularism in the education network”. Like his predecessor Pauline Marois in his time, he encounters a certain resistance with this project, because he proposes to take a step further in secularization, especially with the obligation to have his face uncovered at all times in all schools, both for students and for staff.

In 2024, the episode of Bedford Elementary School shocked Quebec. Thanks to shocking reports, we discovered that in this school, in others too, a parallel reality was being played out. A group of teachers of mainly Maghreb origin imposed their own law and methods of class management and pedagogy, in total contravention with the principles of secularism, respect for the French language and gender equality. On Friday, the Ministry of Higher Education also published the conclusions of its own survey on the religious tensions experienced at the English-speaking colleges Dawson and Vanier: among other conclusions, it recommends a tightening of the Act on the secularism of the State in the college network. Even if several obstacles stand on the road to Quebec in its approach to secularizing the state, it must not give in.

The foundations on which Pauline Marois once relied to deconfessionalize the school network therefore remain of total relevance, both for the importance of strengthening the French language and for that of participating in the integration of cultural communities into Quebec society, in full respect of the values related to secularism.

Filed under Interculturalisme, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

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