Quebec minister in hot seat over charter of values – Montreal – CBC News

2013/09/23 Leave a comment

Missed this debate between the Minister in charge of selling the Charter, and the philosopher and academic, Gérard Bouchard, who actually has thought considerably about these issues during his long career and his work on the Bouchard-Taylor commission. Quote:

“We took a meticulous look at the practice of accommodations and concluded it was going well,” he said. “You launched yourself into this operation in ignorance of the reality.”

Bouchard repeatedly asked Drainville what studies the government had done to determine that there was a need to restrict its employees’ religious freedoms.

Drainville replied that he had heard from “representatives of teachers, school boards, people working in the health sector” and other employers who didn’t know how to deal with their workers’ requests for religious accommodations and who implored the province to bring in limits.

Quebec minister in hot seat over charter of values – Montreal – CBC News.

In other words, anecdote, not evidence.

And naturally enough, the “battle” of the demonstrations starts (smaller than the one the previous week protesting the Charter):

Manifestation en faveur de la Charte des valeurs à Montréal

And a nuanced analysis of what makes Muslim Canadians wear the hijab, noting the wide variety of practices and beliefs within the community, and that wearing a hijab does not mean that it has been forced by male relatives. Quote:

D’une génération à l’autre, l’islam est souvent vécu de façon différente. « Certaines femmes [plus âgées] ont porté le voile par tradition. Les jeunes sont beaucoup plus dans une recherche spirituelle. On s’approprie la religion et on en fait quelque chose d’individuel. »

Port du voile – Les motifs derrière les apparences

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Charte des valeurs: quatre visions s’affrontent | Denis Lessard | National

2013/09/19 3 Comments

A good analysis of the various social/demographic groups and how they are positioned with the proposed Charter:

  • Pure laine Catholics (29%)
  • The tolerant believer (29%)
  • The open laic (21%)
  • The closed laic (21 %)

Charte des valeurs: quatre visions s’affrontent | Denis Lessard | National.

In terms of the PQ plans, appears some of the signals yesterday by Jean-François Lisée, PQ Minister for Montreal, were false as the government appears to be digging in its heels:

Parti Québécois: No quick compromises on values plan

Charte des valeurs québécoises – Signes religieux : le droit de retrait pourrait être restreint, dit Lisée

Lastly, a stronger legal analysis of Canadian jurisprudence on the proposed Charter by Daniel Proulx of Université de Sherbrooke, citing recent Supreme Court jurisprudence on conditions where the niqab can be worn in court. His rebuttal to the Henri Blum opinion (Charte des valeurs québécoises – Au sujet de la validité constitutionnelle):

La réplique › Charte des valeurs québécoises – Une Charte qui ne passerait pas le test

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La partition | Le Devoir

2013/09/15 Leave a comment

Good analysis by Michel David in Le Devoir of the longer term implications of the PQ politique identitaire strategy with the proposed Charte des valeurs québécoises:

Avec son projet de charte, le gouvernement Marois compromet non seulement les chances de rallier les communautés culturelles au projet souverainiste, comme le font valoir les Indépendantistes pour une laïcité inclusive, mais il va également à l’encontre des politiques d’intégration que le PQ a mises de l’avant dans le passé…

Cette fois-ci, la ligne de fracture n’est pas simplement de l’ordre des moyens. Les objections de Mme Mourani et des nombreux indépendantistes qui s’opposent au projet de M. Drainville portent sur la question beaucoup plus fondamentale du respect des droits et libertés de la personne.

Il permettra peut-être au PQ d’obtenir une majorité à l’Assemblée nationale, mais que sert à l’homme de gagner l’univers s’il y perd son âme, n’est-ce pas ?

La partition | Le Devoir.

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Laïcité – La CAQ s’estime moins «radicale» que le PQ | Le Devoir

2013/08/27 Leave a comment

Going further than Bouchard-Taylor with the extension to education. Not encouraging. NDP has staked out Bouchard-Taylor laïcité ouverte approach (only persons in position of legal authority) which is more reasonable than broader approach.

Laïcité – La CAQ s’estime moins «radicale» que le PQ | Le Devoir.

And on the lighter side, Natalie Brender’s ironic and satiric take on the Quebec Values Charter.

A modest proposal for Quebec and Canada: Brender | Toronto Star.

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Charte des valeurs québécoises – ​Une fuite mal reçue | Le Devoir

2013/08/21 Leave a comment

In what can only be seen as playing to xenophobic tendencies, inspriré à la française, the Parti Québecois’s leaked proposal for a Charter of Quebec Values, that would exclude any government employee in any function (e.g., hospitals, schools, garbage collection, the list is endless) from wearing any religious sign. Laicisme extrème.

Rather than addressing the political reality of Quebec feelings of vulnerability through the more nuanced approach of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission’s laïcité ouverte (see Rapport Bouchard-Taylor – Pourquoi la laïcité ouverte ? | Le Devoir) , where the only those government posts where government neutrality must be explicit (e.g., law enforcement, judges, President of the Assemblée national), the PQ went for an exclusionary, divisive approach.

Encouragingly, whether it was a trial balloon, all opposition parties in the Assemblée nationale have spoken against it as have many Quebec commentators (in English Canada, when we poll people about comfort level with religious signs, discomfort increases with the degree of religiosity expressed, but people have largely come to terms with this as part of living in a diverse society). Expect of course that other views will also come out, as is normal in any public debate, and we shall see whether the PQ succeeds in making this a wedge issue.

And of course, no such law would survive challenge under any human rights legislation in Quebec or Canada, not to mention the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Lots written on this and a selection of articles below for those interested.

Charte des valeurs québécoises – ​Une fuite mal reçue | Le Devoir.

 Opinion Quebec’s Putinesque idea to ban religious garb from public workplaces – Globe and Mail

Échecs identitaires La rentrée promet un retour en force de nos chicanes habituelles. Et la chicane la plus attendue est certainement le débat sur les «valeurs québécoises», Actualité

Turbans, kippas and crucifixes could be banned in Quebec public institutions under PQ proposal, National Post

L’interdiction des symboles religieux serait une erreur, selon Charles Taylor, La Presse

Turbans, hijabs, kippas face restrictions in Quebec, Macleans

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