The Québec National Assembly's Committee on Institutions has now begun hearings on the province's proposed Charter of Québec Values. If passed into law, the Charter would affirm the secular humanist values of "modern Québec" and severely restrict the religious and cultural "accommodation" of immigrants and religious minorities.
For example, the Charter would ban the wearing by public servants of overtly religious symbols, particularly headgear such as turbans and hijabs. See "What Québec's new Charter of Values will and will not do".
The proposed Charter has been denounced by the usual suspects as racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim, anti-Sikh, ŷada yada yada. It can certainly be seen as blowback against political correctness, multiculturalism and the "celebration of diversity" which the Canadian government keeps saying is good for the country. The Bloc Québécois government itself has warned the vizmins that they'd better accommodate themselves to the values of their adopted country, not the other way around. See "Accept Québec values, black PQ minister warns immigrants".
The hearings now being held in the provincial capital are an opportunity for everyone -- not just the usual coterie of pundits, politicians and other "experts" -- to express their opinions. Even ordinary people are allowed to speak. Three such "real people" appeared on the 16th. Here's a short video of the testimony of Geneviève Caron and Claude Pineault, telling the commission about their experience travelling to Morocco and Turkey, countries that have a large Muslim majority.
For those who have difficulty understanding Québec French, Ed. has posted (below) a transcript of M Pineault's remarks, from Hansard, the official record of the proceedings. We'll add a précis, in English, below the video.
Recounting her visit to a mosque in Morocco, where she was asked to remove her shoes, Mme Caron said she reluctantly gave up her footwear, following the customary Muslim practice, only to find women and men praying on their hands and knees in separate quarters of the temple. "I remained really marked by this," she continued. "I got back on the bus and said, 'Could this be? Praying on all fours on a carpet?'".
M Pineault, her husband, spoke about visiting an open-air market in Tangier. While looking for souvenirs to buy, he had his pocket picked by two people who were wearing some kind of religious headgear. "Who was under these disguises? Women? Men? I don’t know." he said. "What I do know, is that it’s unthinkable to allow people to walk around in Quebec, in the streets, in public places — really anywhere besides homes and private places — with such disguises."
Bernard Drainville, the minister responsible for getting the Charter through the National Assembly, replied that many Muslims who come to Québec integrate quite well. He told M Pineault that he didn't want to send the message that people from other countries are a menace to Québec society.
The hearings continue.
Further reading on WWW: "Nobody likes the Charter of Québec Values...except the people!"
Showing posts with label Drainville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drainville. Show all posts
Sunday, January 19, 2014
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
No more special treatment for Jews and Muslims at Six Flags Montréal park
La Ronde is a popular amusement park in Montréal. Kids love it, including, of course, the many children of Montréal’s large orthodox Jewish community. For the boys who attend Camp Gan Israel in the Laurentians, the trip to La Ronde is one of the highlights of the summer.
One of the reasons Jews (and Muslims) like La Ronde is that they’re allowed to bring their own kosher (and halal) snacks, contrary to the park’s policy that visitors have to buy the food sold in the park. The park doesn't sell kosher (or halal) food, so Jewish and Muslim kids are exempt from the rule, as a deep bow to "celebrating diversity" and "religious accommodation".
This was revealed by Le Journal de Montréal in "Lunchs interdits à la Ronde sauf pour les juifs et les musulmans", a feature story which ran on July 16th. But now the concession to "those of other faiths" is over.
In a statement released yeseterday, spokesthingy Catherine Tremblay told the media "After hearing feedback from our guests, La Ronde would like to clarify that only guests with special medical dietary needs will be considered to bring outside food with them as they enter the park."
The escalating pushback against "reasonable accommodation" of Québec’s religious minorities comes as the government of la Belle Province prepares a new charter to protect "Québec values" against assault by minority religious groups and the "human rights industry".
As reported here ("PQ not so PC as TROC?"), the Québec Soccer Federation made headlines when it tried to ban turban-wearing Sikhs from playing. It was forced to reverse the rule ban after FIFA -- "football"’s international governing body -- said they had nothing against the headgear.
A month earlier, Bernard Drainville, the minister responsible for the values charter, denounced another policy of the city of Montréal, under which Jews are allowed to park wherever they like during their high holidays.
Le Journal de Montréal has been accused by the usual suspects of "accommodation vigilantism". Looks to Poor Len as if they just want to know when the pandering is going to end. The 19,000 Québecois who signed an Internet petition against special treatment for minorities would like to know too.
Footnote: La Ronde is owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., in the news this week for allegedly failing to take proper care of morbidly obese people who like to ride its roller coasters. Stay off the La Ronde coaster, eh!
One of the reasons Jews (and Muslims) like La Ronde is that they’re allowed to bring their own kosher (and halal) snacks, contrary to the park’s policy that visitors have to buy the food sold in the park. The park doesn't sell kosher (or halal) food, so Jewish and Muslim kids are exempt from the rule, as a deep bow to "celebrating diversity" and "religious accommodation".
This was revealed by Le Journal de Montréal in "Lunchs interdits à la Ronde sauf pour les juifs et les musulmans", a feature story which ran on July 16th. But now the concession to "those of other faiths" is over.
In a statement released yeseterday, spokesthingy Catherine Tremblay told the media "After hearing feedback from our guests, La Ronde would like to clarify that only guests with special medical dietary needs will be considered to bring outside food with them as they enter the park."
The escalating pushback against "reasonable accommodation" of Québec’s religious minorities comes as the government of la Belle Province prepares a new charter to protect "Québec values" against assault by minority religious groups and the "human rights industry".
As reported here ("PQ not so PC as TROC?"), the Québec Soccer Federation made headlines when it tried to ban turban-wearing Sikhs from playing. It was forced to reverse the rule ban after FIFA -- "football"’s international governing body -- said they had nothing against the headgear.
A month earlier, Bernard Drainville, the minister responsible for the values charter, denounced another policy of the city of Montréal, under which Jews are allowed to park wherever they like during their high holidays.
Le Journal de Montréal has been accused by the usual suspects of "accommodation vigilantism". Looks to Poor Len as if they just want to know when the pandering is going to end. The 19,000 Québecois who signed an Internet petition against special treatment for minorities would like to know too.
Footnote: La Ronde is owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., in the news this week for allegedly failing to take proper care of morbidly obese people who like to ride its roller coasters. Stay off the La Ronde coaster, eh!
Monday, July 1, 2013
PQ not so PC as TROC?
Too many abbreviations? Walt will provide a glossary. Let's start with "PQ". Before two-letter abbreviations for states and provinces were standardised, "PQ" was the commonly accepted shorthand for "Province of Quebec" or "Province du Québec" to be more PC -- note the accent. Today the correct form is "QC", while "PQ" refers to the Parti Québecois, the quasi-separatist political party which misgoverns la Belle Province.
The PQ, as well as being committed to (one day) seceding from The Rest Of Canada (TROC), is of a decidedly pinkish hue, thus resolutely secular humanist in its values. After the Roman Catholic Church turned its back on its own dogmas in the 1960s, that's pretty much how the majority of Québecois think things should be.
Religion now has no place in public life, and no religion or creed should receive any special consideration or accommodation. That's politically correct (PC) thinking in Québec and TROC. Or at least it was, until a few years ago, when Muslims started demanding the "right" to pray in the streets, have Islamic religious instruction in public schools, and force their womenfolk to cover all or parts of their bodies against the gaze of infidels. See "Hijab, niqab, burqa -- what's the difference?".
Of course what's fair for the followers of the Prophet must also be fair for the Jews, Sikhs...just about everyone except Christians. Freedom of religion, dontcha know! It's PC! And so Canadians are treated to the spectacle of turban-clad Mounties, looking like extras in Carry On Up The Khyber. Walt is waiting for a Sikh to bring a human rights complaint (or a lawsuit, if in the USA) to force the NHL to let him wear a turban instead of a helmet.
Soccer, of course, is a different story. Soccer players don't wear helmets because -- let's be real -- how can you hurt your head playing a slow sissy game like "football"? Well, OK, you could get beaned by a viciously kicked ball, but wearing anything on your head is still not done... unless you're a Sikh. Along with his holy drawers and kirpan, a Sikh should be able to wear his turban, they say, because it's part of his religion. And anyone who objects is a racist bigot!
So what, said the Québec Soccer Federation? A few weeks back the QSF passed a bylaw forbidding the wearing of turbans or anything else while playing the beautiful game. Accusations of religious discrimination and being less-than-PC immediately emanated from the lamestream media and swivel-eyed loons of the human rights industry. To which Pauline Marois, the PQ premier of Québec replied, so what?! This is Québec and we'll follow our own customs and values.
A couple of weeks later, following condemnation from the Canadian Soccer Federation and a statement from the international governing body (FIFA) that it didn't care one way or the other, the QSF backed down. But there remains in QC the very strong sentiment that accommodation of religious and ethnic minorities has gone too far.
Having determined the direction from which the political wind is blowing, the Québec Minister of Citizenship, Bernard Drainville, has announced that he's pushing ahead with a long-promised "Charter of Values" which (he thinks) will resolve the problem of religious accommodation, once and for all. He pointed to a public opinion poll that asked whether Québecois think religious accommodation is still an important problem. Two-thirds of the 1506 respondents polled said yes.
When asked whether doing away with "unreasonable accommodations" would promote a more integrated society, 70%. Said M Drainville, "We do want this debate to be about what unites us, not what divides us. What unites us. And I do think equality between men and women, between all citizens notwithstanding origin, religion, mother tongue -- I do think these are important values if we want to build in Québec a united society."
A united society... Wouldn't that be something... If putting an end to extreme political correctness in Québec works, perhaps TROC could try it! And if it works in Canada -- as if! -- perhaps the other half of North America could have a go. We could even give the principle a name... something like "majority rule"!
The PQ, as well as being committed to (one day) seceding from The Rest Of Canada (TROC), is of a decidedly pinkish hue, thus resolutely secular humanist in its values. After the Roman Catholic Church turned its back on its own dogmas in the 1960s, that's pretty much how the majority of Québecois think things should be.
Religion now has no place in public life, and no religion or creed should receive any special consideration or accommodation. That's politically correct (PC) thinking in Québec and TROC. Or at least it was, until a few years ago, when Muslims started demanding the "right" to pray in the streets, have Islamic religious instruction in public schools, and force their womenfolk to cover all or parts of their bodies against the gaze of infidels. See "Hijab, niqab, burqa -- what's the difference?".
Of course what's fair for the followers of the Prophet must also be fair for the Jews, Sikhs...just about everyone except Christians. Freedom of religion, dontcha know! It's PC! And so Canadians are treated to the spectacle of turban-clad Mounties, looking like extras in Carry On Up The Khyber. Walt is waiting for a Sikh to bring a human rights complaint (or a lawsuit, if in the USA) to force the NHL to let him wear a turban instead of a helmet.
Soccer, of course, is a different story. Soccer players don't wear helmets because -- let's be real -- how can you hurt your head playing a slow sissy game like "football"? Well, OK, you could get beaned by a viciously kicked ball, but wearing anything on your head is still not done... unless you're a Sikh. Along with his holy drawers and kirpan, a Sikh should be able to wear his turban, they say, because it's part of his religion. And anyone who objects is a racist bigot!
So what, said the Québec Soccer Federation? A few weeks back the QSF passed a bylaw forbidding the wearing of turbans or anything else while playing the beautiful game. Accusations of religious discrimination and being less-than-PC immediately emanated from the lamestream media and swivel-eyed loons of the human rights industry. To which Pauline Marois, the PQ premier of Québec replied, so what?! This is Québec and we'll follow our own customs and values.
A couple of weeks later, following condemnation from the Canadian Soccer Federation and a statement from the international governing body (FIFA) that it didn't care one way or the other, the QSF backed down. But there remains in QC the very strong sentiment that accommodation of religious and ethnic minorities has gone too far.
Having determined the direction from which the political wind is blowing, the Québec Minister of Citizenship, Bernard Drainville, has announced that he's pushing ahead with a long-promised "Charter of Values" which (he thinks) will resolve the problem of religious accommodation, once and for all. He pointed to a public opinion poll that asked whether Québecois think religious accommodation is still an important problem. Two-thirds of the 1506 respondents polled said yes.
When asked whether doing away with "unreasonable accommodations" would promote a more integrated society, 70%. Said M Drainville, "We do want this debate to be about what unites us, not what divides us. What unites us. And I do think equality between men and women, between all citizens notwithstanding origin, religion, mother tongue -- I do think these are important values if we want to build in Québec a united society."
A united society... Wouldn't that be something... If putting an end to extreme political correctness in Québec works, perhaps TROC could try it! And if it works in Canada -- as if! -- perhaps the other half of North America could have a go. We could even give the principle a name... something like "majority rule"!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)