No issue has split the secular community in Canada like Quebec’s Bill 21. Several secular organizations have come out strongly in favour of the legislation, with some saying its only flaw being that it doesn’t go far enough. Many other secular groups, including CFIC, have come out strongly against Bill 21. It was challenged in court immediately after its passage in June 2019, and the Supreme Court is in the midst of hearing from a record 38 interveners as this episode is released.
In January, the New Enlightenment Project organized an online conversation between Michel Virard, founder of the Association humaniste du Québec, and Leslie Rosenblood, Secular Chair of CFIC. The conversation was moderated by Robert Hamilton.
This was an informed discussion between committed secular activists with a similar worldview and many shared values, yet who vehemently but respectfully disagree about the merits of
Quebec’s Bill 21. I hope you learn from and enjoy this conversation as much as I did.
A video recording is also available:
If Canadians had a protected right only to deal with public servants who reflected their preferences for how the state should represent itself, l bet an absence of individual religious symbols would be very far down their wish lists, with competence and efficiency at the top, followed by professional demeanor and presentation. Fairness and politeness also come to mind...
ReplyDeleteIn my case, l only ever want to deal with tall, hot, well-dressed, perfectly-groomed, fit, brilliant, well-educated, creative and charismatic individuals, but so far, I've had no luck in securing such accommodations legally. So if hijabi teachers have to put up with your sniveling, mediocre pure laine brats in class, perhaps you can return the favour by showing some tolerance in return?
It seems that one of the side effects of having kids is amnesia and delusion about who and what actually influence them in their formative years. Who are these kids who see teachers as gods and want to be like them? I've never met one... Children are formed in their peer groups and look up to the cool kids who are slightly older than they are, so what comes out of the home or is modeled by teachers only sticks in homogeneous societies such as pre-Quiet-Revolution Quebec, when the pure laine were ruled by the iron fist of the Catholic Church and all francophone children brought the same normalized baggage to school. This is why religious parents fight so hard to isolate their kids in the ghettos of sectarian schools today. It's not because the teachers are religious, but because all the other kids will have been pre-brainwashed in the same way!
Political symbols are not permitted because political affiliation is not a protected trait, and such displays can create hostile work environments for other teachers and administrators, tantamount to hazing. I doubt the kids would care. And since governments are chosen through politics, not appointed by religious leaders, it makes sense to ban partisan hats but permit headscarves...
Do those who object to religious symbols really not see that this leads to a backlash that then normalizes religious nonsense as a counterweight? If Quebec just ignored hijabs, would the rest of Canada be incorporating them in material meant to signal inclusiveness, or be ignoring them as well, just as I overlook the fact that most people don't meet my exacting personal standards when l'm forced to deal with them for functional reasons?