March 29: (Not)withstanding populism. Plus other letters to the editor GlobeDebate
: The floodgates have opened. While I cringed at Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s threat to use the notwithstanding clause of the Charter in Toronto’s municipal election, my blood ran cold to see the Quebec government say it will invoke it to bar certain provincial employees from wearing religious symbols.
Indeed, the whole matter should be turned on its head. It is the protection of minority rights in the Charter that should be strengthened, “notwithstanding” such populist attacks. Constitutional amendment, anyone?................................. The problem with Konrad Yakabuski’s take on the ban on religious symbols in Quebec is that is assumes some objective standard of secularism .
To be secular in a country whose laws and traditions are founded in the Judeo-Christian tradition means secular oftenJudeo-Christian. We see it, for example, in the days of the week that we consider the weekend and in the statutory holidays we take. Secular in Canada is not religious neutrality. Defenders of laws such as the religious-symbol ban in Quebec are not seeking secularism, they are seeking the institutionalization of Judeo-Christian privilege by stealth.It’s wrong to suggest that the rest of Canada should stay “zen” about Quebec’s religious-symbol debate. Minorities in Quebec are going to need loud, motivated, active voices from the rest of country to stand by them as they weather this latest storm of intolerance.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Your daily horoscope: March 29Your daily horoscope
Read more »
Seven things to do in Vancouver: March 29 to April 4Hip hop and downhill hit the slopes for the annual Snowbombing festival and Austrian dance gets weird this week.
Read more »
Truck driver in fatal Humboldt Broncos bus crash to be sentencedJaskirat Singh Sidhu pleaded guilty earlier this year to 29 counts of dangerous driving
Read more »
Massive anti-Brexit march unfolds in London, with protesters demanding new referendumIt is still uncertain how, when or even if Brexit will happen as PM Theresa May tries to plot a way out of the gravest political crisis in at least a generation.
Read more »
Your daily horoscope: March 28Your daily horoscope
Read more »
Letters, March 26: Abused women and trans-women both need our help, reader arguesBoth rape survivors as well as trans-women require our solid support. Both groups need to be assured of their dignity. Both have faced hurt beyond what most of us can imagine. We do know that all r…
Read more »
It's another kind of March Madness at Match Play - TSN.caTSN Golf Analyst Bob Weeks weighs in on a different kind of March Madness bracket - the one from this weekend's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play from Austin - and gives his picks for who will come out of each group.
Read more »
Hornets bring March Madness to Toronto in thrilling win over RaptorsThe Raptors finally figured out their defence in the fourth quarter and looked to be on their way to another come-from-behind home win but a miraculous buzzer-beating shot from Jeremy Lamb put ice on those plans. Rod Black and Jack Armstrong have more.
Read more »