Whatever you think about the actions of the town fathers of Herouxville, it looks like they have helped to spark a very lively debate in Quebec and Canada (and here on MERB) about how immigrants and minorities should be integrated into Quebec and Canadian society.
Quebec strikes commission to resolve minorities debate
globeandmail.com
Feb. 9, 2007
QUEBEC -- The debate over accommodation of religious minorities has become so divisive that Quebec Premier Jean Charest named a non-partisan commission yesterday to settle an issue that has threatened to sideswipe his party on the eve of an election.
He said Quebec's fundamental values cannot be compromised to accommodate religious-minority groups.
"The Quebec nation has values, solid values, among them the equality between men and women, the primacy of French and the separation between religion and state," Mr. Charest said. "These are fundamental values. They are part of Quebec. They cannot be subject to any accommodation. They cannot be subordinated to any other principle."
He insisted that immigrants must adhere to these values, and will have help integrating into Quebec society. But to achieve peaceful co-existence, everyone needs to compromise, he added.
The non-partisan commission headed by two Quebec intellectuals, sociologist Gérard Bouchard and philosopher Charles Taylor, was given a mandate to resolve the debate within the framework of the values Mr. Charest outlined.
Beginning next month, the Bouchard-Taylor commission will hold public hearings across the province. The commission has a year to table recommendations on ways to accommodate religious sensibilities and practices, which will later be debated in the National Assembly.
A number of recent incidents had prompted some predominantly francophone rural communities to demand that Quebec values be respected when accommodations are made for religious minorities.
Many protested when a Montreal YMCA frosted the windows of an exercise room after members of a neighbouring synagogue complained that their teenage boys were being exposed to the flesh of women doing Pilates, aerobics and other exercises. Furor erupted when female police officers in Montreal were asked not to address ultra-orthodox Jewish men, and when a man was asked to get out of a public pool because female Muslims objected to his presence.
The latest incident involved an ambulance driver who was kicked out of the cafeteria of a Jewish hospital for eating a ham sandwich.
"These are not reasonable accommodations. These arrangements are contrary to the values of our nation," Mr. Charest said. "There is a misunderstanding over what is a reasonable accommodation."
The political fallout from the debate jeopardized Liberal support when residents complained that the government was failing to protect the values of Quebec's increasingly secular society.
Striking the proper balance may not be easy. Parti Québécois Leader André Boisclair sparked a backlash in outlying regions when he suggested that the crucifix be taken out of the National Assembly. More than 80 per cent of Quebeckers are Roman Catholics, and the crucifix remains a powerful symbol of Quebec's identity and culture.
The Action démocratique du Québec responded to the growing resentment of both the Liberal and the PQ positions with a campaign to defend Quebec's heritage. Although ADQ Leader Mario Dumont was accused of making comments that bordered on racism, public opinion shows the ADQ leading in predominantly francophone regions of Eastern Quebec.
"Initially, Jean Charest said everything was fine," Mr. Dumont said yesterday. "Then just 48 hours ago, he said we had to put an end to the debate. . . . Now he has taken a 180-degree turn."
