By Fareed Khan
During a media conference in Sherbrooke, Quebec on August 31st Bloc Quebecois leader Yves Francois- Blanchet said it was “reprehensible” that Quebec Muslims and civil rights organizations were continuing with their constitutional challenges to Quebec’s Bill 21 “secularism” law, which primarily targets religiously observant Muslims, Sikhs and Jews, and prohibits them from working as teachers, police officers, judges and other jobs that are publicly funded if they wear items or clothing that identifies their faith. However, what is truly reprehensible is Blanchet’s support for Quebec’s ‘secularism’ law, legislation that is de facto state-sanctioned hate and bigotry against racialized religious minorities in that province.
Politicians in overtly racist and fascist states frequently use such language to describe the actions of human rights and democracy activists who oppose their governments. However, to hear it from a Canadian politician who claims to have a “progressive” political view is galling because it demonstrates Blanchet's support for racist and ethno-nationalist politics in Quebec, something that is very unsettling. History has shown what happens when such politicians and their brand of politics are left unchallenged, and are allowed to promote ideas that pour gasoline on the embers of racist ideologies.
By condemning those who are challenging the province’s secularism law in court Blanchet was essentially saying “sit down and shut up” to people whose rights are being trampled by the Quebec government.
Under Canadian law it is entirely legal for Canadians to challenge what they consider are unjust laws in the courts if they feel their rights are being infringed. By saying what he did Blanchet demonstrated a total disrespect for the legal rights of Canadians in Quebec, and displayed the attitude of a politician who seems to believe in approaches used by authoritarian regimes against their critics. It also demonstrates a level of hypocrisy that is unbelievable considering that Francophone Quebecers have also launched legal challenges to federal laws they opposed to stand up for their rights. Blanchet’s approach on this issue seems to be “do as we say not as we do”.
Quebec's secularism law has been a very controversial issue since it was first proposed by the right wing government of Quebec Premier Francois Legault. From its inception it was intended to violate the rights of Quebec's minority religious communities under the guise of defending secularism. The Legault government knew it would violate fundamental religious rights guaranteed under Section 2a of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms so it invoked the "notwithstanding clause" of the Charter in the legislation, which allows governments to override Charter guaranteed rights, with little fear that it would be overturned by the courts.
Following a year in which Canadians came out in the tens of thousands to speak out in support of racial justice it is unbelievable that federalist party leaders are silent on the issue of Quebec’s racist secularism law. If Justin Trudeau, Erin O’Toole and Jagmeet Singh are sincere about supporting the fight against hate, bigotry and racism they must stand strongly against the ethno-nationalism that is being promoted by the Quebec government through its secularism law, and supported at the federal level by Blanchet and his party.
Quebec’s secularism law is now more than two years old and has upended the lives of many Quebec families. Many individuals from racialized communities in Quebec have been forced to leave that province to pursue their professions in the face of the Bill 21 law. It is intolerable that all federalist party leaders have not come together to unequivocally stand against the law, and support legal challenges to defend the rights of Canadians under the Charter. They have sacrificed the human rights of certain religious communities in Quebec on the altar of political expediency.
The lack of action by Trudeau,
O’Toole and Singh on Bill 21 is not only wrong it is unacceptable and makes all
federalist leaders untrustworthy when they claim to be defenders of human
rights and democratic freedoms. Because
if they cannot defend the human rights of people in Quebec affected by its
secularism law then how can they be trusted to defend the fundamental rights
and freedoms of Canadians in other areas, or of persecuted minorities overseas? Canadians deserve better than political leaders who do not have a backbone on issues of fundamental justice. Unfortunately, in this election there are none that can provide the type of strength of conviction that all Canadians deserve.
© 2021 The View From Here. © 2021 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.
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