Quebec: Fascism on the rise?

Eduardo del Buey
Foto: Afp
La Jornada Maya

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

A proposed Québec law would ban the use of religious symbols in the workplace for all civil servants including teachers, police, judges, and legislators. This would include Jewish yarmulkes, Muslim hijabs and burkas, Christian crosses and Sikh turbans.

Despite government rhetoric, underpinning this law is an anti-Muslim sentiment on the part of many members of the French speaking majority in Québec that seeks to preserve Québec “values” under the guise of laicity.

Some Quebecers will argue that Quebec has to protect its culture since it is a minority in North America. I would argue that when the British defeated the French in 1763 and took over Quebec, they respected the French inhabitants by allowing them to keep their language, religion, and legal system. They did not impose theirs on the French inhabitants and, to this day, Quebec is a French speaking entity with its own language and distinctive culture.

When the tyranny of the majority is allowed to ride roughshod over the rights of minorities, the result is fascism. When other governments (in this case Canada’s federal government), politicians and people in general don’t fight fascism at its inception, the cancer spreads until all rights and freedoms are compromised, and society becomes sick with division and, ultimately, violence.

Lest I be accused of being an outsider indifferent to the concerns of average Québecers, I am Québec born and raised, and a proud Canadian who represented his country for 37 years in a variety of diplomatic positions.

The values that I defended throughout my career were the values enshrined in the Canadian Bill of Rights.

And those values are universal and fundamental.

Wearing a turban never stopped Harjit Sajjan from becoming a war hero when he served in Afghanistan, nor has it stopped him from serving as an excellent Defense Minister in the current Canadian cabinet. Nor has wearing a turban affected the ability of Jagmeet Singh to lead Canada’s New Democratic Party. Yet it would exclude them from serving in any governmental position in Québec.

This is wrong and goes against Canada’s fundamental values.

Wearing a turban has not stopped a good number of Sikhs from serving honorably in the Canadian armed forces or in that paragon of Canadian identity, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Indeed, they risk their lives for Canadians every day. Wearing a cross or yarmulke has never stopped Jews or Christians from serving Canada and Canadians honorably at home or abroad.

But dividing Canadians (and Québecers are Canadians) goes against Canadian values and creates two levels of citizenship: the lay “us” and the religious “them”.

And these are fascist tendencies.

What can be done?

The Québec government has an ace up its sleeve. When Prime Minister Trudeau’s father, then Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, created the Charter of Rights in 1982, he unfortunately included a “notwithstanding” clause that allowed provincial governments to override the Charter as well as Supreme Court rulings. The intent of the clause was for it to be used and reserved for “exceptional” situations” and indeed it has been used a few times over the years. In the proposed bill before the Québec Assembly, the Québec government has invoked the clause pre-emptively to remove any chance of court challenge should it pass.

As a result, Québec has the constitutional right to impose this law if it passes.

So, what is left?

A concerted show of leadership by Québecers and all federal political leaders who find this proposed law abhorrent.

Canada goes to the polls in October and Québec holds roughly 25 percent of parliamentary seats — a rich and necessary prize for any national party seeking to win a parliamentary majority.

Despite this reality, Canadian political leaders must demonstrate the testicular fortitude to use their “bully pulpit” to fight this proposed law and get Québecers to show their disapproval at the polls. This will give the Federal government leverage to negotiate with the Québec government over this.

Québecers have a long tradition of living in the past. The motto on their license plates – [i]Je Me Souviens[/i] ([i]I remember[/i]) says it all.

By imposing its laic beliefs on society, the Québec government is itself dictating that its beliefs are more important than beliefs that others may hold harkening back to a time when Québec was a more homogeneous society. Much like Viktor Orban in Hungary trying to take that country back to a pure “Christian” past.

Instead, Québecers should be looking towards who they really are today, a multi-cultural, predominantly French speaking society that is an example for a 21st century in which multi-cultural cultures coexist and flourish and serve as a model for an increasingly divided world.

At this moment, when the Trudeau government is facing a serious electoral challenge, the Canadian Prime Minister must show the strong leadership required to shape public opinion in Québec. He must clearly and unequivocally reject this tyranny of the majority and defend the rights of all minorities across Canada. Individual freedom must be respected when defending collective rights.

Are Canada’s federal leaders up to the task, or will they yield to Québec blackmail?

This is a defining moment for Canada and Québec, and one that must be addressed vigorously.

The Canada that stands as a beacon for human rights and fundamental values is at stake.

And in today’s world in which liberal democracy is in a downward spiral, it is a fight that concerns all of humanity.

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