Quebec

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Saturday, October 5, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, October 5, 2013

Former PQ Premiers voice opposition to Quebec Charter of Values

Another former premier and prominent separatist has come out swinging against the proposed Charter of Quebec Values.

Lucien Bouchard sat down with a La Presse columnist and outlined his views on the charter, saying he had previously not wanted to intervene, but that he found the divisive discourse troublesome.

Bouchard largely echoed the opinions put forth by another former premier in another newspaper Thursday.

In a letter, Jacques Parizeau called the charter extreme, divisive and unnecessary. In his interview, Bouchard said his predecessor had the right idea when it came to the proposal.
“What Mr. Parizeau wrote, it makes sense, it brings us back to real values of the tolerance and openness of Quebec society, but highlights the fundamental principle of secularism, developed around rules,” he said.

Bouchard said religious symbols should be banned for public employees in positions of power, such as judges and police officers, and that those who provide and receive government services should not be able to cover their faces.

He also said the time is right to take down the cross in the National Assembly. Although the charter would ban “ostentatious” religious symbols, the PQ has argued the cross in the legislature is a reminder of Quebec’s heritage and should stay put. (Source: CTV News)

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Saturday, September 14, 2013

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, September 14, 2013

Charter of Quebec Values: Daycares risk losing Muslim educators, group warns

During the one year that Karima Al-Ouatiq has worked at a daycare in the St-Laurent borough, not one parent has complained about the fact that she wears a hijab.

But if the Quebec government has its way, Al-Ouatiq and three of her fellow daycare workers may have to choose between removing their hijabs or quitting their jobs.

“The fact that I wear a hijab is irrelevant,” Al-Ouatiq said on Tuesday. “No one should be able to tell me not to wear one, the same way we don’t tell people not to wear pants or T-shirts.”

The Quebec government released details of its controversial charter of values on Tuesday. If the charter is adopted by the National Assembly, it will ban government employees from wearing religious symbols in daycares, secondary schools and other educational institutions.

Al-Ouatiq said the daycare where she works is multicultural, and many Muslim parents are happy that some of the educators wear hijabs.

“You can’t tell a Muslim woman wearing a hijab that she can’t work with children,” she insisted.

She said she expects the Muslim community to protest against the government’s plan.

“The Muslim community and the Arab community will do something,” she said. “They won’t just sit on their hands.”

Al-Ouatiq said she believes Quebec’s proposed restrictions on religious symbols are part of a “wave that is coming from Europe.” (Source: The Montreal Gazette)

FEEDBACK

This cartoon was featured in a gallery of Editorial Cartoons in the Yahoo! Canada News for September 2013, and here. It received lots of likes, shares, and colourful commentary on the Yahoo! Canada News Facebook Page.  It caught the attention of people on the Graeme MacKay – Editorial Cartoonist Facebook Page.

 

Wednesday September 11, 2013

Wednesday September 11, 2013

 

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 11, 2013

Charter of Quebec values would ban religious symbols for public workers

Public employees would not be allowed to wear overt religious symbols at work under the proposed charter of Quebec values, released by the Parti Québécois today.

The minister in charge of the charter, Bernard Drainville, announced at the national assembly that, if adopted by the legislature, the wearing of kippas, turbans, burkas, hijabs and “large” crosses would be banned for civil servants while they are on the job.

The plan would apply to judges, police, prosecutors, public daycare workers, teachers, school employees, hospital workers and municipal personnel.

Drainville said some institutions and public organizations might be able to opt out of the ban for a five-year period.

However, he said, daycare workers, elementary school teachers and early-care providers would not be eligible for the opt-out.

The charter would also require that anyone who received or administers services from the state would have to uncover their face.

“People have to be identifiable, mainly for security purposes,” said Drainville.

The charter would include five proposals:

Amend the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

Establish a duty of neutrality and reserve for all state personnel.

Limit the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols.

Make it mandatory to have one’s face uncovered when providing or receiving a state service.

Establish an implementation policy for state organizations. (Source: CBC News)

Friday, February 22, 2013

Friday, February 22, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, February 22, 2013

For Quebec’s language police, even “pasta” is a problem

Mamma mia! The mangacakes in Quebec have got their voyageur sashes all in a knot over a little Italian on the dinner menu. After targeting the language of Shakespeare, the province’s language police –aka “tongue troopers”— decided to set their sights on Dante, of all people.

They wanted to come down hard on Buonanotte, the trendy Italian ristorante in Montreal frequented by the likes of Céline Dion and Leonardo DiCaprio. It features a menu that prominently advertises such classic dishes as pasta, pesce, antipasti, calamari, and insalata caprese, with explanations in French underneath. “My menu is fully French,” says owner Massimo Lecas. “It’s not even bilingual.” Even so, the prominent Italian offerings proved to be a little too piccante for the tongue troopers’ taste.

They were prepared to turn a blind eye to pizza, but not to polpette. They ordered the meatballs rebranded as boulettes de viande. And no more uncorking a bottiglia of wine, s’il vous plaît. It’s to be bouteille from now on. And pasta? That would be pâtes alimentaires.

All this cretineria, courtesy of the Office québécois de la langue française, the province’s language watchdog, makes the Parti Québécois government look like a bunch of peevish country hicks. And not for the first time. Remember Mendy Berson, the Jewish gravestone maker who got into trouble for having the Hebrew word for “monument” on his otherwise French/English sign? Or the campaign to stamp out the wall menus in Chinese restaurants because they were written in, well, Chinese? (Source: Toronto Star)

Wednesday September 19, 2012

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday September 19, 2012

Flag back in storage as Parti Québécois era begin

Before premier-designate Pauline Marois was again sworn in as an MNA Monday, the Parti Québécois stripped the Canadian flag from the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

And the sovereigntist party removed the Maple Leaf that adorned outgoing premier Jean Charest’s office for the past nine years. This is not the first time a PQ government has put the flag in storage. While the move may inflame passions among Quebec federalists and across the country, this time the symbolic gesture may be a particularly hollow one.

Ms. Marois led the PQ to a minority victory earlier this month with barely a third of the popular vote. She made no mention of sovereignty in her brief swearing-in speech. Nor did her election campaign place great emphasis on sovereignty, desire for which is at historic lows among Quebeckers.

Ms. Marois, who will be sworn in as premier Wednesday, said nothing about the flag removal in her remarks after the swearing-in ceremony. “Quebeckers chose change and they chose to do it with a Parti Québécois government,” Ms. Marois said.

“One of the changes is to put an end to the politics of division. What I wish is for Quebec to get back on course and reclaim its pride and confidence. When a people reclaims its pride and confidence, nothing, absolutely nothing, becomes impossible.”

Asked to respond to the removal of the Maple Leaf by the PQ government, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office responded with a blunt “no comment.”

The swearing-in ceremony has always been an awkward affair for PQ members. They must pledge allegiance to the Queen as part of the mandatory official ritual of taking office. (Source: Globe & Mail)