Commentary
All over Canada, with the exception of Quebec, suffers from systematic racism. At least it’s like today’s story.
At the English leaders debate held on September 9, moderator Shachi Kurl asked each leader a question directly. The questions were clearly modeled to poke areas that each leader did not want to address.
Trudeau was asked to justify the reason for calling for elections during the pandemic, and Shin was asked if his platform was unrealistic. The question evoked a reaction and made the discussion more interesting as the leader was placed on the spot. But Karl clearly crossed the line when he asked block leader Eve Francois Blanche about Quebec’s controversial bill 21.
In a rare act of unity, Liberal Party, CPC, and NDP leaders have demanded an apology from the media broadcast consortium that organized the debate with Shari Karl. They are frightened that the moderators assembled Bill 21 as a discriminatory bill when asking Blanchett questions.
Bill 21 was imposed by the Quebec State Assembly in 2019. The bill prohibits civil servants from displaying religious symbols of any kind at work. For example, principals, police officers, and judges are prohibited from wearing items such as turbans, hijabs, and kippers while working.
Bill 21 was challenged in court and the English school won the bill exemption. The state has appealed the ruling.
Judge Mark Andre Blanchard of the Quebec High Court ruled that Bill 21 violates the fundamental rights of religious minorities in the state, but regardless of the Constitution, these violations are acceptable. increase.
Bill 21 is just the embodiment of institutional racism. It disproportionately affects religious minorities, most often of color. The court will say this, but obviously the moderator of the debate cannot.
The hypocrisy and timidity that the leader has shown on this issue is breathtaking. Cowards are clearly afraid to offend Quebec even with such a clear problem. Hypocrisy accepts the ongoing notion that Canada as a whole is clearly full of systematic racism, but refuses to blame Quebec’s brave indication of it.
Stockwell Day was chased by the public eye and had to resign from several senior positions in the company to be bold. “Canada is not a racist country, most Canadians are not racists, and our system, which needs constant improvement, is not systematically racist,” he said. Participated in the 2020 CBC Panel.
Despite his repeated apologies, Day was virtually canceled by a mob who awoke to dare to deny Canada’s racism.
Canada as a whole does not have as nasty or clearly discriminatory policies as Quebec’s Bill 21, but it is clearly unacceptable to claim that the public is not racist. On the other hand, even questioning Quebec’s law has led to an overall indication of false anger from the voting leader.
Quebec and Quebec were not called racists during the debate, either directly or implicitly. It was the law that was questioned. If we cannot question legislation in the election debate, we are facing serious problems as a nation. Where can someone speak on behalf of the Quebec minority?
Hopefully, Shachi Kurl and the media broadcaster consortium refuse to withdraw and apologize. Not only did they do nothing wrong, it would set a terrible precedent. The leader’s argument may be dull and inconclusive in itself. How terrible would they be if the moderators had to take into account the political interests of the candidates before asking questions?
Face it, all leaders are completely aware that Bill 21 is a blatant and legislative practice of prejudice. These leaders have prioritized the hopes of elections in Quebec over the needs of the minority affected by Quebec’s discriminatory legislation.
In his honor, Trudeau has not ruled out a federal court objection to Bill 21. However, it is doubtful how such an objection would arise if no one was allowed to speak critically about the bill.
Certainly if there is an issue of institutional racism to deal with in Canada, we need an honest conversation about it. Punishing media members who dare to ask examples of true discrimination hinders progress towards resolution.
Canada is not as problematic as institutional racism as it is problematic with established political hypocrisy.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Cory Morgan is a columnist and business owner based in Calgary, Alberta.