Canada's Leadership Hopefuls & Religious Freedom

 Last night the leaders of most of the Canadian political parties for the upcoming election came together for a French language debate in Montreal. It sounds as though PM Carney managed not to embarrass himself in a language he doesn't speak well. Pierre Poilievre toned down his often aggressive style. Jagmeet Singh got feisty. Blanchet poked away at the others, knowing that his party is going nowhere fast. In the end it was pretty much "no harm, no foul".

As I listened to the post mortem analysis this morning I heard nothing about what is a Quebec reality, Bill 21, the laicity law, but an issue all Canadians should care about. This is legally imposed secularism, a restriction on publicly expressed religious freedom, including dress. Article 6 of the law prohibits some civil servants from wearing “clothing, a symbol, jewelry, adornments, accessories or headwear” that is connected to a religious belief or could be “reasonably considered” as such. This would include the Muslim hijab, a Jewish kippah, a Christian cross. 

For years the federal government has danced around this law, saying as little as possible, even though federally the law upholds freedom of religion. Mark Carney has followed in the Liberal footsteps of the past decade, hemming and hawing about regional autonomy. 

A week ago Robyn Urback of the Globe and Mail offered her take on the subject with the intriguing headline: A wedge has emerged on religious freedom. Pierre Poilievre is on the right side of it. She offers: 

Mr. Poilievre has been clear about his opposition to Bill 21 since he ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2022. And to his credit, he said the same thing, in French, just last week during Radio-Canada’s Cinq chefs, une élection program. “We shouldn’t have a state that forces people to wear or not wear something,” he said. When pressed by one of the interviewers on whether that should include people in positions of authority, he noted that a member of the RCMP that has been assigned to protect his family wears a turban. “He’s ready to save my life. He’s ready to save my children’s lives by giving his. Am I going to say that he shouldn’t have a job because he wears a turban? I don’t agree.”

Excellent point Pierre,as much as it pains me to concede this. During this election campaign we've heard repeatedly that the central issue is how our next Prime Minister will deal with the agressive president of the United States, nearly always in the context of trade between our two countries. In my view it is also about the values we hold, including multi-culturalism, diversity, and religious freedom. As the current leaders in the US have demonized DEI and launched into a draconian expulsion of migrants and those deemed un-American because they not White or Christian our own leadership hopefuls need to be clear about their views. Hasn't Mr. Carney written a book called Values? 

As a Christian I'm convinced that freedom of religious expression is essential in a democracy. On this Maundy Thursday we can remember that Jesus, whom we recognize as the Christ, came together for a Jewish Passover meal before his arrest and crucifixion. Freedom for me must be freedom for all.