#legislative assembly of québec

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"M. Hormidas Langlais et les exemptions militaires aux fils de pêcheurs," Montreal-Matin. April 21, 1943. Page 6. ---- Québec. 20. (B.U.P.) En marge du débat sur les exemptions militaires pour les fils de pêcheurs, M. Hormisdas Langlais, député des Iles de La Madeleine, a fait la déclaration suivante : "Un grand nombre de fils de pêcheurs ont été appelés pour le service militaire. Un grand nombre avait reçu, l'an dernier des sursis. J'ai déclaré à la Chambre que j'avais reçu des réponses dans six cas particuliers, et que dans chacun de ces cas, les autorités refusaient d'accorder un nouveau sursis. Un grand nombre de demandes je le sais, parce que j'en ai envoyé moi-même, sont actuellement en suspens devant les autorités. Nous désirons tout simplement qu'on laisse ces gens à leur besogne qui est essentielle par le temps qui court."

[allthecanadianpolitics]

[...] “God knows I see this in the national assembly every day, the construction of this other, this other who is North African, who is Muslim, who is Black, who is Indigenous, and whose culture, by definition, would be dangerous or inferior,” Bouazzi told the audience earlier this month.

He was called to order by the party’s two co-spokespeople, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Ruba Ghazal, who claimed that his statements were “clumsy, exaggerated and polarizing.” But Bouazzi didn’t back down, and during a radio interview on Radio-Canada Friday, he accused ministers Christian Dubé and Lionel Carmant of blaming immigrants for putting strain on health care and social services. [...]

The Coalition Avenir Québec has drafted a motion demanding that Mr. Bouazzi withdraw his remarks and apologize to all members of the legislature “who were targeted by his accusations of racism.” The opposition Liberals and Parti Québécois have also drafted motions calling on the legislature to affirm that its members are not racist. [...]

Party members gathered at a convention on Sunday appeared to be divided on the issue. Eleven Québec solidaire constituency associations publicly supported Bouazzi and called on the party to adopt a resolution denouncing what they described as a smear campaign against him. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @vague-humanoid, @palipunk

Note from the poster @el-shab-hussein: if you didn't quite catch that, a Québec legislature ministre of Arab and North African origin got coerced by every party - including his own - into rescinding his comments about the racism he experiences and sees everyday from the Québec legislative assembly and its legislation. Québec is a gutter of racism and it will continue to fester with no end in sight as the fascism mounts and everyone refuses to acknowledge who the principle targets are.

[newstfionline]

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Quebec’s government wants to end mandatory oath to King Charles III (Washington Post) The government of Quebec introduced legislation on Tuesday that would drop the 155-year-old requirement that members of the provincial legislature swear an oath to the king of Canada. To sit in the Assemblée nationale du Québec—the French-speaking province calls its legislature the National Assembly—lawmakers must swear two oaths. One is to the Quebec people. The other—a pledge that they “will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III”—is required by the Constitution Act of 1867. Canada is one of 15 Commonwealth realms, countries where Charles is head of state. Several have been reassessing their relationship with the monarchy since the death in September of Queen Elizabeth II, a unifying figure more beloved than her first son.

The crisis of student mental health (Washington Post) Nationally, adolescent depression and anxiety—already at crisis levels before the pandemic—have surged amid the isolation, disruption and hardship of covid-19. Even as federal coronavirus relief money has helped schools step up their efforts to aid students, they also have come up short. “The need is real, the need is dire,” said Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, who recalled hearing just that day from the district’s mental health partners that calls about suicidal thoughts had quadrupled. “We’re living through historically unprecedented times,” he said. More than 75 percent of schools surveyed in spring said their teachers and staff have voiced concerns about student depression, anxiety and trauma, according to federal data. Nearly as many schools cited a jump in the number of students seeking mental health services.

Peru’s president ousted by Congress in political crisis (AP) The president of Peru was ousted by Congress and arrested on a charge of rebellion Wednesday after he sought to dissolve the legislative body and take unilateral control of the government, triggering a grave constitutional crisis. Vice President Dina Boluarte replaced Pedro Castillo and became the first female leader in the history of the republic after hours of wrangling between the legislature and the departing president, who had tried to prevent an impeachment vote. Boluarte, a 60-year-old lawyer, called for a political truce and the installation of a national unity government. “What I ask for is a space, a time to rescue the country,” she said.

Germany: 25 arrested on suspicion of planning armed coup (AP/Foreign Policy) Thousands of police carried out a series of raids across much of Germany on Wednesday against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly sought to overthrow the state in an armed coup. Federal prosecutors said some 3,000 officers conducted searches at 130 sites in 11 of Germany’s 16 states against adherents of the so-called Reich Citizens movement. Some members of the grouping reject Germany’s postwar constitution and have called for the overthrow of the government. According to the Financial Times, former Bundeswehr soldiers were targeted as recruits. “The group sought to acquire recruits among Bundeswehr soldiers and police and scouted out army barracks in southern Germany to see if they could accommodate their own troops after the coup,” the FT noted. The leader of the group, Heinrich XIII—a descendant of nobles who ruled part of Germany in the 12th century—had reportedly reached out to Russian officials for support.

Ukraine Strikes More Boldly (NYT) Flame and dense smoke billowed over a Russian airfield on Tuesday after what appeared to be a third drone strike in two days by Ukraine at a military base on Russian soil, signaling a bolder phase of Ukrainian attacks enabled by longer-range weapons and unconstrained by fear of reprisal. After nine months of Russian bombardment of their towns and cities, Ukrainians cheered the taste of payback and the demonstration that their side could now reach deep into Russia, theoretically capable of hitting Moscow if it chose. The assaults also showed millions of Russians for the first time that they, too, might be vulnerable. Ukraine’s new long-range striking ability came into focus on Monday with attacks on air bases some 300 miles from the nearest Ukrainian territory, demonstrating the ability to evade Russian air defenses and hit with precision. Both the Russian government and a senior Ukrainian official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to convey sensitive information, said they were carried out by Ukraine using drones.

U.S. troops to expand patrols in Syria despite tension with Turkey (Washington Post) The Pentagon is preparing to resume full ground operations alongside Kurdish partners in northern Syria, officials said Tuesday, a move that risks further inflaming relations with NATO ally Turkey, which blames the Kurds for a deadly bombing in Istanbul last month and has threatened a ground assault in retaliation. U.S. commanders restricted such movements after Turkey unleashed air and artillery strikes on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which in tandem with American military personnel have kept a check on the Islamic State’s lingering presence in the region. Three U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue, said it is possible Turkey could follow through on its threat to send ground forces into northern Syria this month, potentially jeopardizing the Americans there and upending what has been a relatively stable situation for the past several years.

China Eases ‘Zero Covid’ Restrictions in Victory for Protesters (NYT) The Chinese government announced on Wednesday a broad easing of its exceptionally stringent Covid restrictions, an implicit concession to public discontent after mass street protests in more than a dozen cities a week ago challenged Beijing’s authority. The changes are not a complete dismantling of China’s “zero Covid” policy, but still represent a considerable loosening of measures that have dragged down the economy by disrupting daily life for hundreds of millions of people. The policy has forced many small businesses to shutter and driven youth unemployment to nearly 20 percent, a record high. The move reduces the frequency of mandated testing, which in many parts of the country had become a near-daily chore just to move around or use public services. People who have mild or asymptomatic Covid may be allowed to isolate at home and no longer be sent to hospitals, as has been the case since the virus emerged. The government appeared to retain the use of lockdowns in buildings with cases, but said such measures should be limited and lifted quickly and that exits must not be blocked.

Strikes Across Iran Lead to Shuttered Shops and Ghost Towns (NYT) Businesses, shops and traditional bazaars in more than 50 cities across Iran were shuttered for a second day on Tuesday in what appeared to be one of the largest general strikes in decades, demonstrating the staying power of protests calling for the end to clerical rule in the country. On Monday and Tuesday, footage shared online captured scenes of ordinary life brought to a standstill. Usually bustling centers of commerce and malls in small towns and big cities resembled ghost towns. Businesses across the spectrum, from medical practices to butcher shops to supermarkets, closed their doors and told their staff not to come to work, according to residents in Tehran, Isfahan and other cities, and videos posted on social media. In the narrow alleyways and arches that shape the storied bazaars of Tehran, the capital, as well as Shiraz and Tabriz, row after row of stores, restaurants and other businesses had locked their doors, videos showed. “We must all make sacrifices,” Ahmad, a 60-year-old taxi driver who took part in the strike, said in a message from Tehran. “Young people have given their blood and lives for this revolution; I am doing the minimum.”

At the World Cup, the Arab world rallies to Palestinian cause (Washington Post) Qatar—In the aftermath of Morocco’s sensational victory over Spain, the triumphant Moroccan squad posed for a picture with a flag. It wasn’t their own green star-on-crimson banner, nor the flag of Algeria, Tunisia or Lebanon, all of which flapped in the stands in a reflection of the Pan-Arab solidarity that has coursed through the first World Cup in the Middle East. Instead, the Moroccans waved the flag of Palestine, an explicit echo of support for a cause that has suffused the whole tournament. At the match on Tuesday evening, Palestinian emblems were everywhere, draped across people’s shoulders, on scarves, on T-shirts. Still key for millions of people in the Arab world, their governments aside, is the political condition of Palestinians, millions of whom live lives circumscribed by Israel’s security interests, shorn of the same rights afforded to the Israelis around them. For years, most Arab governments conditioned normalization with Israel on the advent of a separate Palestinian state. But the process to create that state has effectively collapsed, while Israel’s new far-right government contains numerous politicians who oppose any scenarios in which Palestinian statehood could ever be viable.

Xi Visits Saudi Arabia (Foreign Policy) Chinese President Xi Jinping touches down in Saudi Arabia today (Wednesday) to begin a three-day-long trip aimed at strengthening the two nations’ burgeoning economic relationship. Over the years, the two nations’ economies have become increasingly intertwined, with China emerging as Saudi Arabia’s top trading partner and Riyadh becoming Beijing’s biggest crude oil supplier. Outside of trade, they have also collaborated on technology and drones. Xi’s trip takes place at a time when historically fraught U.S.-Saudi relations have reached a low point, especially after OPEC+ decided to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day in October. Saudi Arabia reportedly led the charge even as the United States pushed for the opposite outcome, and an infuriated Washington vowed to “reevaluate” relations afterward.

How climate change and Ukraine war have put Somalia on the brink of famine (La Stampa/Italy) In Somalia, four rainy seasons have failed to arrive, and a fifth is now failing as well. This means that land has been desiccated for almost three years, starving animals and people. But drought alone is not enough to cause these numbers. Somalia is once again a victim of the combined effects of climate change, a global food crisis, and the war that has been raging through the country for 30 years—with the jihadist group Al Shabaab controlling vast rural areas, besieging villages and towns. It’s a perfect storm that is bringing Somalia to the brink of a new famine. Repeated United Nations warnings have achieved little. Last December, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had not yet begun, the Horn of Africa was already dealing with the consequences of a fourth waterless rainy season. The United Nations had issued repeated warnings that hunger levels had been catastrophic “for more than a year,” urging countries to act before not after a declaration of famine. But the alerts have been largely ignored, and less than half of the requested, and pledged, money has been sent. Somalia has experienced two famines before: in 1992 and 2011, resulting in at least half a million deaths. “The numbers and the degree of malnutrition we are seeing in children today is exactly the same as in 2011,” says Mohamed Osman Wehliye, the doctor in charge of Baidoa’s Stabilization Center, which is run by Save the Children. He is in his early 30s and was born and raised here. He remembers the deaths of 1992 and 2011 because he was there. “I didn’t think it would happen again,” he says.

[samantha-is-blogging]

Trudeau and the Façade of Progress

In 2015, the Liberal Party of Canada swept away the former Conservative government led by Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau emerged as a titan of Canadian politics. Elected on the “most progressive platform” of the campaign, Trudeau had to rebuild Canada from the regressive Conservative government that preceded his. Trudeau’s unmistakable optimism and charm, much like his father’s, granted him a lot of success in contrast to the coldness of his predecessor and saved his party from the brink of collapse. Before and after the collapse of his majority in 2019, his party, despite having support on progressive causes from the New Democrats, has failed in key areas to deliver on his progressive agenda.

Essay continues below the read more.

Electoral reform, a major policy issue going back a century, was a major component of the 2015 election. Harper was elected by 39% of Canadians, but granted 100% of the power due to the First-Past-The-Post system. A plurality of Canadians supported electoral reform in 2015, which was meant to be the “last election under” the system. The Liberal government initially proposed a rank ballot option, which would have given them an even larger majority, from 184 seats to 224, before scrapping the idea, arguing that there was too much disagreement. Since then we have had two more elections under this system, both of which the Liberals lost the popular vote but maintained their government. Trudeau’s liberal party exploited discontent with Harper to dishonestly grab power in 2015 and are abusing the same system which he had used to get his majority in 2011.

The Liberal Party of Quebec collapsed in 2018, making way for the conservative Coalition avenir Québec to dominate politics in the province. Since their election, the CAQ has brought the province into controversy after controversy through its introduction of increasingly bigoted bills. In 2019, the National Assembly passed Bill 21, which claims to promote secularism but in reality it bans visible religious minorities from the civil service. Due to the continuing popularity of the CAQ and the necessity for the Liberals to maintain their dominance in Quebec federally to form government, the Liberal party has been apprehensive to even touch on issues around this bill. Trudeau has threatened to challenge the bill during both the 2019 and 2021 election cycles but has thus far refused to act. With the introduction of Bill 2, which will put both sex and gender, functionally requiring information about one’s genitals, on drivers licenses, it has become clear the party will continue its assault on marginalized communities. Despite adding gender to the list of protected categories under Canadian human rights and hate crime legislations, Trudeau will likely fail to act as he has for religious minorities in Quebec.

Bill C-6, a bill presented by Trudeau’s government, sought to criminalize conversion therapy. In 2019, the government claimed that conversion therapy, as a healthcare procedure, was provincial jurisdiction, despite this in October 2020 the Bill was introduced and over the next month passed through its first two readings in the House of Commons. Following a parliamentary report in April the Bill was delayed into June through resistance by the Conservative Party. It easily passed through its third reading in June and was sent to the Senate, which conducted two readings just before their summer recess began. With the bill mere weeks away from passage, Trudeau called an election, dissolving parliament and killing Bill C-6. Immediately, the Prime Minister began using the very Bill he had terminated as an election promise, despite the fact that it had already gone through nearly the entirety of the passage process already.

In 2019, Canada’s Human Rights Tribunal ruled that required the government to pay tens of thousands of dollars to victims of Canada’s underfunded Indigenous welfare system, the Trudeau administration has spent the last two years fighting it tooth and nail. In September, a Federal Court refused the government’s appeal and gave them little more than a month to submit another appeal. On October 29, the last day to appeal, they submitted another appeal. The Canadian government insists the goal is to “get compensation right,” when in reality they are seeking to minimize costs, as the Tribunal awarded the maximum legal compensation possible. 

Climate change ravaged the country in the summer of 2021, while the government gave the fossil fuel industry billions in subsidies in 2020. According to government estimates, these subsidies exceed the cost of implementing a national universal pharmacare program across the country. While the Liberal government has taken steps to achieve the minimum target of the Paris Climate Accords, it must be acknowledged that the Canadian government bought the Trans Mountain Pipeline with billions of public tax dollars and refused to use their constitutional powers to upend the Keystone XL pipeline until it was brought down by the Biden administration in 2021. The two degree target Trudeau seeks to meet is not enough, yet his government continues to drag its feet on ending subsidies, which they claim they will do in 2023.

[scotianostra]

James McGill the fur trader, merchant, politician, and philanthropist was born October 6th 1744 in Glasgow.

McGill was educated at the University of Glasgow, and soon afterwards left for North America to explore the business opportunities there. By 1766 he was in Montreal and by 1775 he made his headquarters there becoming an important figure in the fur trade.

McGill represented the west ward of Montreal in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada (now Quebec) in 1792–96 and 1800–04; in 1793 he was appointed a member of the Executive Council of the province. During the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, he was an honorary colonel of the Montreal Infantry Volunteer Regiment.

McGill died on December 19, 1813, in his will, old friends were remembered, the Montreal poor, the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, the Grey Nuns, the Hôpital-Général de Québec and two Glasgow charities.

His biggest legacy though was money and a summer house to to the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning, with this McGill University in Montreal was founded.The university remains one of the leading seats of learning in North America and includes, through the years 12 nobel laureates.

Plaques are displayed on Stockwell Street, Glasgow commemorating his birthplace and his foundation of the university, and in the undercroft of Bute Hall at Glasgow University, recognising the historic link between Glasgow and McGill universities.

McGill Primary School in Pollok, Glasgow, was named after James McGill. It is now closed.

A wee bit more detail about James McGill here   https://www.mcgill.ca/about/history/meet-james-mcgill

[murdoch-histories]

Hi! I finally managed to do the last three guests from season 13. Armand Lavergne was in Trail of Lawrance Myers, which I rewatched while researching him and Clifford Sifton. I was surprised how much historical information they shoved into that episode and each of the historical figures expressed their political opinions, maybe on the nose type way, but still great information and way to see political landscape in 1907 Toronto. 

 Armand Lavergne was born in 1880 to Joseph Lavergne and Emilie Barthe, though it is thought that he is the illegitimate son of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Joseph and Laurier had a law practice and it was thought that Emilie was having an affair with the future Prime Minister. Aramad studied at Collège Sacré-Coeur at Arthabaska, the Séminaire de Québec, the University of Ottawa, Université Laval and Paris. He had a law practice in Québec City and Montmagny. He wrote for a couple of newspapers including Henri Bourassa’s Le Devoir. in 1904, he was elected to parliament and in 1907, he was kicked out of the Liberal Party by Laurier. He and Henri Bourassa became part of the legislative assembly. During World War I, he was against conscription. He was a huge French language rights advocate outside of Québec. He died in 1935 after a long life of politics. 

[royalcommonwealthfan]

Victoria

This copy is courtesy of the Senate of Canada.

https://sencanada.ca/en/about/brochure/monarchy/SenMonarchy_00-e

Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 to 1901 Portrait by John Partridge, 1842

Victoria succeeded her uncle, William IV, when she was only 18. Her father, the Duke of Kent, had lived in Canada from 1791 to 1801, stationed at the city of Québec garrison as commander of the Royal Fusiliers. The Queen took a personal interest in the affairs of her North American colonies. The Act of Union, which united Upper and Lower Canada in the Province of Canada following the report by Lord Durham on the Rebellions of 1837, received royal assent in 1840. The act, however, did not recognize the use of French in the new united legislative assembly and this led to a long period of debate and tension that undermined the stability of successive governments, in which power was shared by the two language groups. In 1848, the Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, recognized the principle of responsible government. In 1857, Queen Victoria chose Ottawa as Canada's capital. In 1864, first in Charlottetown, and then in the city of Québec, representatives of the Maritime colonies and of the Province of Canada met to lay the foundation for a permanent union of the colonies. They were particularly concerned about the civil war that had broken out in the United States and about the imperative need to share resources in order to develop the country.

The new constitution, the British North America Act, received royal assent from Queen Victoria on March 29, 1867, and came into effect on July 1. The Fathers of Confederation designed the first federal system in which the Crown was equally re­presented in two levels of government, federal and pro­vincial, each independent of the other. This pragmatic and original approach de­monstrated how, under one monarch, both legislative authorities could act as they deemed fit within their jurisdiction. Making up the new federation were Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. From the start, English and French were recognized as official languages in the Parliament of Canada. In 1870, Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory joined Confederation as the Northwest Territories. Manitoba also joined in 1870, followed by British Columbia in 1871 and Prince Edward Island in 1873, the same year Canada's first police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was established. The Arctic Islands in Canada's North, then under British rule, came under Canadian jurisdiction in 1880. In 1885, the Métis Rebellion, led by Louis Riel, broke out in the West, and the federal government had to deal with an armed conflict. The issue of separate schools in Manitoba followed, dividing francophones and anglophones. In 1898, the Yukon Territory was given the same status as the Northwest Territories. When the Boer War broke out in South Africa in 1899, Canada, as part of the British Empire, contributed for the first time a contingent of Canadian soldiers which was integrated into the British Army.

N.B.: This portrait was saved from fire four times: twice when Parliament was in Montréal in 1849, once when Parliament was in the city of Québec in 1854, and again when the Parliament buildings burned down in Ottawa in 1916.

Reine du Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande de 1837 à 1901 Portrait : John Partridge, 1842

Victoria succède à son oncle, Guillaume IV, alors qu'elle n'est âgée que de 18 ans. Le père de la reine Victoria, le duc de Kent, avait séjourné au Canada de 1791 à 1801 à titre de commandant des Royal Fusiliers, en poste à la garnison de Québec pendant cette période. La reine s'intéresse personnellement aux affaires de ses colonies d'Amérique du Nord. L'Acte d'Union, qui unit le Haut-Canada et le Bas-Canada pour en faire la province du Canada, à la suite du rapport d'enquête sur la rébellion de 1837 rédigé par lord Durham, reçoit la sanction royale en 1840. Cette loi ne reconnaît pas l'usage du français au Parlement. S'ouvre alors une longue période de débats et de tensions qui provoquent l'instabilité des gouvernements successifs où cohabitent les deux majorités linguistiques. En 1848, le gouverneur général du Canada, lord Elgin, reconnaît le principe du gouvernement responsable. En 1857, la reine choisit Ottawa comme capitale du Canada. En 1864, à Charlottetown puis à Québec, des représentants des Maritimes et du Canada se réunissent pour jeter les bases d'une union permanente, surtout dans le but de faire face à la guerre civile qui secoue les États-Unis et pour combler un besoin essentiel de partager les ressources pour développer le pays.

La nouvelle constitution, l'Acte de l'Amérique du Nord britannique, reçoit la sanction royale de la reine Victoria le 29 mars 1867 et prend effet le 1er juillet suivant. Ainsi, les Pères de la Confé-dération conçoivent un système fédéral unique à l'intérieur duquel la dualité de la Couronne s'incarne dans deux paliers de gouvernement, fédéral et provincial, tout à fait autonomes l'un de l'autre. Cette approche pragmatique et originale démontre comment, sous le même monarque, deux autorités législatives peuvent s'exprimer selon leur volonté propre. L'Ontario, le Québec, le Nouveau-Brunswick et la Nouvelle-Écosse forment la nouvelle fédération. Le français et l'anglais sont alors reconnus comme langues d'usage au Parlement canadien. En 1870, la Terre de Rupert et le Territoire du Nord-Ouest se joignent à la Confé-dération sous le nom de Territoires du Nord-Ouest. Le Manitoba se joint aussi à la fédération en 1870, la Colombie-Britannique en 1871 et l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard en 1873. La Gendarmerie royale du Canada, premier corps policier national, est fondée la même année. En 1880, les îles de l’Arctique au nord du Canada, jusque-là sous juridiction britannique, passent sous juri­diction canadienne. En 1885, la rébellion des Métis conduite par Louis Riel éclate dans l'Ouest et le gouvernement fédéral est confronté à un conflit armé; puis la question des écoles sépa­rées au Manitoba divise francophones et anglophones. En 1898, le Yukon devient un territoire au même titre que les Territoires du Nord-Ouest. Comme le Canada fait partie de l'Empire britannique, un contingent de soldats canadiens est intégré pour la première fois en 1899 aux forces armées britanniques au moment où éclate la guerre des Boërs en Afrique du Sud.

N.B. : Ce portrait a été sauvé de l'incendie à quatre reprises: deux fois lorsque le Parlement siégeait à Montréal en 1849, une fois lorsque le Parlement siégeait à Québec en 1854 et finalement lors de l'incendie du Parlement à Ottawa en 1916.

[dailynewswebsite]

Slavery charges against Canadian mining company settled on the sly

The Bisha mine in Eritrea is seen in November 2017. (Martin Schibbye/Inventive Commons), CC BY-SA

Mining is main enterprise in Canada, notably operations carried out past its borders. The Canadian mining business, nevertheless, has usually been criticized for its human rights file overseas.

In 2018, Canadian firms had mining belongings in 100 nations overseas, valued at $174.four billion. This made up two-thirds of whole Canadian mining belongings.

Among the many 100 nations was Eritrea, the place the operations of the gold, copper and zinc Bisha mine gave rise to one of the vital intently noticed items of litigation in Canada in recent times, largely as a result of it concerned allegations of slave labour and torture. Its latest settlement in close to whole silence due to this fact raises some essential questions.

Alleged human rights abuses

First, although, it’s essential to grasp what occurred within the case. In 2014, three Eritrean plaintiffs launched a class-action lawsuit within the British Columbia Supreme Court docket towards a Vancouver-based mining firm, Nevsun Assets.

They alleged that they’d suffered human rights abuses on the Bisha mine, together with slavery and torture, in addition to quite a lot of home violations, together with assault, battery and illegal confinement. The mine was held by a consortium comprising Nevsun and the Eritrean authorities.

The claimants stated they have been a part of Eritrea’s involuntary and indefinite army conscripts and deployed to work on the mine for subsistence wages. After they tried to flee, they have been allegedly overwhelmed with sticks, tied up and left to lie within the sizzling sand in temperatures of as much as 50 C.

Below provincial court docket guidelines, a defendant might request early on {that a} matter be faraway from the court docket’s roll, arguing basically that the declare has no affordable likelihood of succeeding. Nevsun made this request.

On the finish of February 2020, the Supreme Court docket of Canada upheld the choices of the British Columbia Supreme Court docket and the B.C. Court docket of Enchantment, refusing the defendant’s request. Justice Rosalie Abella concluded:

“Customary worldwide legislation is a part of Canadian legislation. Nevsun is an organization sure by Canadian legislation. It isn’t ‘plain and apparent’ to me that the Eritrean employees’ claims towards Nevsun based mostly on breaches of customary worldwide legislation can’t succeed.”

This opened the best way for the matter to proceed to trial. It had the potential to set a serious precedent when it comes to the legal responsibility of Canadian mining firms for wrongs dedicated overseas.

Québec case

Makes an attempt to carry Canadian mining firms accountable for the human rights abuses or environmental disasters of their subsidiaries overseas date again to a 1998 Québec case, Recherches Internationales Québec (RIQ) vs. Cambior Inc. On this case, poisonous waste water had spilled into Guyana’s fundamental river, the Essequibo, after the failure of Omai gold mine’s waste therapy dam.

Cambior CEO Louis Gignac, left, and Iamgold Corp. CEO Joseph Conway chat previous to a Cambior particular shareholders assembly to approve the merger of the 2 gold producers in November 2006 in Montréal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

As main shareholder of Omai, Cambior had each financed and supervised the mining challenge. The Québec Superior Court docket dominated {that a} Guyanese court docket ought to hear the matter. However the 23,000 Guyanese victims didn’t succeed within the Excessive Court docket of Guyana, although they tried twice.

The latest settlement of Nevsun vs. Araya didn’t make very a lot information within the Canadian media. The Franco-African press reported {that a} terse information launch had invoked confidentiality, indicating that the events had reached a “mutually passable association.” Which means the litigation got here to an abrupt finish.

One can’t blame the Eritrean plaintiffs for wanting to finish the matter. It’s additionally comprehensible that the corporate wished to keep away from the elevated media consideration that court docket instances deliver. The mining business undoubtedly will breathe a sigh of aid.

Saved quiet

The disturbing facet of this settlement is that it has been saved so quiet. It ends a high-profile case with an elevated potential for setting destructive precedents for Canadian mining firms working overseas. Distinction this with the settlement phrases of one other matter involving allegations of human rights abuses, Garcia vs. Tahoe Assets, Inc.

In that case, the B.C. Court docket of Enchantment had cleared the best way for a trial towards Tahoe Assets, which, by means of its wholly owned subsidiaries, totally managed the operations of the Escobal mine in Guatemala.

Protesters reveal towards Tahoe Assets’ Escobar silver mine outdoors the Constitutional Court docket of Guatemala in Might 2018. The signal reads: ‘We are not looking for the looting of Guatemalan sources.’ (Jackie McVickar/Flickr), CC BY

The mine’s safety guards had fired on protesters, resulting in felony prices towards the mine’s head of safety in Guatemala. The protesters launched a battery declare towards Tahoe in Canada. The B.C. Court docket of Enchantment allowed the matter to proceed in Canada, based mostly on the chance of unfairness for the claimants in Guatemalan courts resulting from systemic corruption.

Tahoe was then acquired by Pan American Silver, which went on to settle the matter publicly. Phrases of settlement included acknowledging wrongdoing and condemning using violence, apologizing to the victims and the neighborhood and reiterating the rights of the victims to protest towards the mine in future. It was a win for the mining business as a result of harms had been redressed in a approach that introduced larger transparency.

Nevsun, too, was acquired by one other firm, Zijin Mining, previous to the settlement. However the similarities finish there.

Make no mistake. I’m not against the Nevsun settlement. Settling issues avoids in depth litigation and excessive authorized prices.

However what’s troublesome is the veil of secrecy through which this settlement is cloaked. Higher transparency, whereas not legally required, would have demonstrated that Nevsun is a accountable mining firm that takes the pursuits of its stakeholders significantly. As an alternative, Nevsun stays silent.

Elizabeth Steyn doesn’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or organisation that will profit from this text, and has disclosed no related affiliations past their tutorial appointment.

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/slavery-charges-against-canadian-mining-company-settled-on-the-sly/ via https://growthnews.in

[xtruss]

As Harry and Meghan Arrive, Canadians Wonder if They Should Dump the Queen

The celebrity couple abandons their royal duties and moves to Vancouver Island. For Canadians, that rekindles an old debate: Why is a British monarch still their head of state?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s move to Canada has reopened a debate about the role of the British monarchy in Canadian affairs, Stéphanie Fillion writes.

By Stéphanie Fillion | March 05, 2020 | Foreign Policy

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are making Canada their home—but support for the monarchy is looking shaky.

When Justin Trudeau first met Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom after he took office as prime minister of Canada, she greeted him by saying, “Nice to see you again … but under different circumstances.” That’s because Trudeau had already met the British monarch as a one-year-old infant, when his father, Pierre Trudeau, also served as prime minister of Canada. For both men, the queen was no mere visiting dignitary, but their official head of state—to whom they had been required, by Canadian law, to swear an oath of loyalty.

“I, Justin P.J. Trudeau, do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors. So help me God,” the prime minister dutifully recited in November 2015 when he first took office, and again when he was reelected last year.

Canada, although it has been fully independent in all other ways since 1982, remains a constitutional monarchy with a British royal as the official head of state. When Elizabeth is not in her Canadian realm, her place in Canada’s political pecking order is taken by Julie Payette, the British governor general in Ottawa. Though the queen’s powers are mostly symbolic, her face is on Canada’s coins, Canadian citizens are officially subjects of the queen, and the loyalty oath to Elizabeth has to be sworn not just by prime ministers, but by every immigrant wanting to become a Canadian citizen.

The majority of Canadians don’t mind this state of affairs, a vestige of their pre-1982 history as a dominion of the British Empire. The royals are still popular, and Trudeau has kept a good relationship with them—not least because they offer great photo-ops.

So when Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, abdicated their royal roles and announced they’d live in Canada, they weren’t moving to an entirely foreign country, but one over which Prince Harry’s grandmother—technically, at least—still rules. Ironically, however, Prince Harry’s abandonment of his royal duties has rekindled an old debate over whether Canada, too, should liberate itself from genuflection before the British throne and finally become a republic.

The first wrinkle in Canadian-British royal relations was over who should pay for the duke and duchess of Sussex’s security detail. In the past, their frequent visits (Meghan lived in Toronto prior to their marriage) came at a substantial cost to the queen’s Canadian subjects. Now that the Sussexes are staying longer—they have rented a sprawling mansion on Vancouver Island—that bill looked set to rise to more than CA$10 million a year, about $7.5 million, which Canadians just didn’t want to pay. In January, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation launched a petition opposing public subsidies for the couple, quickly gathering 80,000 names. On Feb. 27, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which had provided the couple’s security in the past, announced it would stop footing the bill in the coming weeks.

Quebec, the French-speaking province with a long history of separatism, has been a particular hotbed of republicanism. In October 2018, lawmakers for Québec Solidaire, a separatist, left-leaning party in the provincial legislature, refused to give the required oath to the queen in public, arguing that elected representatives genuflecting before a monarch was an undemocratic relic. Since they couldn’t legally take office as legislators if they refused the oath, the lawmakers decided to do it behind closed doors. “Ideally, we wouldn’t have had to swear an oath to the queen,” said Sol Zanetti, a member of the party in the National Assembly of Quebec. “But if we don’t, we cannot exercise our democratic mandate.”Lawmakers refused to give the oath in public, arguing that elected representatives genuflecting before a monarch was an undemocratic relic.

Québec Solidaire has now put forth a bill that would abolish the oath to the queen in the provincial legislature. Three permanent residents in the process of becoming citizens have also challenged the constitutionality of the oath as a requirement for naturalization. But Canada’s Supreme Court upheld the practice. “The oath is secular and is not an oath to the Queen in her personal capacity but to our form of government of which the Queen is a symbol,” the court decision read.

With its French heritage and unique brand of politics, Quebec does not completely reflect how the rest of the country feels. The queen is still relatively popular, and the majority of Canadians oppose abolishing the monarchy. But even at the national level, the anti-monarchists are pressing forward. Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the left-of-center New Democratic Party, which is currently the fourth-largest faction in the federal Parliament, has also called for abolishing the monarchy. “I’m a republican,” Singh said in a television interview in 2018. “It sounds a bit awkward saying that given the other connotation in the [United] States, but I believe that we should be a [republic]. I don’t see the relevance of [the monarchy], and I don’t think that most Canadians do.”

Singh’s push for a republic came after an even bigger controversy over the monarchy’s cost to Canadian taxpayers—in this case, the British governor general’s lavish expenses and pension. Figures from the past few years show taxpayers pay around 62 million Canadian dollars a year, close to $50 million, on the monarchy, mainly for the office of the governor general and the queen’s official representative in each province. Defenders of the monarchy point out that the total bill per capita is only around CA$1.68—the equivalent of about one cup of Canada’s beloved Tim Horton’s coffee a year.

Tom Freda, the national director of Citizens for a Canadian Republic, has campaigned against the monarchy for years, and he hopes the other provinces will soon reach Quebec’s level of discontent. The group wants Canada to replace the queen—and her representative, the governor general—with a president as the ceremonial head of state, similar to other parliamentary systems such as Germany’s. Canada would follow in the footsteps of other former British colonies that have abolished the monarchy and become parliamentary republics, including Mauritius in 1992 and Fiji in 1987. Australians voted in a 1999 referendum to retain the queen as their monarch.

But even if the debate over the monarchy has lately reignited, there seems to be little urgency to fix what most Canadians don’t feel is broken. “I feel like there’s a general consensus among politicians that abolishing [the monarchy] is an inevitability,” Freda said. “However, nobody is making it a priority.”Even if the debate over the monarchy has reignited, there seems to be little urgency to fix what most Canadians don’t feel is broken.

What’s more, even if Canadians agreed that the monarchy should be dropped, it would require a lengthy process of rewriting Canada’s constitution. The political will to tackle these onerous requirements seems to be missing, said Paul Heinbecker, a former diplomat and speechwriter in the premier’s office under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. “Even in Quebec, people do not care enough to invest the political effort to disrupt the status quo,” Heinbecker said. “To drop the monarchy would require the unanimous consent of the House and Senate in Ottawa, and all 10 provincial assemblies. If dropping the monarchy could be done readily, it would likely have been done by now.”

Many politicians also fear that any broad debate over constitutional changes could take Canada down a slippery slope, forcing the government to also discuss power-sharing with Quebec and the indigenous First Nations, two everlasting political struggles in Canada.

For some, it’s now or never. As the 93-year-old queen will pass the throne to her son Prince Charles—or her grandson Prince William—in the foreseeable future, the transition offers an opportunity to make the break, Heinbecker argued. Canadians should therefore make haste and “dispense with the monarchy before we are locked in again for the reign of Charles,” Heinbecker said. Public opinion seems to bear him out: While the queen enjoys an 81 percent approval rating, 53 percent of Canadians say formal ties with the British monarchy should end with her reign, according to an Ipsos poll conducted in January.

In the end, Prince Harry and Meghan’s move to Canada might even have the effect of reconnecting Canadians with the monarchy. Because the Sussexes are perceived as a “relaxed, multicultural young couple,” said Rafe Heydel-Mankoo, a Canadian commentator on royal affairs, they are “able to connect with segments of society not traditionally known for their monarchist sympathies.”

Trudeau has also made it clear that he won’t press the issue. “There might come a time where a prime minister decides it’s a really important thing to crack open the constitution and rewrite it,” he said in 2018, “I don’t think I’m going to be that prime minister.” So if he is reelected the next time Canadians go to the polls, Trudeau will likely swear his oath to a foreign monarch yet again.

Stéphanie Fillion is a New York-based reporter specializing in politics and foreign affairs.

[abpoli]

Image transcription:

[1 Black Canadian Women I Wish I Learned About in History Class]

[2 Rosemary Brown was Canada's first Black female member of a provincial legislature and the first woman to run for leadership of a federal political party. During her 14 years as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the NDP, Brown created a committee to remove sexism in British Columbia's educational material. When she ran for leadership of the federal NDP in 1975, her slogan was: "Brown is Beautiful."

ROSEMARY BROWN

Also shows a black and white photo of a Black woman with large glasses behind a microphone]

[3 On November 8, 1946, Viola Desmond requested a ticket for a seat on the main floor at the Roseland Theatre in Nova Scotia. The cashier refused, saying, "I'm sorry but I'm not permitted to sell downstairs tickets to you people." Realizing that the cashier was referring to her skin colour, Desmond decided to take a seat on the main floor. Desmond was subsequently arrested for sitting in the "Whites Only" section. She fought her conviction of defrauding the government and her struggle became a catalyst for change.

VIOLA DESMOND

Also shows a sepia toned photo of a dark haired woman in a light blue coat]

[4 Livingstone worked to break down prejudice and promote equality of individuals of all origins and contributed to the development of a more tolerant society. She was deeply involved in expanding a collective awareness and pride in the Toronto Black community post-World War II. Livingstone was a founder of the Canadian Negro Women's Association (1951), which established the Calypso Carnival (forerunner of the Caribana Festival) as a fundraiser for other service projects.

KATHLEEN "KAY" LIVINGSTONE

Also shows a photo of a Black woman with her hands clasped near her face]

[5 Marie-Joseph was a Black slave in New France (now Québec). She was tried and convicted of setting fire to her owner's home, burning much of what is now referred to as Old Montreal. Angélique was convicted solely on the basis of her reputation as a rebellious runaway slave. Many contemporary Black authors see her as an, "immortal avatar of liberation" and prefer to see her as an active rebel rather than a victim of a miscarriage of justice.

MARIE-JOSEPH ANGÉLIQUE

Also shows a painting of a Black woman in a tan and white dress in front of burning buildings]

[6 In 1953, Violet King became the first Black person in Alberta to graduate law school and be admitted to the bar. She made history as Canada's first Black female lawyer. Following graduation, she practiced law in Calgary and became a passionate advocate for racial equality, the underprivileged, immigrants and women's workplace rights. Violet also went to Ottawa and worked for Citizenship and Immigration. Later she became the first woman to be appointed to a senior executive position at the YMCA.

VIOLET KING

Also shows a black and white photo of a smiling Black woman in a black graduation gown]

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"L'affaire Plouffe à la Chambre," Le Soleil. May 7, 1943. Page 19. ---- L'affaire Plouffe a occupé pendant quelques minutes le temps de l'Assemblée Législative aujourd'hui quand le procureur général, l'honorable Léon Casgrain, a déclaré que le propriétaire du journal le "Moraliste", M. Alepin, prétend connaitre les noms des agresseurs de M. Plouffe et qu'il refuse de les faire connaitre à la police.

L'honorable Léon Casgrain a déclaré à ce sujet que si M. Alepin veut révéler ces noms à la police provinciale le procureur général va procéder immédiatement contre eux.

Le chef de l'opposition, l'hon. Maurice Duplessis, a exprimé son étonnement de voir qu'un particulier connait des noms que la police n'a pas pu connaitre après enquête. M. Duplessis a demandé que la justice suive son cours.

On discute ensuite, sur la deuxieme lecture, la loi présentée par M. Paul Beaulieu, député de St-Jean-Napierville, pour amender la loi des accidents du travail, afin de clarifier les termes désignant la maladie communément appelée silicose. M. Beaulieu a insisté pour obtenir que la Chambre se rende à sa demande.

L'hon. Edgar Rochette, ministre du Travail et des Mines, a répondu à M. Beaulieu qu'en 1938 le gouvernement de l'Union Nationale a ajouté à la liste des maladies a compenser, la silicose infectieuse. Aujourd'hui, pour protéger l'ouvrier, le gouvernement, par une loi, a généralisé et toutes les victimes des poussières industrielles recevront des indemnités. C'est la loi la plus généreuse qui existe et la loi du député de St-Jean est inutile et ne se rattache pas à la loi des accidents du Travail. On vote alors sur le deuxième lecture du bill Beaulieu et ce dernier est battu par 25 à 11.

On adopte ensuite, en deuxième lecture, le bill de M. C. Delagrave modifiant la loi du notariat.

A la fin de la séance, la Chambre a étudié les crédits de l'hon. Henri Groulx, ministre de la Santé.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government is moving forward with an electric tramway project in the province’s capital even though not all of the funding has been secured to build it.

Transport Minister François Bonnardel tabled Bill 26 on Thursday at the National Assembly, which would give Quebec City power to construct the $3.3-billion transit network. The proposed legislation also promises that 25 per cent of the infrastructure will be constructed with Canadian material.

The green light comes while there is an ongoing argument over funding for the project. The province originally promised $1.8 billion, the federal government earmarked $1.2 billion and Quebec City would have to cover the rest — but the CAQ government insists there isn’t enough money from Ottawa to fulfil its pledge.

Continue Reading.

[scotianostra]

James McGill the fur trader, merchant, politician, and philanthropist was born October 6th 1744 in Glasgow.

McGill was educated at the University of Glasgow, and soon afterwards left for North America to explore the business opportunities there. By 1766 he was in Montreal and by 1775 he made his headquarters there becoming an important figure in the fur trade.

McGill represented the west ward of Montreal in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada (now Quebec) in 1792–96 and 1800–04; in 1793 he was appointed a member of the Executive Council of the province. During the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, he was an honorary colonel of the Montreal Infantry Volunteer Regiment.

McGill died on December 19, 1813, in his will, old friends were remembered, the Montreal poor, two hospitals,  Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal and the Hôpital-Général de Québec , Canadian Charity The Grey Nuns and two Glasgow charities.

His biggest legacy though was money and a summer house to tthe Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning, with this McGill University in Montreal was founded.

The university remains one of the leading seats of learning in North America and includes, through the years 12 nobel laureates.

Plaques are displayed on Stockwell Street, Glasgow commemorating his birthplace and his foundation of the university, and in the undercroft of Bute Hall at Glasgow University, recognising the historic link between Glasgow and McGill universities.

McGill Primary School in Pollok, Glasgow, was named after James McGill. It is now closed. A we bit more detail about James McGill here https://montrealgazette.com/sponsored/mtl-375th/from-the-archives-james-mcgill-fondly-if-inaccurately-is-remembered

[ericfruits]

Quebec wants to ban public servants from wearing religious clothing

A LARGE CRUCIFIX has long hung above the speaker’s chair in Quebec’s legislature. The first one was installed in 1936 to acknowledge the bond between the Catholic church and the government of Canada’s French-speaking province. It survived the “quiet revolution” of the 1960s against the church’s grip on public and private life. The church ceased to run the province’s schools, hospitals and social programmes. But politicians of all parties were loth to take down the crucifix, which was replaced with another in 1982. One premier reportedly said that he was no Joseph of Arimathea, the man who buried Jesus.

It may now finally come down. Last month the national assembly, as Quebec’s legislature is called, voted unanimously to move the mahogany, bronze and steel object to a less prominent place in the building. But that will happen only if another measure passes which is more contentious. The right-leaning provincial government of François Legault wants to ban newly hired public servants, including teachers, police officers, lawyers and judges, from wearing religious symbols at work. This would make Quebec the first jurisdiction in North America to impose such a ban.

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Mr Legault claims to be enshrining in law the concept of laïcité, an uncompromising version of secularism with roots in the French revolution. This seeks to prevent the state from interfering in citizens’ religious lives, and to free the state itself from religious influence. It obliges citizens to put their faith to one side in their dealings with it. Mr Legault’s critics accuse him of using secularism to hide a nastier agenda of putting religious minorities, especially Muslims, in their place. The relocation of the crucifix is just a decoy, they say.

The proposal, called Bill 21, pits Montreal, Quebec’s biggest and most diverse city, against the rest of the province. Thousands of people have protested against it. The bill also sharpens differences between Quebec and the rest of Canada. The mayor of Calgary, Naheed Nenshi, who is Muslim, called the religious-attire ban “idiocy”. Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, said it would legitimise religious discrimination. But Mr Legault’s party, Coalition Avenir Québec, has the votes to pass it.

Quebec’s worries about both religion in public life and about cultural diversity have deep roots. The quiet revolution was an expression of mounting anti-clericalism. Francophones surrounded by English-speakers, Quebeckers have had to struggle to preserve their language and culture. English-speaking Canada celebrates “multiculturalism”, encouraging minority groups to maintain their distinctive identities. Quebeckers prefer “interculturalism”, which puts more emphasis on appreciation of the host culture.

Quebec separatism faded as a political force in the 2000s at the same time that immigration from non-European countries increased. In 2011 Muslims were 3% of Quebec’s 7.7m people, double the share of ten years before. Such changes have brought about a “major shift”, says Daniel Béland, director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada in Montreal. Legislators “stopped focusing on sovereignty and started focusing instead on issues of religious accommodation and immigration”.

In 2006 a YMCA frosted a window to please synagogue-goers who did not want to see people working out in tight clothing. This and similar controversies prompted Jean Charest, the province’s Liberal premier, to ask two scholars to study how Quebec could achieve a “reasonable accommodation of minorities”. They said that worry about the erosion of Quebec’s cultural identity was unfounded. But they nonetheless suggested that state employees who “exercise a power of coercion”, such as police, be barred from wearing religious symbols. They also called for the removal of the crucifix from the legislative chamber.

Governments since 2010 have made three attempts to write laïcité into the law. Two failed because the governments sponsoring them lost elections. In 2017 then-premier Philippe Couillard, also a Liberal, introduced a measure barring people from covering their faces when proffering or receiving public services. It looked like a ban on Muslim face veils. The legislature passed the measure, but judges in Quebec courts suspended it. One said it could cause Muslim women “irreparable harm”.

Last October Quebeckers who fear their culture is under siege helped elect Coalition Avenir Québec, which was founded in 2011 and had never before exercised power. Mr Legault, a former airline executive, campaigned to curb immigration, even though the province has a labour shortage, and to deny work permits to newcomers who fail tests of “Quebec values” and proficiency in French. The religious-symbols bill would change Quebec’s human-rights charter to acknowledge that the province considers “state laïcité to be of fundamental importance”. Mr Legault initially defended the crucifix as a historical symbol rather than a religious one. Accused of hypocrisy, he changed his mind.

Like Mr Couillard’s ban, Bill 21 would bar public servants from covering their faces on the job. Current employees will be able to continue wearing religious garb, but only if they stay in the same job. Mr Legault told trainee teachers that those who want to wear religious clothing should choose a different career.

The government has had a hard time explaining how the ban would work. The public-security minister said police officers could enforce it, then backtracked. Bill 21 applies only to “something that is not naturally on you”, said the immigration minister, Simon Jolin-Barrette. So Rastafarian dreadlocks and tattoos would be permitted. What about discreet items of religious jewellery? There won’t be a “strip search”, Mr Jolin-Barrette promised.

Ayesha Khan, a Quebec-born high-school science teacher who as an adult decided to wear a hijab, says the bill makes her feel like “a second-class citizen”. The bill probably affects more women than men because they are more likely to wear religious clothing. Some yarmulke-wearing Jews and turbaned Sikhs are also worried. David Ouellette, head of research at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Montreal, says the bill restricts religious freedom. “State secularism is an institutional duty, not a personal one,” he says.

Hate crimes against Muslims in Quebec appear to be increasing. In 2017 the number of incidents reported to police (of everything from incitement of hatred to murder) nearly trebled, to 117. That year a white nationalist killed six worshippers at a mosque in Quebec City, the provincial capital. Charles Taylor, an author of Mr Charest’s report, accused Mr Legault’s government of spreading the idea “that there’s something problematic” about Muslims.

The premier is braced for a legal challenge. His bill invokes the “notwithstanding clause” of the Canadian constitution, which allows provincial governments to override some constitutional guarantees, including of freedom of religion.

The government would be “naive” to think that the ban will be easy to enact, says Mr Béland. Lawyers are looking at whether it violates the constitutional right to equal treatment regardless of sex, which is not subject to the notwithstanding clause.

Such challenges could eventually doom the religious-symbols ban. Then Quebeckers will find out whether the government is serious about secularism. If the crucifix remains in its position above the speaker’s chair, the answer will be “no”.

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "Liberté against laïcité"

https://econ.st/2XdEEkO

[bestmarijuanaboutiques]

Canada: Quebec Raises Legal Cannabis Purchasing Age to 21

New Post has been published on https://bestmarijuanaboutiques.com/?post_type=wprss_feed_item&p=23783

Canada: Quebec Raises Legal Cannabis Purchasing Age to 21

The Quebec government’s contentious cannabis legislation that will impose some of the strictest rules in Canada has been adopted by the province’s National Assembly.

On Tuesday, Legault’s government used its majority to pass Bill 2 which will raise the legal age to consume and purchase recreational marijuana from 18 to 21.

The change will come into effect as of January 1, 2020.

The proposed legislation was tabled last December shortly after the Coalition Avenir Québec won the provincial election and formed government.

The federal law legalizing cannabis consumption sets the minimum age at 18 but gives provinces the power to increase it. In all other provinces and territories, the legal age is 18 or 19.

Lionel Carmant, the junior health minister, has said in the past that he was worried about marijuana’s effects on the still-developing brains of young adults.

Carmant told reporters on Tuesday that he was happy to see the government take a cautious approach.

More at  https://globalnews.ca/news/6098428/quebec-cannabis-age-21/

[mebwalker]

Le Jeune Élève d’Ozias Leduc, 1894 (Musée des beaux-arts du Canada)

Chasse aux canards par un matin brumeux (Hunting for Ducks on a Foggy Morning), Ozias Leduc (Galerie Michel Bigué)

I added a paragraph my last post, after it was published. By and large, posts are not read twice. I am therefore publishing what you haven’t read.

One paragraph in Wiki2.org’s entry entitled Official Language Act (Quebec) seems reassuring. Quebec’s Language Laws, Bills 22 and 101, do not take rights away from English-speaking Canadians. Their children may attend an English language school. But the children of immigrants, are required to attend a French-language school. All signs, such as traffic signs, must be predominantly if not entirely in French. I remember mentioning in a post that a Quebec restaurant or café owner was required to remove WC from the door to a public toilet room. WC (water closet) may be used in France, but not in Quebec. Stop signs are called arrêts in Quebec. In short, Quebec insists on looking French. Traffic monitors and advertising displays are in French.

Concerning ‘unilingualism’ in Quebec, it is useful to read the entries entitled Official Language Act (Quebec) (Bill 22) and Charter of the French Language wiki2.org.

I did not quote the introductory paragraph but quoted the next paragaph.

That English was an official language in Quebec as well, was declared on July 19, 1974, by McGill University law faculty’s most expert counsellors, disputing Bill 22. The testifiers were Dean Frank R. Scott, John Peters Humphrey, chief planner of the United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights, Irwin Cotler and four additional legal teachers:

Section 1, which provides that French is ‘the official language of the province of Quebec,’ is misleading in that it suggests that English is not also an official language in Quebec, which it is by virtue of Section 133 of the BNA Act and the federal Official Languages Act. … No legislation in the National Assembly proclaiming French the sole official language in the province can affect these bilingual areas protected by the BNA Act.

(See Official Language Act [Quebec], Wiki2.org.)

Although this paragraph is reassuring, to my knowledge, when Premier Bourassa said that the province of Quebec would be unilingual (French), he meant ‘officially’ unilingual. Given that Canada’s official languages are French and English, why would Premier Bourassa have said that Quebec would, henceforth, be a unilingual province, officially?

In other words, the rights of English-speaking Canadians are respected under the Official Languages Act of 1969, as per the paragraph quoted. One difficulty arises for Quebecers. After the age of 11, children are unlikely to acquire native fluency in a second language, there are exceptions. Some individuals speak eighteen languages by the age of 18. They may make mistakes and they may have an accent. However, a large number of French-speaking Quebecers find ways of teaching English to their children. It is a North-American reality.

I have two students who mastered French. My star student is Gillian Pink, from Antigonish and Oxford University.

Candlelight Study, Ozias Leduc, 1893 (Google)

Language Bills, Referendums and Sovereignty

Let us return to Bill 22 and Bill 101. I have noted that there was an exodus from Quebec when Bill 22 was passed. In my opinion, Bill 22 was seen as a step in the direction of sovereignty. So have Bill 101 and the two referendums (1980 and 1995).

Quebec’s new Premier, François Legault, has stated that there would not be another referendum, but he and members of Coalition Avenir Quebec will be seeking greater autonomy for Quebec. Quebec Premier René Lévesque did not sign the Constitution Act of 1982, and that none of his successors have done so. The fact remains that I’ve been in the midst of an identity crisis for sixteen years.

My Quebec Health Insurance Card does not cover the cost of appointments with a doctor in provinces other than Canada. Yet, I am a French-speaking Canadian living in Québec, whose mother tongue is French, and who loves French literature.

I believe that all Canadians are protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but the Constitution Act of 1982 enshrines the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is entrenched in the Constitution Act of 1982, which Quebec has not signed. Usually, Ottawa, the federal government, rescues Quebecers. It may have found a niche for the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, or the Charter may exist separately.

However, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires all provinces to provide primary and secondary education to their official-language minorities at public expense.

(See French Language in Canada, Wiki2.org.)

Conclusion

Would that Quebecers had not elected a party favouring greater autonomy for Quebec. Quebecers have to protect their language, but greater autonomy for Quebec suggests distancing Quebec from other Canadian provinces.

May all Canadians live in peace and harmony. Culturally, I am French. But home is also Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where I owned a lovely blue house, across the street from the campus of St Francis Xavier University and St Ninian’s Cathedral.

Ozias Leduc

Ozias Leduc (8 October 1864 – 16 June 1955) is my featured artist. His subject matter is often religious. But his art is nevertheless diverse and still lifes seem a favourite subject. The notorious Paul-Émile Borduas was one of his students. I am embedding a video. It is a French-language video with a lyrical ambiance. A couple is getting on a raft that will take them to Ozias Leduc’s house. It may be the smaller house.

Ozias Leduc’s house (Google)

Ozias Leduc’s house (Google)

  St Ninians’ Cathedral, Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Closer to me, is St Ninian’s Cathedral, in Antigonish. Paintings in our Cathedral were the work of Ozias Leduc. I was in Antigonish when they were restored.

https://vimeo.com/270158117

Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Leduc’s Boy with Bread, 1892-99, National Gallery of Canada. (Wiki2.org.)

© Micheline Walker 10 October 2018 WordPress

Quebec’s Elections and Notes on Ozias Leduc I added a paragraph my last post, after it was published. By and large, posts are not read twice.