Trudeau bang on

By 
  • September 5, 2013

Being a Western Canadian who has lived for many years in Quebec, it is more natural for me to want to bury a Trudeau than to praise one.

But federal Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s immediate, unequivocal and morally astute response to the looming assault on religious freedom in Quebec can’t be deep-sixed just for the sake of regional chauvinism. He deserves commendation for what he said, and even more for being the only major Canadian party leader to say it.

When the trial balloon was floated in late August making public a particularly draconian draft of the so-called Quebec Charter of Values, Trudeau unhesitatingly condemned it as an affront to the foundations of a free and democratic society. More, he asked the question that demanded asking: what and where is the problem that the Charter of Values seeks to resolve?

The proposed Charter, his question made clear, is an affront with nothing behind it. It is simply the state intruding with means that are superficially absurd — regulating the wearing of hats — for a pointless end that is gross violation of personal dignity, conscience and freedom. Under the Charter of Values, at least in the version leaked to the populist Journal de Montreal, employees offering any government service would be prohibited from wearing clothing that has religious meaning for them, notably the hijab for Muslim women, turbans for Sikh men and the kippa for Jews. Christian crosses may still be worn provided they are not “ostentatious.”

Digital Columnists

The article you have requested is only available to subscribers of the Catholic Register.


There are two ways to read this article.

1. Subscribe to our digital edition and read the complete newspaper, plus additional features, on your PC, laptop or tablet.  Subscription rates start at just $3.99.

2. Subscribe to our weekly newspaper and have the print edition delivered right to you door each week.