The most poignant comment I have read on the topic of having primitive religious practices forced on our Canadian culture was written by Ezra Levant recently in the Toronto Sun. Mr. Levant pointed out that there have been 154 Canadian soldiers die and hundreds injured in Afghanistan. This Canadian sacrifice has been made not just to bring democratic freedom to Afghanistan but to ensure that girls, have a right to go to school, to listen to music and as human beings be treated as equals in a civilized world.
At the same time in Winnipeg a few Muslim immigrant families are demanding changes to the public school curriculum to accommodate their fundamentalist view of Islam. They don’t want their boys and girls to be in the same classes. They don’t want their children to hear music or singing in music classes. They are demanding these accommodations now. How long before they demand that there are no female teachers teaching their children?
Last fall the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that Muslim women can ask for a courtroom to be cleared of all men (even the judge) before taking off their veils to testify. This accommodation of primitive religious practices is not the result of democratic legislation passed by the Canadian government and representing the democratic will of the Canadian people. The accommodation is being forced on Canadian culture by an over zealous judiciary that has no right in a democratic society to create law.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been used as an excuse by the judiciary in forcing the accommodation of primitive religious practices, however, the Charter only guarantees freedom of religion. The first right in the Charter states “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” To me this would suggest that it would be reasonable not to allow the carrying of knives in our society. There is no justification for accommodating primitive religious practices that detract from the rights and freedoms already enshrined in our culture. In fact #27 says exactly that, “This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians. Doesn’t that say that we will preserve the culture we have and enhance not detract from it. In conclusion #28 of the Charter states, “Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, the rights and freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons.”
Immigrants from many nations with diverse cultures have contributed to building the democratic, enlightened society we enjoy in Canada. There is no need for an advanced, civilized culture such as exists in Canada to be degraded in order to accommodate immigration.
At the same time in Winnipeg a few Muslim immigrant families are demanding changes to the public school curriculum to accommodate their fundamentalist view of Islam. They don’t want their boys and girls to be in the same classes. They don’t want their children to hear music or singing in music classes. They are demanding these accommodations now. How long before they demand that there are no female teachers teaching their children?
Last fall the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that Muslim women can ask for a courtroom to be cleared of all men (even the judge) before taking off their veils to testify. This accommodation of primitive religious practices is not the result of democratic legislation passed by the Canadian government and representing the democratic will of the Canadian people. The accommodation is being forced on Canadian culture by an over zealous judiciary that has no right in a democratic society to create law.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been used as an excuse by the judiciary in forcing the accommodation of primitive religious practices, however, the Charter only guarantees freedom of religion. The first right in the Charter states “The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” To me this would suggest that it would be reasonable not to allow the carrying of knives in our society. There is no justification for accommodating primitive religious practices that detract from the rights and freedoms already enshrined in our culture. In fact #27 says exactly that, “This Charter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians. Doesn’t that say that we will preserve the culture we have and enhance not detract from it. In conclusion #28 of the Charter states, “Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, the rights and freedoms referred to in it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons.”
Immigrants from many nations with diverse cultures have contributed to building the democratic, enlightened society we enjoy in Canada. There is no need for an advanced, civilized culture such as exists in Canada to be degraded in order to accommodate immigration.
No comments:
Post a Comment