Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - August 2007
Last week the Quebec public got its first formal chance to express its views to the Taylor-Bouchard Commission on "reasonable accommodation." The commission was set up by the provincial government in response to recent controversies over immigrants who have held onto their native customs, even when those customs defy Quebec policy, traditions and, in some cases, law.
After a teenage girl and her team were forcibly disqualified from a soccer tournament because the girl refused to take off her hijab, heavy debate began in Quebec as to what extent immigrants should be expected to adapt to the rules and regulations of their new home. Religious symbols and cuisine preferences are just a few examples of points of contention in various communities.
In hopes of addressing the issue and working towards a compromise, the Quebec government established the Taylor-Bouchard Commission, appointing two scholars, Charles Taylor and Gerard Bouchard, as its co-chairmen.
The two decided that a key strategy would be taking this issue directly to the public, staging meetings in various communities throughout the province where individuals would be given the chance to express their opinions. They kicked things off in their own backyard- the world of academia, with a meeting held at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal.
The mostly student audience used colour-coded cards to indicate how they felt regarding very specific questions posed to them by Taylor and Bouchard. The answers, for the most part, were as varied as the audience itself but Taylor and Bouchard were pleasantly surprised by the rational and open environment in which the debate unraveled. "...I can't tell you how happy I am, how amazed I am at how respectful and intelligent it's been, " said Taylor. "[and] so free of the caricature of the other side of the debate."
Indeed, it has been very difficult for this emotional issue to be publicly addressed in an open forum with patience and respect thus far. The students may have been willing to listen to one another's views last week but the two scholars still have many stops ahead of them on their three-moth province-wide tour, and, most likely, they will find themselves in the midst of a caricature debate at one point or another.
Source: The Gazette
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=2bf2e070-1d94-4778-8853-95cd2bce6cfe
