Quebec’s government wants a ‘neutral’ state – but it gets to define neutrality

 In one way, it sounds great. Who doesn’t want a neutral state? But in reality, “neutrality” is defined by the Quebec government in deeply racist and xenophobic ways. For instance, while the bill demands the “neutrality” of Quebec’s public servants by making those who wear hijabs, turbans and kippahs – a largely racialized population – choose between their faith and their careers, it still allows for workplaces such as hospitals and government buildings to display crosses.

Opinion: Quebec’s government wants a ‘neutral’ state – but it gets to define neutrality - The Globe and Mail

New study shows how bilingualism can make the brain be more efficient

 

“When the brain is wiring itself through infancy or early child development, it develops a system for language. So if you have two inputs from different languages, it might build an architecture that is more optimal for learning these languages,” said Xiaoqian Chai, Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery at McGill University.

https://montreal.citynews.ca/2024/10/17/new-study-shows-how-bilingualism-can-make-the-brain-be-more-efficient/

Québec solidaire présente sa charte de la laïcité | La charte des valeurs, entre division et inclusion | Radio-Canada.ca

Québec solidaire présente sa charte de la laïcité | La charte des valeurs, entre division et inclusion | Radio-Canada.ca

« Il faudra donc déplacer le crucifix, qui est actuellement au-dessus de la tête du président, à un autre endroit dans l'Assemblée. Nous proposons d'ailleurs de le remplacer par un symbole qui unit notre nation : la fleur de lys. » 

« Soyons clairs, pour Québec solidaire, le voile n'est pas un symbole anodin. Il est à l'image de tous les symboles et de toutes les règles qui dans la plupart des religions infériorisent les femmes. Cela dit, on doit aussi considérer un autre droit collectif, qui est le droit au travail », dit Mme David, ajoutant se soucier particulièrement de ce droit pour les femmes des minorités, qui peinent déjà à accéder au marché de l'emploi.

Françoise David dit que son parti a mis de « l'eau dans son vin » avant de présenter son alternative à la Charte des valeurs du gouvernement. Elle explique avoir mis de côté des principes adoptés en congrès par le parti, comme l'abolition du financement des écoles religieuses, ou encore l'abolition des exemptions fiscales accordées par l'État aux églises ...

Racial profiling a 'systemic problem' in Montreal police, judge rules in class action

 https://globalnews.ca/news/10731122/racial-profiling-by-montreal-police-is-a-systemic-problem-judge/

Québec Solidaire proposes 'unifying' secular charter

It's time to move forward, says MNA Françoise David

Québec Solidaire proposes 'unifying' secular charter | CBC News

Québec Solidaire has introduced a bill it says will help Quebec move forward with the ongoing debate surrounding secularism in the province. 

Party spokeswoman Françoise David introduced bill 398 — a Charter of Secularism for the Quebec government, on Wednesday at the national assembly ...

EMSB scores highest graduation rate in Quebec

 

That puts the EMSB above the provincial rate of 84.2 per cent, and above private schools at 93.5 per cent.

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/english-montreal-school-board-scores-highest-graduation-rate-in-quebec-1.6932279

 

Laïcité Quelques éléments pour relativiser la « grande victoire pour la nation »

 https://www.lapresse.ca/dialogue/opinions/2024-03-06/laicite/quelques-elements-pour-relativiser-la-grande-victoire-pour-la-nation.php

La communauté italienne et la langue française

 

Ces familles, cherchant à inscrire leurs enfants dans des écoles catholiques francophones, se sont heurtées à un refus catégorique et ont été dirigées vers des écoles catholiques anglophones.

https://www.lapresse.ca/dialogue/opinions/2024-04-17/la-communaute-italienne-et-la-langue-francaise.php

Léger: Cracking the Quebec Code: An insider’s guide to understanding Quebec's 7 core values

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/jean-marc-legers-new-book-an-insiders-guide-to-understanding-quebec/article32040139/

Jean-Marc Léger has written a book that only a Quebecker could write.  The famed pollster says so himself – and the bold title he’s chosen gives away the reason.

Cracking the Quebec Code: The 7 keys to understanding Quebecers, makes the kind of tantalizing promises for itself that a reader might expect from a marketing guru like Mr. Léger. “For the first time,” a foreword boasts, “English Canadians will have access to Quebeckers’ best-kept secrets.” Here, finally, is a “skeleton key” to the “question of Québécitude.”

Co-written with journalist Pierre Duhamel and business scholar Jacques Nantel, the book uses survey data, interviews with provincial leaders, and a novel approach measuring reactions to hundreds of key words, to come up with seven traits that define the Quebec character:

• joie de vivre [ant: sobriety]  

• easygoing [ant: alert]  

• non-committal [ant: principled]   

• victim [ant: survivor]

• villagers [ant: cosmopolitan]  

• creative [ant: realistic]  

• proud [ant: humble].

Bill 21 and the Notwithstanding Clause: What Consensus?

 

The Supreme Court will soon be considering the ban on religious symbols for government employees. While many Quebecers agree with the Legault government on Bill 21 and the use of the notwithstanding clause, the population remains largely divided and far from a consensus.

https://tinyurl.com/ye96yn5v