21 September 2019

Bill 21 hearings: 'We were very naive' about impact of report, Charles Taylor says

Simon Jolin-Barrette told the National Assembly hearing that Quebec is a nation and no one can "try and take away its fundamental right to decide its future."

https://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/expect-sparks-to-fly-as-bill-21-hearings-are-launched-tuesday?fbclid=IwAR1-lOB9fm65hOu7bCTMfn8axl24GaxDkM6G4PEv_bmyeew3BSQ1QriYHJE


QUEBEC — Charles Taylor says had he known in 2008 what he knows today about the potential for hatemongers to cash in on the slightest attempt to restrict religious freedoms, he would never have proposed them.

In a frank exchange between the respected philosopher and Immigration, Diversity and Inclusiveness Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette Tuesday evening, Taylor conceded he and his colleague Gérard Bouchard were wrong to propose restrictions on symbols for a small group of authority figures.

Instead of acting as a bulwark to appease people clamouring for more restrictions, the ban for some authority figures was used as a trampoline for people to ask for more, and he regrets that deeply, Taylor told a committee studying Bill 21 Tuesday.

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