Every year, it’s the same thing.
There is always a group that attacks the Christmas party.
You should not say “Christmas tree” because it discriminates against other religions.
The focus should not be on Santa Claus, as it is sexist and patriarchal.
You should not play the song Baby, It’s Cold Outside, because it is an apology for rape.
We should not install crèches in town halls, because this does not respect secularism.
Etc., etc.
Just if Maison Jean-Lapointe does not file a complaint against the little red-nosed reindeer…
- Listen to the Martineau – Dutrizac meeting broadcast live every day at 11:35 a.m. via QUB radio :
SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION!
This year, it’s the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) that’s getting on the nerves.
In a recent document on “religious intolerance,” the CHRC states the following:
“Discrimination against religious minorities in Canada is rooted in the history of colonialism in Canada. This history manifests itself in systemic religious discrimination.
“An obvious example is statutory holidays in Canada. Holidays linked to Christianity, including Christmas and Easter, are the only Canadian holidays linked to religious holidays. Therefore, non-Christians may need to request special accommodations to celebrate their religious holidays and other times of the year when their religion requires them to refrain from work.”
You read correctly: making Christmas a public holiday is a sign of SYSTEMIC RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE RELATED TO CANADA’S COLONIALIST PAST!
On the McGill University website, you can find a list of all religious holidays officially recognized by the institution. That is to say, the holidays which allow this or that group of believers to “fulfill their obligations towards the university” (no need to participate in an exam, no need to submit work, no need to show up in class or give a lesson, etc.).
Archive photo
I counted them.
There are 85 of them.
Yes, ma’am: 85 religious holidays.
It goes from Ganesh Chaturthi for Hindus to the Guru Granth for Sikhs, including Samhain for Wiccans, the Ascension of Abdu’l-Baha for followers of the Baha’i faith and Ganta-Sai for Shintoists.
Without forgetting, of course, Nowruz for followers of Zoroastrianism.
What would the Canadian Human Rights Commission want?
That all these holidays be declared “public holidays”?
Or that Christmas and Easter days are no longer public holidays?
WHAT ABOUT OUR PAST?
I understand that for Justin Trudeau, Canada is a motel erected illegally on unceded indigenous territory.
A motel with no doors or windows, so everyone can enter as they please.
But for most Canadians, Canada has a history, a past, traditions.
LIKE EVERY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!
With all due respect to followers of the Baha’i Faith, the sacred writings of Baha’u’llah are not yet an integral part of Canadian heritage.
One day, maybe, but we’re not there yet.
May we, holy baswell, celebrate Christmas without being called racist colonialists?