As much as putting up a tree, it is now a well-established tradition among us to scare each other collectively around this time of year: “We can no longer say Merry Christmas!” »
“We will not apologize for celebrating Christmas,” solemnly declared the Minister of Justice of Quebec, Simon Jolin-Barrette. The National Assembly had just bravely passed a unanimous motion to denounce “any attempt at polarization towards unifying events which have been part of Quebec’s heritage for several generations. She invites all Quebecers to unite during this approaching Christmas period.”
MPs from all parties then applauded each other.
Hey, I vote for Quebec heritage, too! Without bragging, I plan to make a real Lac-Saint-Jean tourtière, even with a little moose meat that I was promised. Yes Madam. You are right, my family comes from Abitibi, so it is regional cultural appropriation, I make no secret of it.
But let’s get back to our elected officials.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, THE CANADIAN PRESS
The motion was tabled by the Minister responsible for the Fight against Racism, Christopher Skeete, jointly with the liberal opposition, the Parti Québécois as well as the two independent deputies.
Once this all too rare and moving parliamentary unanimity had passed, I went to read the “reflection paper” from the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Just to see who the bastards are who want to kidnap Santa Claus.
Conclusion: this text without any legal significance, which obviously no one has read, does not relate to Christmas. He is not suggesting canceling the December 25 holiday. He is not saying that it is discriminatory to celebrate Christmas. Even less should we apologize for it.
But what could be more unifying for the nation than to stand up to the imaginary assault on our ancestral traditions!
What does this text say1 ?
It concerns “religious intolerance”. And in the hypersensitive form in vogue in this organization, the document essentially attempts to make employers and the general population aware of discrimination, even unwanted, based on religion.
Only one passage mentions Christmas. Not to denounce its celebration, but to underline the difficult to dispute fact that this day is a holiday based on Christian tradition.
Here is the passage: “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. »
But this “reflection” document in no way calls for calling these leaves into question. It concludes with a call for dialogue between members of various religions, advocates for “reasonable” religious accommodations at work, recommends learning about others, etc.
When I say that the text is written in the “hypersensitive” style, it is because it lumps together under the theme of “religious intolerance” both “micro-aggressions” (inappropriate or unintentionally hurtful comments) and the rigidity of the workplace than outright hateful speech towards a religion and vandalism of religious buildings. It goes without saying that “intersectional discrimination” finds its place in this document, just like a denunciation of historical colonialism, it is the law of the genre, nothing must be forgotten.
Whether or not we like this type of documentation, whether we like the style or not, there is nothing strange about it coming from a rights defense organization. So in defense of minorities, including indigenous peoples, on whom Christianity was inflicted in residential schools. It is the job of this commission to worry about equality before the law, just as it is the job of the Office de la langue française to worry about the state of French in Quebec.
Except… this is NOT a document about Christmas.
So, whatever we think, you have to be particularly fragile to see it as an attack on Christmas or the traditions of the majority.
But it clearly pays off politically to stand up in Quebec or Ottawa, chest out, like Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet, to ridicule this document, twist its meaning and come to the defense of Christmas.
It is also a not very subtle way of implying – falsely – that a threat hangs over “our” Christmas, and that it is the work of religious minorities.
No, there is no danger in the nativity scene, Advent has not been canceled and the Christmas music will not be silent.