Jonathan Kay: Pauline Marois’ assaults on democratic values
Jonathan Kay | Aug 23, 2012 6:25 AM ET | Last Updated: Aug 23, 2012 9:27 AM ET
Given the close scrutiny that surrounded the recent Alberta election, it is somewhat surprising that more attention is not being paid to the genuinely alarming things coming out of the mouth of Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois.
During the Alberta campaign, every gaffe committed by a member of the right-wing Wildrose Party became a national news item. The Toronto media, in particular, lapped it up — because it played to our outdated stereotype of Alberta as a land of rural hicks. Yet nothing that was said in the Alberta campaign can compare to the declarations of Ms. Marois, who has easily established herself as the most xenophobic major-party leader in all of Canada.
So why has there been comparatively little uproar over Ms. Marois? It is as if Canadians in the rest of the country have become so accustomed to watching Quebec nationalists bottom-feed for votes that we no longer are shocked by it. But Quebec is, after all, part of Canada. And Ms. Marois might become the province’s next premier on Sept. 4. Surely, it is worth rousing ourselves to pay attention to the fact that this woman is proposing policies that are unconstitutional and even bigoted.
This week, for instance, Ms. Marois revived a 2007 proposal that would bar non-French speakers from holding public office in Quebec. It would even bar non-French speakers from funding political parties or petitioning the legislature. As many aboriginal leaders have pointed out, one of its primary effects would be to bar virtually all First Nations figures, especially older ones, from electoral politics. (Even today, many aboriginal students study only English and their ancestral tongues.)
Indeed, the idea is so outrageous that on Wednesday, the PQ was forced to backtrack — putting out a statement to the effect that anyone already residing in Quebec, of whatever linguistic ability, would be excluded from the language requirement. Yet even this leaves open the possibility than a non-French-speaking Canadian citizen who arrives in Quebec in the future — whether from Toronto, Yellowknife or Madrid — would be unconstitutionally stripped of his or her democratic rights because they don’t speak one of this country’s two official languages. It is a disgrace that any serious politician in Canada would think to propose such a plan.
More at:
Pauline Marois continues her assault on democratic values | Full Comment | National Post
I can't help but think that this woman is woefully short of the necessary brains it takes to realize that running on such a platform might have a reverse effect on the chances of her party gaining power in Quebec.
Jonathan Kay | Aug 23, 2012 6:25 AM ET | Last Updated: Aug 23, 2012 9:27 AM ET
Given the close scrutiny that surrounded the recent Alberta election, it is somewhat surprising that more attention is not being paid to the genuinely alarming things coming out of the mouth of Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois.
During the Alberta campaign, every gaffe committed by a member of the right-wing Wildrose Party became a national news item. The Toronto media, in particular, lapped it up — because it played to our outdated stereotype of Alberta as a land of rural hicks. Yet nothing that was said in the Alberta campaign can compare to the declarations of Ms. Marois, who has easily established herself as the most xenophobic major-party leader in all of Canada.
So why has there been comparatively little uproar over Ms. Marois? It is as if Canadians in the rest of the country have become so accustomed to watching Quebec nationalists bottom-feed for votes that we no longer are shocked by it. But Quebec is, after all, part of Canada. And Ms. Marois might become the province’s next premier on Sept. 4. Surely, it is worth rousing ourselves to pay attention to the fact that this woman is proposing policies that are unconstitutional and even bigoted.
This week, for instance, Ms. Marois revived a 2007 proposal that would bar non-French speakers from holding public office in Quebec. It would even bar non-French speakers from funding political parties or petitioning the legislature. As many aboriginal leaders have pointed out, one of its primary effects would be to bar virtually all First Nations figures, especially older ones, from electoral politics. (Even today, many aboriginal students study only English and their ancestral tongues.)
Indeed, the idea is so outrageous that on Wednesday, the PQ was forced to backtrack — putting out a statement to the effect that anyone already residing in Quebec, of whatever linguistic ability, would be excluded from the language requirement. Yet even this leaves open the possibility than a non-French-speaking Canadian citizen who arrives in Quebec in the future — whether from Toronto, Yellowknife or Madrid — would be unconstitutionally stripped of his or her democratic rights because they don’t speak one of this country’s two official languages. It is a disgrace that any serious politician in Canada would think to propose such a plan.
More at:
Pauline Marois continues her assault on democratic values | Full Comment | National Post
I can't help but think that this woman is woefully short of the necessary brains it takes to realize that running on such a platform might have a reverse effect on the chances of her party gaining power in Quebec.