On Tuesday a small forum of Quebeckers gathered in Gatineau to discuss the implications of the province’s diversifying population. The commission, endorsed by the provincial government and Premier Jean Charest, is intended to explore the extent to which Quebec should make “reasonable accommodations” for its growing minority populations while preserving its distinct culture. The issue of cultural accommodation has increasingly become an issue in Quebec over the past several months.
But, far from “reasonable,” the forum soon became an arena to bash minorities in Quebec. One man offered an anecdote loaded with anti-Muslim sentiments: recalling his time spent in Egypt decades ago, he said he put up with them then and doesn’t want to tolerate them again.
It’s legitimate for the Quebec government to ask how best to accommodate ethnic and religious minorities, and where to draw the line separating diverse multiculturalism and more homogenous integration. That’s a conundrum faced everywhere in an increasingly mobile world.
But as it stands, the commission can hardly be recognized as legitimate—not only because its forum rapidly deteriorated into a slander-ridden debate, but also because only a handful of members of the province’s minorities were actually present.
In a society already affected with widespread Islamaphobia and racist perspective, public declarations embodying the xenophobic attitudes of those at the forum only work to perpetuate them.
Quebeckers need to realize culture isn’t a static concept. It’s fallacious to assert that Quebecois customs and routines can’t exist alongside others. Kids wearing headscarves while playing soccer won’t dilute the traditions French Canadians have worked so hard to protect, nor will allowing more recent immigrants to preserve their distinct cultures threaten Quebec’s social and political cultures.
Is it overly idealistic to envision cultures coexisting without intimidating one another? It shouldn’t be, but holding a provincially sponsored commission featuring xenophobic venting may only be adding fuel to any culture-class fires.
Tuesday’s forum accomplished little for Quebec cultural policy, and instead made clear that the only thing distinct about the pur laine Quebecois is their close-mindedness.
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