PAULINE Marois, who wanted to introduce the racist and bigoted charter of values in Quebec to harass minorities, was roundly booted out by level-headed Quebeckers on Monday. Not only did her party, Parti Quebecois, get soundly thrashed, but Marois even lost her own seat and resigned as party leader.
Oops, there go all those delusional sovereignty vibes!
As I reported, Quebec Liberal Party under Philippe Couillard won a majority with 70 seats in the 125-seat National Assembly. The PQ got only 30, the Coalition Avenir Québec 22 and Quebec Solidaire three.
SFU School of Public Policy Professor Doug McArthur credited the unexpected Liberal landslide victory, as opposed to a minority win, to two things. He noted: “The election result was clearly driven by young voters under 45 years of age who didn’t want to hear about sovereignty and separation. As many younger voters in Quebec are much more supportive of multiculturalism than their older counterparts, they also didn’t support the PQ’s proposed values charter.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted: “The results clearly demonstrate that Quebecers have rejected the idea of a referendum and want a government that will be focused on the economy and job creation.”
Premier Christy Clark had a swipe at Marois, pointing out: “The Canada I have lived and worked in, the country that I am humbled to represent around the world, includes Quebec.”
She added: “I look forward to working with Premier-elect Couillard at the Premiers’ table on our shared goals: building a proud, prosperous and inclusive Canada.”
The World Sikh Organization of Canada said the result affirms what Sikhs living in Quebec have always believed, that the people of Quebec are fair minded and share their vision of an inclusive society which respects people of all faiths and backgrounds.
WSO Quebec Vice President Mukhbir Singh said, “[The] result is a rejection of the politics of division. Quebeckers want to focus on the real issues such as the economy and building a stronger Quebec. The strategy of trying to divert attention from these real issues by targeting minorities has resoundingly been thwarted.”
Indeed, both federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau had berated Marois for this diversion by sparking racism with her ridiculous charter of values and also her support for the Quebec soccer association’s ban on the “patka”.
MAROIS’ stupidity became such a joke that an Ontario hospital even ran an ad in a McGill University student newspaper last year to lure Quebec-trained health-care workers. The ad said: “We don’t care what’s on your head. We care what’s in it.”
Her stupidity was also highlighted by editorials in Canada’s most prestigious newspapers, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star.
The Globe and Mail said last year: “The Parti Québécois is playing a deeply cynical game in trying to exploit the fears and anxiety of rural Quebec (where few immigrants live), as the now-defunct Action Démocratique du Québec did to boost its popularity, spectacularly – before an equally spectacular fall.”
Wow – that’s exactly what happened this week!
That editorial also brought out another interesting aspect of the controversial move: “The notion that all religious symbols are the same is simply false. Those who observe minority religions in Quebec such as Orthodox Judaism, Sikhism and Islam believe the wearing of certain religious garb to be an obligation; by contrast, the Christian cross tends not to be worn as a consequence of an obligation. A ban is inherently unequal. In any event, small crosses would be permitted by the government.”
The Toronto Star editorial at the time also exposed the follies of the so-called charter of values: “And what about officials swearing an oath on the Bible? Oops, hadn’t thought of that. “Oh my God, we’ll get back to you” on that, was all the minister in charge could manage as he unveiled an outline of his government’s “Charter of Quebec Values.””
The editorial also pointed out what the REAL problem was: “In fact, there’s little evidence of a serious malaise in Quebec society over issues of diversity. Even the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, which looked into the issue five years ago, found no actual crisis over “reasonable accommodation” but simply a need to adapt to changing realities. That’s the case in all modern societies, and Quebec is no exception.
“The real malaise is inside the Parti Québécois, which has spectacularly failed to re-ignite support for independence. The sovereignty movement has split into various factions and parties, and the PQ under Premier Pauline Marois is playing the “identity” card in an effort to persuade francophones they must unite under its banner against an imagined threat to Quebec’s mostly-undefined “values.””
Well, all those tactics came to naught this week.