I did not like the comments of Jason Kenny denigrating the Marois’s charter of values as Monty Pythoneque. They were spurious and destructive. Does he not have any memory? Does he not recall the recent ‘honour killings’ of four women in Kingston? Does he not remember that in court the murderers constantly referred to their values and traditions? Can he not recall that his government is spending billions of public money on security to protect Canadians against people who are of the opinion the only legitimate law is a religious one? Does he not remember Boston?
You can’t legislate values and Premier Marois is not going about it the way I would, but at least she’s honestly and directly trying to address the problem, not pretending it doesn’t exist or that the only response possible is more police, more punitive legislation and more prisons. Perhaps if Mr. Kenny’s government was more interested in new Canadians understanding and supporting the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms instead of swearing allegiance to the Queen, Madame Marois would be less anxious about protecting the hard one rights of democracy and secular society.
Many of our newest Canadians come from countries awash in blood from religious and sectarian conflicts. One of the reasons that they are here is this country is not. This is an accomplishment that is worth protecting for in many countries men and women are not equal before the law. The state is not separate from religion and democracy has never been practiced, but this isn’t our country. In Canada, men and women are equal. The state is not a theocracy and we consider it a right to meet the face of our accusers face to face in court.
We have the laws that make this clear. We need no new laws. We need no charter of values. We have them now. They are written in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, in New York at the United Nations which Canadians helped found and to compose the first universal laws protecting all human rights and freedoms, but we do need governments with the courage of their convictions to support them. Where can we find that government? That’s the most discouraging thing for I see it nowhere in the gang bang comments from our fearless leaders in the media.
Clive Doucet