Move forward, go further

By Shachi Kurl

In the early hours of Monday morning, as people across Quebec and the rest of the country absorbed the shock of the murders of Muslims praying at a Sainte-Foy mosque, Premier Philippe Couillard found a way to summon words to bring his province together.

“We’re with you,” he told Quebec Muslims. “You are home, you are welcome in your home. We’re all Québécois.”

Indeed, in the days since, political, community and religious leaders have moved quickly to present a united front in the face of this heinous act. They have been supported by thousands of Quebecers who have turned out to vigils and community gatherings.

Such messages of support and inclusion are right, sincere and necessary. In the longer term, though, truly coming together may require individuals to go further in their thinking and actions than many have been willing to go in the past.

Feelings of exclusion, discrimination and suspicion toward minority groups, including Muslims, are undeniable.

We’re not so far removed from 2013, when Pauline Marois’ PQ government introduced Bill 60, the so-called “Charter of Values.” The legislation, ostensibly aimed at dealing with “reasonable accommodation” in Quebec, would have, among other things, imposed limitations on religious symbols and clothing worn by provincial employees, such as hijabs, turbans and kippahs.

It was condemned as racist, inflammatory and divisive. But in the late summer of that year, many Quebecers expressed an appetite for at least some of the provisions of Bill 60. At the time, nearly two-thirds of the respondents we polled in that province said they felt the province was doing “too much” to accommodate differences in culture and religion. By contrast, only 17 per cent in the rest of Canada felt Quebecers were going excessively out of their way.

In the same survey, two-thirds (65 per cent) in Quebec also felt laws and norms shouldn’t be modified to accommodate minorities, and 77 per cent said the values of Quebec society were at risk because of reasonable accommodation. 

Polled in 2014, Quebecers were also least likely among Canadians to see the Muslim community as a partner in the fight against homegrown terrorism, and most likely to say Muslim leaders were not speaking out against it enough. 

Just last summer, Quebecers were among the most likely to say minorities should do more to fit in with mainstream society.

It must be underscored – people like the mosque attacker can live anywhere in the country. No province or territory is immune to such venom. Indeed, anti-Islamic, anti-minority feelings persist in all parts of Canada.

As Canada mourns the victims, in vigils and in prayer, the memorials show Canada at its best, coming together as neighbours with a common purpose.

However, once the funerals are over, once the crowds and the flowers and supportive words have dissipated, a frightened minority community will still be left with the knowledge that in the past, many of their neighbours may have felt less than easy toward them.

Can Canadians allay these fears? It’s the going forward that matters most.

– Shachi Kurl is executive director of the Angus Reid Institute