Well done, Canada!
B Herouxville Quebec Pop. 1500 Chief Councillor - Andre Drouin André Drouin <[email protected]> Town to immigrants: you cant kill women OTTAWA (Reuters) Immigrants wishing to live in the small Canadian town of Herouxville, Quebec, must not stone women to death in public, burn them alive or throw acid on them, according to an extraordinary set of rules released by the local council. The declaration, published on the towns Web site, has deepened tensions in the predominantly French-speaking province over how tolerant Quebecers should be toward the customs and traditions of immigrants. "We wish to inform these new arrivals that the way of life which they abandoned when they left their countries of origin cannot be recreated here," said the declaration, which makes clear women are allowed to drive, vote, dance, write checks, dress how they want, work and own property. "Therefore we consider it completely outside these norms to kill women by stoning them in public, burning them alive, burning them with acid, circumcising them etc." No one on the town council was available for comment on Tuesday. Herouxville, which has 1,300 inhabitants, is about 160 km (100 miles) northeast of Montreal. Andre Drouin, the councilor who devised the declaration, told the National Post newspaper that the town was not racist. "We invite people from all nationalities, all languages, all sexual orientations, whatever, to come live with us, but we want them to know ahead of time how we live," he said The Herouxville regulations say girls and boys can exercise together and people should only be allowed to cover their faces at Halloween. Children must not take weapons to school, it adds, although the Supreme Court of Canada has already ruled that Sikh boys have the right to carry ceremonial daggers. Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Muslim Council of Montreal, said the declaration had "set the clock back for decades" as far as race relations were concerned. "I was shocked and insulted to see these kinds of false stereotypes and ignorance about Islam and our religion in a public document written by people in authority who discriminate openly," he told Reuters The Herouxville declaration is available, in English and French, at the "avis public" section of the towns Web site: <http://tinyurl.com/382wgj> http://tinyurl.com/382wgj Here is the text in English (from the sites <http://municipalite.herouxville.qc.ca/Standards.pdf> pdf file): Municipalité Hérouxville Publication of Standards The social development and territory security are some of the major objective goals of the democratically voted individuals in our MRC. Hérouxville being part of the MRC, we share these same objectives. To do this, we would like to invite, without discrimination, in the future, all people from outside our MRC that would like to move to this territory. Without discrimination means to us, without regard to race or to the color of skin, mother tongue spoken, sexual orientation, religion, or any other form of beliefs. So that the future residents can integrate socially more easily, we have decided unanimously, to make public, certain standards already in place and very well anchored in the lives of our electors. These standards come from our municipal laws being Federal or Provincial, and all voted democratically. They also come from the social life and habits & customs of all residents of our territory. Our objective is to show that we support the wishes of our electors and this being shown clearly by the results of our poll regarding this issue. And our goal is to inform the new arrivals to our territory, how we live to help them make a clear decision to integrate into our area. We would especially like to inform the new arrivals that the lifestyle that they left behind in their birth country cannot be brought here with them and they would have to adapt to their new social identity. Published by The mayor and 6 city counselors of Hérouxville, democratically elected. Municipalité Hérouxville The Standards Our Women We consider that men and women are of the same value. Having said this, we consider that a woman can; drive a car, vote, sign checks, dance, decide for herself, speak her peace, dress as she sees fit respecting of course the democratic decency, walk alone in public places, study, have a job, have her own belongings and anything else that a man can do. These are our standards and our way of life. However, we consider that killing women in public beatings, or burning them alive are not part of our standards of life. Our Children Our children are required to attend public or private schools to insure their social development and to help integrate into our society. Any form of violence towards children is not accepted. Our Festivities We listen to music, we drink alcoholic beverages in public or private places, we dance and at the end of every year we decorate a tree with balls and tinsel and some lights. This is normally called Christmas Decorations or also Christmas Tree letting us rejoice in the notion of our national heritage and not necessarily a religious holiday. These festivities are authorized in public, schools, and institutions and also in private. Our Health Care In our old folks homes men and women are treated by responsible men and women. Please note that there is no law voted democratically that prohibits a woman treating a man and a man treating a woman. In our hospitals and CLSCs woman doctors can treat men and women and the same for the men doctors. This same principle applies for nurses, firemen and women, ambulance technicians. These responsible people do not have to ask permission to perform blood transfusions or any task needed to save a life. For the last few years men have been allowed into the delivery room to assist in the birth of their baby. They have been with their wives to prenatal courses to help them in this task. In the said establishments the patients are offered traditional meals. There is often music playing in the background. There are magazines or news papers available and any other form of multimedia that shows our community spirit and our way of life. Our Education In our schools certified men and women teach our children. The women or men teachers can teach boys or girls with no sexual discrimination. They do not have to dress any different to accomplish their tasks. In our schools the children cannot carry any weapons real or fake, symbolic or not. The children can sing, play sports or play in groups. To promote decency and to avoid all discrimination some schools have adopted a dress code that they strongly enforce. For the last few years to draw away from religious influences or orientation no locale is made available for prayer or any other form of incantation. Moreover, in many of our schools no prayer is allowed. We teach more science and less religion. In our scholastic establishments, be private or public, generally, at the end of the year you will possibly see Christmas Decorations or Christmas Trees The children might also sing Christmas Carols if they want to. Many of our schools have cafeterias that serve traditional foods. Students may decide to eat elsewhere. The history of Quebec is taught in our schools. Biology lessons are also given. Our Sports & Leisure For the longest time boys and girls have played the same games and often play together. For example, if you came to my place we would send the kids to swim together in the pool, dont be surprised this is normal for us. You would see men and women skiing together on the same hill at the same time, dont be surprised this is normal for us. You would also see men and women playing hockey together, dont be surprised this is normal for us. In our public swimming pools we have men and women lifeguards for our security to protect us from drowning, dont be surprised this is normal for us. All the laws adopted that permit these phenomenons have followed a strict democratic process. You would appreciate this new life style and share our habits & customs. Our Security Our immense territory is patrolled by police men and women of the Surete du Quebec. They have always been allowed to question or to advise or lecture or to give out an infraction ticket to either a man or woman. You may not hide your face as to be able to identify you while you are in public. The only time you may mask or cover your face is during Halloween, this is a religious traditional custom at the end of October celebrating all Saints Day, where children dress up and go door to door begging for candy and treats. All of us accept to have our picture taken and printed on our drivers permit, health care card and passports. A result of democracy. Our Work Place The employers must respect the governmental laws regarding work conditions. These laws include holidays known and accepted in advance by all employees. These work conditions are negotiated democratically and once accepted both parties respect them. No law or work condition imposes the employer to supply a place of prayer or the time during the working day for this activity. You will also see men and women working side by side. We wear safety helmets on worksites, when required by law. Our Business Our businesses are governed by municipal, provincial and federal laws. In our busi-nesses men and women work together and serve the clientele whether they be man or woman. The products sold by these businesses can be of any kind. Food products for example must be approved by different governmental agencies before being offered to the general public. You might see in the same store several different types of meat, eg. Beef , chicken, pork and lamb. Other stores offer their clientele a place and equipment to exercise. These places have windows that their clientele can look outside while exercising and are composed of men and women dressed in clothing appropriate for exercising. Our Families You will appreciate that both parents manage the children needs and both have the same authority. The parents can be of the same race or not, be from the same country or not, have the same religion or not, even be of the same sex or not. If a boy or girl wants to get married, they may, they have the liberty to chose who their spouse will be. The democratic process is applied to ensure each and everyones liberty to choose. In our families, the boys and girls eat together at the same table and eat the same food. They can eat any type of meat, vegetables or fruit. They dont eat just meat or just vegetables they can eat both at the same time and this throughout the whole year. If our children eat meat for example, they dont need to know where it came from or who killed it.Our people eat to nourish the body not the soul. Other You might still see crosses that tell our past. They are an integrated part of our history and patrimony and should be considered as such. To publish all the laws and standards of Municipalité Hérouxville would be a tedious task. The standards published above are just a sample so the new arrivals to this territory can clearly identify with us before making their decision to move here. Certainly, being the elected members, we would give the new arrivals the assurance that the conditions that they have fled from in their country would not happen again here in our territory.. Consequently, the peace of mind that we live with will always be. It must be very clear that any person or persons, groups legal or not that would like to modify our habits and customs or our general way of life cannot do so without going through a referendum process following all laws put forward by our towns and municipalities. These referendums will be at the petitioner or petitioners cost. Signed jointly by the mayor and 6 city counselors of Hérouxville, all democratically elected. ============================================================================ ================== Open letter to Mr. Stephen Harper Hérouxville September 5th 2007 Prime Minister of Canada Mr. Harper, We have been closely involved in the Hérouxville affair. This privileged situation enabled us to accumulate an abundant documentation hailing from many countries, including Canada, our own country. The astronomical amount of e-mails and documents we received to date indicate that the vast majority of quebecers wish that Quebec be dispensed of the obligation of having to grant religious accommodations on its territory. It appears that this opinion is also shared by many canadians, including newcomers (immigrants). In fact, many western and central canadians told us of their total disagreement in many aberrant instances. For example, a taxi driver who refused to drive a blind passenger accompanied by his guide dog under the pretext that his religion forbid him to be in the presence of the animal... Another example is the case where citizens were granted the right to remove their picture from identification documents for religious purposes... Then again, recently, certain citizens requested that polygamy be legalized... The more astonishing example concerns Alliance, the canadian civil service union who obtained from the Treasury Board that participants be dispensed from paying their union dues if their religion imposed such, and that instead, the dues be replaced by a contribution (donation) to an organism of their choice i.e. community, sect, church etc. These situations have become common currency in this country with the assent of our courts of justice and our very own government. How can we be surprised when a vast number of people inform us of their total incomprehension and disagreement concerning prisoners who receive special treatment during their detention granting them access to foods and menus that are in conformity with their religious precepts? This situation is symptomatic of the lack of leadership in prison management. Are we also surprised by the forever rising costs caused by such ridiculous accommodations? A brief analysis demonstrates that the prime source of the problem stems from the Canadian Charter of Rights and Liberties whose application comes under the responsibility of the Supreme Court of Canada. Our Supreme Court is administered by judges and lawyers; public participation is excluded and government ministers and M.Ps seem to be completely submitted despite the opinions of the very people who elected them. The second source is canadian policy on multiculturalism whos propaganda instrument is Canadian Heritage. The third source is Citizenship and Immigration Canada and its awkward policies. It is very clear for all that a canadian province wishing to be dispensed of its binding obligations concerning religious-type accommodations on its territory would be refused such unless the Canadian Charter of Rights and Liberties was abrogated. Considering the enshrinement of the Charter to the Canadian Constitution, it is almost technically impossible to amend it. Consequently, the only altervative left to provinces determined to stop the erosion of their values, customs and traditions through religious-type accommodations is to separate from Canada. Hence, under given circumstances, the Charter becomes the tool of destruction of canadian unity. It has become urgent and desirable that our political leaders immediately assume their responsibilities and take the Charter out of the hands of judges, lawyers and religious institutions. A democracy cannot survive in the absence of gestures of this nature. We hope that you will give this notice the importance it deserves and will add the subject to your political agenda in the next federal elections if this problematic issue is not yet solved. Bernard Thompson and André Drouin Hérouxville, QC c.c. Mr. Stéphane Dion Mr. Gilles Duceppe Mr. Jack Layton Mrs. Diane Finlay Mrs. Josée Verner Mr. Jean Charest Mrs. Pauline Marois Mr. Mario Dumont Mrs. Yolande James Mrs. Michelle Courchesne ============================================================================ ==== Barbara Kay, Hérouxville, the mouse that roared, is the inspiration behind Quebec's new "Cultural Clarity act" Posted: October 30, 2008, 7:16 PM by Jonathan Kay <http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/tags/Barbara+K ay/default.aspx> Barbara Kay The Quebec government announced on October 29 that future immigrants to Quebec will be required to sign a declaration of intent to learn French and respect the "shared values" of Quebec. Immigration to Quebec, said Immigration Minister Yolande James, "is a privilege, not a right." Hear, hear. Amongst the cultural bonbons in " <http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=917628> To enrich Quebec: Affirming the common values of Quebec society" are reminders that Quebec is a secular society, women are equal to men and hate speech is unwelcome. The Immigration department plans to add a section on Quebec values to forms filled out overseas along with an explanatory pamphlet and a DVD on shared values. Once arrived, immigrants will be offered seminars on shared values. The message is polite but stark: You're not in Shariah land anymore, folks, and if you don't like our values, you don't belong here. The proposal was immediately denounced by critics who correctly identified it as a pre-election issue grab from the PQ and the ADQ by Jean Charest. More to the politically incorrect point, it was immediately clear that the initiative's main principles are - although in more muted language - a shameless plagiarism from the infamous <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%A9rouxville> Hérouxville code. In February 2007, at the height of the "reasonable accommodation" debate and amidst the emotion-stirring <http://www.slaw.ca/2008/05/22/report-of-the-bouchard-taylor-commission-on-r easonable-accommodation-of-minorities/> Bouchard-Taylor Commission hearings, the town council of the thitherto-unknown little hamlet of Hérouxville, tucked away in the boonies north of Trois-Rivières (population 1300, 100% francophone and 96% old stock québécois),drew up a list of town rules rules for immigrant newcomers, including prohibitions against stoning women or throwing acid in their faces, an obvious shot across the specific bows of Taliban-style Islamists, rather than a general admonition to typical Muslim immigrants. It was unfortunate that the Hérouxville strategists cheapened an otherwise commendable initiative with such off-putting overkill. The inclusion of behaviours already accounted for in the criminal code also blurred the lines between legitimate cultural grievance and cultural fear-mongering. It is reasonable for Hérouxville to condemn cultural entitlements Muslims were already seeking and sometimes procuring in larger urban Canadian centres (prayer rooms in universities, single-sex swimming in public pools). It is unreasonable to "forbid" statistically negligible acts of extreme violence that are already forbidden, and that in any case no Canadian Muslim has ever publicly endorsed. As a result, the Hérouxville code was for the most part held up for scolding and mockery outside of Quebec as a symbol of parochialism and xenophobia. The close association of the new government proposal with the healthy spirit of the flawed Hérouxville code was bound to ring alarm bells. The <http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=77330fca -f55b-419e-b7d3-57ff32ceeba3> Montreal Gazette's October 30 editorial opined that not only would the values declaration have little effect, "requiring people to sign on to formally-stated values is somehow repellant." Repellant? How so? My grandparents would have happily signed on to a Canadian values declaration as proof they had officially left the oppressive regimes they were escaping. A "values declaration" is simply an "oath of allegiance" by another name. When immigrants to the U.S. take out citizenship, they must say the words: "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God." That's a pretty hefty commitment by anyone's standards, and yet I've never heard of any U.S. immigrant protesting the necessity of saying it in order to become a citizen. A U.S. citizenship is, even in these turbulent times, quite a prize to most of the world's oppressed. So, I would like to think, is ours. So why is Quebec's values declaration demeaning or "patronizing" as a Montreal sociology professor put it in recording his disgust at the idea of educated people having to put their intentions to be good citizens in writing? Are marriage contracts - is any contract formalizing both parties' good faith - "patronizing"? Sometimes the right thing happens for the wrong reasons. The good people of Hérouxville drew up their code because they felt threatened by what they perceived in Muslim-dominated urban enclaves as an encroaching Islamicization that the government was failing to address. The ADQ pounced on and exploited to advantage the iceberg of defensiveness in the general ex-urban population they saw beneath the tip of Hérouxville. The government seized on the Hérouxville syndrome to score political points for an upcoming election. All this is true, and nobody comes out smelling like a rose. And yet. And yet. Hérouxville for me was the little boy in the fable who pointed out that the emperor was naked. The "emperor" is our obsession with making other cultural groups feel welcome and at home with their God and customs at the expense of our own pride in and wish to further our Judeo-Christian values. The emperor is also our reluctance - or at least amongst those of us who live amidst "diversity" - to express our discomfort for fear of "offending" the Other. The regions of Quebec outside Montreal are probably the last place in the western world where virtually an entire population is culturally homogeneous. Hérouxville's town council could draw up that statement of values because they were blissfully exempt from the codes of political correctness that constrain most Canadians from complete candour. They could speak honestly of their fears to each other without the risk of inviting charges of racism. They aren't racists. Are they xenophobic? Yes, a little, but not in a bad way. A bad way would be to accord others fewer entitlements than those of the host culture (it's called dhimmitude in Islam-ruled countries). To demand that other cultures not have more entitlements isn't racist. In fact it's good for everybody. It's a paradoxical reality, but in order to keep our heritage culture strong, a product of an evolved civilization that rejects intolerance and embraces pluralism, we must act in a prejudiced way at some point. Therefore, in spite of the dubious optics of its history, I applaud Quebec's proposal. I wish, though, it had been a joint venture with Ottawa. After the crisis of the 1995 referendum, the Clarity Act taught Quebec a lesson about political hubris and geopolitical reality. As an ironic postmodern "hommage," Quebec's new "values declaration" should be called the Cutural Clarity Act. For it too is responding to an existential crisis, and embodies a lesson in civilizational self-preservation that all Canadians need to learn. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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