Academics & Education

Bill 21 won’t apply to us, Quebec’s English school boards say QESBA cites Supreme Court ruling in arguing English boards exempt from proposed law

(CBC) An organization representing all nine of Quebec’s English school boards says the province’s proposed ban on religious symbols can’t be imposed on them, potentially opening a new front in the legal resistance to the legislation. Like some of their French counterparts, English schools boards […]

Arts & Entertainment

Muslim group calls out ‘Law & Order: SVU’ for episode ‘enflaming Islamophobia’ One of the episode’s storylines involved a character who appeared to be an exaggerated version of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.).

(HuffPost) A Muslim advocacy organization wants the producers of NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU)” to meet with Muslim community leaders, in response to a controversial episode that aired last week, which viewers criticized for promoting Islamophobia and perpetuating harmful […]

Government & Politics

Congressional Leadership Fund attacks vulnerable Dems for not condemning ‘hateful comments’ by Omar, Tlaib Slotkin: Far-left members 'doing what is right for their districts'

(Free Beacon) A pro-Republican super PAC is going after a group of first-term House Democrats for not condemning anti-Semitic rhetoric from far-left members of Congress, particularly after one dismissed the party’s fringier members as “doing what is right for their districts.” The […]

Clothing

CAQ government ignoring Montreal’s diversity with secularism bill, Plante tells lawmakers Montreal mayor says Quebec hasn't thought enough about how Bill 21 will impact immigrant women

(CBC) The mayor of Quebec’s biggest city accused the provincial government on Tuesday of rushing ahead with a controversial proposal to restrict religious symbols without considering the harm it will cause Montreal’s diverse population. At a legislative hearing in Quebec City, Valérie Plante said the […]

Government & Politics

Rep. Rashida Tlaib defends Holocaust comments to Seth Meyers: ‘Racist idiots’ twisted my words The congresswoman joked that next time she’ll speak at a fourth-grade level so the ‘racist idiots’ will understand her better.

(Daily Beast) Last week, during his fateful interview with Meghan McCain, Seth Meyers urged The View host to be “careful” with the language she has used to criticize Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who has been repeatedly accused by the right of promoting […]

Government & Politics

Tlaib says she is humbled her ancestors provided ‘safe haven’ for Jews after Holocaust The Palestinian-American Democrat charges in an interview that Netanyahu could not look her grandmother in the eye and say 'you are as human as I am to you'

(Haaretz) Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib said she “loves the fact” that her “Palestinian ancestors” were part an attempt “to create a safe haven for Jews” after the Holocaust, although the role “was forced on them” and took place “in a way that […]

Immigration

Three former Guantanamo prisoners were cleared by the U.S. — but will Ottawa let them join their Canadian wives? A ruling in the case of Ayub Mohammed, who wants to move to Montreal, could have an impact on two other Uyghur men once held at Guantanamo

(National Post) It’s been more than a decade since U.S. authorities freed Ayub Mohammed from their Cuban prison, having decided he was not, after all, an “enemy combatant.” In that time the ethnic Uyghur from China has earned a business degree from […]

Academics & Education

At Quebec secularism bill hearings, government challenged to say why trampling religious rights is necessary Quebec's Legislature opens 2 weeks of hearings into controversial bill

(CBC) After spending all day hearing from defenders of his secularism bill, Quebec Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette was confronted Tuesday evening with a challenge from a wispy-haired, 87-year-old philosopher. “We are still waiting for an explanation about why this is necessary,” Charles Taylor told Jolin-Barrette at legislative hearing […]

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Hearings on Quebec’s secularism bill have little time for religious groups, critics say Only 2 faith groups invited to legislative hearings in Quebec City

(CBC) Legislative hearings into Quebec’s controversial secularism bill began Tuesday amid concerns that religious groups have largely been excluded from the process. Premier François Legault remains insistent that Bill 21, which was tabled in late March, will be passed before the National […]