Liberals fumble identity issue again
‘Interculturalism’ policy is declaration of francophone cultural supremacy
Everybody is bad at something. In the case of the Quebec Liberals, it’s identity politics.
The history of Liberal blunders in that area goes back to 1974 and Bill 22, the first language law giving French precedence over English, and continues through the anti-niqab Bill 62 adopted this week. In between, there were the “distinct society” clause in the abortive Meech Lake constitutional proposal, Bill 178 on the language of commercial signs, and proposals to restrict fundamental minority rights.
Always, they failed to appease nationalists. Usually, they created new problems, an appetite for stronger solutions, and precedents on which to base them. And usually, they strained relations between the majority and minorities, and between French Quebec and English Canada. Bill 62 follows that pattern. As a response not to a real social problem but rather to a political one — to put it bluntly, pressure to Do Something About Muslims before the next election — the legislation had already failed even before it passed.
The opposition parties had said it didn’t go far enough, ensuring that restrictions on minority religious practices will again be an election issue. Bill 62 may turn out to be unenforceable, another Quebec law passed simply to “send a message.” Even so, Bill 62’s message is odious: Quebec approves the persecution of a tiny minority of already marginalized women who wear facial veils.
The absurdity of Bill 62, which theoretically prohibits bus passengers from wearing sunglasses, has been noted outside Quebec.
This exposes the province to ridicule as well as criticism in English, to which the predictable response in this province will be cries of “Quebec bashing.”
And if the law is actually enforced, it is expected to be challenged in court under the Canadian Charter of Rights, which would force Ottawa to intervene in the case against Quebec.
Even before it passed Bill 62, the Couillard government had embarked upon its next misadventure in identity politics: a policy on “interculturalism” to be adopted before the next election. “While multiculturalism could be compared to a forest made up of distinct trees, interculturalism evokes the image of a solid trunk,” Premier Philippe Couillard explained in a recent speech. “To this trunk are joined the branches, the roots of diversity, that strengthen and enrich it.”
So, there’s no forest, only one tree. And guess who the trunk is, and who the branches and roots that serve it are? The “interculturalism” policy would amount to an official declaration of the cultural supremacy of the Frenchspeaking majority. The practical implications of officially defining the relationship between the cultural majority and the minorities are not apparent. Neither is the need to do so, except as pre-election marketing.
It was first announced as part of the nationalist “affirmation” policy that the Liberals hope will reconcile them with French-speaking voters. There is no better explanation for the government’s risking another debate on identity, especially a government that has proven to be such a weak debater in that field.
The same day that the Liberals passed Bill 62, they all but abandoned their public consultation on systemic racism.
This was a month after Couillard said that to back down from the consultation would tarnish Quebec’s image abroad. One reason for the Liberals’ rout was their inability even to explain what systemic racism is: discrimination in effect, if not intent. This allowed their political and media adversaries to encourage confusion between “systemic” and “systematic” and accuse the Liberals of calling Quebecers racist in general.
The policy on affirmation says the one on interculturalism will seek “a balance between openness to diversity and the continuity and vitality of Quebec’s distinct and French-speaking identity.”
Inevitably, the interculturalism policy will be criticized for not tilting that balance enough toward the majority; in fact, sight unseen, it already has been.