ALLOWING ALL TO FLOURISH
The announcement Thursday that Quebec would be devoting substantial resources to the early detection and diagnosis of children with special needs is to be applauded. This is government at its best: prioritizing an urgent problem; addressing inequity (not all could afford to pay privately for quicker diagnosis); and having the foresight to take steps that will pay off later, in many ways.
Diagnosis is a prerequisite for early intervention, something that can make all the difference for these children. As Premier François Legault noted, the best time to address such issues is before the age of 6; it is to be hoped, then, that his government will also increase accessibility to the needed services and therapies. Otherwise, early diagnoses will be of limited value.
Still, this seems like an important step forward, and, at $70 million to $90 million over two years, a wise investment, that will not only pay dividends in human fulfilment, but also in dollars and cents, by increasing the likelihood that these children will grow up to become productive, and taxpaying, members of society.
At the same time, though, Legault and his Coalition Avenir Québec team are also providing an illustration of government at its worst: They are pressing ahead with their plan to introduce a law barring the wearing of religious symbols by those deemed to be in positions of coercive authority, including teachers. This amounts to prioritizing a non-existent problem; would introduce inequity (its practical impact on religious believers would vary by religion and by sex); and is sadly short-sighted as to the damaging long-term impacts it seems certain to have on Quebec society, among other things by sending an alienating message of exclusion to certain Quebecers.
Legault and his government seem to be oblivious to the damage they are about to inflict, as well as to the irony of entrenching religious discrimination in the name of ensuring the secularism of the state. Legault also seems oblivious to the ironic timing of his blithe declaration Thursday that there isn’t Islamophobia in Quebec, just as his own government is about to introduce a religious symbols law that is rooted in a certain public malaise about Muslim immigration in general and the wearing of hijabs in particular. Painfully, Legault’s remark also overlooked very real acts of hatred and discrimination that have been directed toward Muslims in recent years, in Quebec and elsewhere; his officials nuanced his remark on Friday.
Rather than denying problems, or creating them, our government should stick to efforts to make Quebec a place where all can flourish.