There has been a huge multiculturalism backlash in Quebec: the folks there (1) want to preserve their uniquely North American French society, (2) look across the Atlantic and see what's happening in Europe and (3) have the lowest cultural birth rates in western society. I don't know how Scots would have fared in the same situation but anything that smacks of a threat in QC will be dealt with in short order- I guess the Sikhs were caught up in that. To add to the story, the Sikhs in question were appearing before legislators to discuss cultural issues and had called ahead to ask about the kirpans- they got mixed messages until they showed up wearing them and I guess got the definitive answer.