Sihk kirpan controversy in Quebec

[be da veva]

Wow,

Well, I'm living in the forementioned province and my english is not as good as my french, but you seem to be missing a few infos on how things are here...
Like everywhere else, there is bigotery and xenophobia. BUT.... It is not shared by all.
We can all point somewhere and say that somethings are wrong.
For the cultural effort of trying to save everything that is french, the people will let themselves be told what to keep of their (french) history and stay away from anything else... though most are of mixed blooded heritage. I myself have a good mix of scottish, irish and french going back a few centuries. But the people in the media will lean toward the french part of our history because it is more sexy, more appealling for the ratings.
Yes, Canada is bilingual. I am french canadian first, quebecois second. Does that mean I should not be proud of my ancestry? Canada is bilingual, but the provinces decides what language to use officially. Some uses english, some are bilingual, one is french.
Somebody in the prairies or over the rockies don't like to see french on their cereal box in the morning? Well somebody on the Cote Nord doesn't like to see english on theirs either. Yes there is some xenophobia, but it is not only centered on the french side.

As for religion. The goverment has taken the religion out of the office. Religion is something of a joke to many here. Sad as it is, this is the reality. They don't care about where you are from they don't care what you believe. All they care about is what the mainstream medias are spewing about cultural differences.
This said though, as I have said before, this is not representative of all the french speaking population of Quebec.
The kirpan situation mentionned above is representative of how our goverment works...
You can leave a message, but they won't read it.
But to be fair, all goverment buildings are to be considered neutral terrain. Everybody is equal, no exeptions of religous or cultural is tolerated. You cannot take a kirpan on a plane, you cannot bring it in the building. You cannot wear a veil to indentify yourself at the airport, same in an official goverment building. (but they will have a female officer on site to identify the women wearing a veil because their religion forbids them of showing there faces to the men). This is basically something that came with 911 that slowly slided to the french paranoia that we are close to any other culture than our own.
BTW a decorative little kirpan on a hairbrush would've pass with no problem. Maybe not on a plane.
As with everything else, moderation is best.

On a side note, imagine a chinese restaurant opening in Little Italy only catering to chinese speaking customers. How do you think the Italians would like that. Would they think it a good idea? The best location? Imagine 20 restaurants.....

Have a good day

P.S. I don't wear a kilt pin on a plane but I do in the official buildings...

[CMcG]

be da veva,

Thanks for chiming in, I was hoping that someone from Quebec might be able to put this in perspective.

Can you comment on how the kilt is treated in La Belle Provence, according to your experience? And in relation to the article, how about the sgian dubh?

[Lallans]

be da veva,

Thanks for chiming in, I was hoping that someone from Quebec might be able to put this in perspective.

Can you comment on how the kilt is treated in La Belle Provence, according to your experience? And in relation to the article, how about the sgian dubh?

I'm from QC too, altho a maudit anglais who had to leave or start doing bad things in the name of liberty (I left). Kilts are generally well received there, rarely even noticed in the larger cities- however are severely mocked if worn by married-into-the-family members. I have never had a prob with the sgian dubh anywhere but nowadays would certainly be expected to hand it in while inside a Canadian or QC gov't building- if it was noticed. The visiting Sikhs were offered that, but of course had to refuse for religious reasons since that's why they had them on view in the first place.