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Canada's human rights commission suggests Christmas and Easter holidays amount to 'systemic religious discrimination'
The Canadian Human Rights Commission recently published a
paper suggesting that statutory holidays linked to celebrations of Christian significance‚ Christmas and Easter in particular‚ are evidence of "religious intolerance."
The report from the federally-funded "human rights watchdog" made little secret of its ultimate aim‚ underscoring that Canada must work towards the "eradication" of such so-called religious intolerance.
The CHRC was created in 1977 and tasked with administering the northern nation's Human Rights Act. While the outfit
allegedly exists today "to help ensure that everyone in Canada is treated fairly‚" it prioritizes helping specific identity groups and has a team that is 76.8% female.
The commission‚ which takes for granted that "[s]ystemic racism is a persistent problem in Canada" and receives around $32 million in taxpayer funds annually‚ has assumed considerable judicial powers in recent decades.
The CHRC now appears keen to tackle what a lesser provincial human rights outfit alternatively termed "systemic faithism."
In an Oct. 23 publication entitled "
Discussion Paper on Religion Intolerance‚" the CHRC stated‚ "Religious intolerance impedes the ability of Canadian society to be democratic‚ welcoming‚ open-minded‚ and accepting. Only through understanding and acknowledging the existence of religious intolerance in Canada can we begin to address it and work towards its eradication."
"Religious intolerance can materialize in many ways‚ from microaggressions‚ to lack of accommodation and acceptance of religious practices‚" continued the paper.
This intolerance is allegedly "deeply rooted in [Canada's] identity as a settler colonial state" and "manifests itself in present-day systemic religious discrimination."
The National Post
highlighted that contrary to the core claim of the paper‚ the free exercise of religion has been Canadian law since before the nation's confederation in 1867. The colonial Province of Canada enacted the Freedom of Worship Act in 1851‚ protecting "free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship‚ without discrimination or preference."
Despite well over a century of religious pluralism‚ the CHRC paper claimed‚ "Discrimination against religious minorities in Canada is grounded in Canada's history of colonialism. This history manifests itself in present-day systemic religious discrimination. An obvious example is statutory holidays in Canada. Statutory holidays related to Christianity‚ including Christmas and Easter‚ are the only Canadian statutory holidays linked to religious holy days."
"As a result‚ non-Christians may need to request special accommodations to observe their holy days and other times of the year where their religion requires them to abstain from work‚" continued the paper.
While the CHRC insinuated that the celebration of Christmas and Easter — in a nation where an
estimated 63.2% of the population is Christian — comes at the expense of non-Christians‚ the paper later acknowledged that Canadian employers and service providers are legally obligated and duty bound to accommodate the religious requirements of clients and employees.
Conservative lawmaker Jeremy Patzer responded to the report‚
writing‚ "This is ridiculous. Christmas is celebrated all around the world by people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds. This is another example of woke ideology fomenting within the federal government. I for one will be celebrating Christmas whole heartedly. Merry Christmas!"
John Rustad‚ the leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia‚
wrote on X‚ "The Trudeau Liberals have lost their minds to woke culture. There is nothing discriminatory about Christmas."
Christmas has been celebrated in Canada for well over three centuries and has been a multicultural event for just as long. According to the Canadian Encyclopedia‚ there are indications that Jean de Brébeuf — an early missionary who was ultimately tortured to death by Iroquois Indians — was celebrating Christmas with the Huron in their native tongue as early as the 1640s.
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