All ‘Us’ – no ‘Them’
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All ‘Us’ – no ‘Them’

A short statement by Coroner Gehane Kamel pierces through long debates within Quebec and in church circles of CC readers. “It’s all ‘us’ – no ‘them,’” she said on CBC radio in response to a question about what needs to change to end discrimination in Quebec’s health care system. The occasion was release of the…

Québec: Policy implementation and the cry of a Jewish prophet
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Québec: Policy implementation and the cry of a Jewish prophet

Dear Mister Prime Minister, As a fellow Québécois and Montréalais, I want to congratulate you on your election. I want to assure you that our church will be praying for you. You are well aware that “all politics are local” and no more so than in this recent election. There was no impact from Premier…

Review of ‘Harmonize the Moon’ by Michael Feuerstack

Review of ‘Harmonize the Moon’ by Michael Feuerstack

What’s getting me through is Harmonize the Moon, a new album from Montreal songwriter Michael Feuerstack. Feuerstack has refined his trade through a catalogue of excellent albums with an expanding set of musical tools (even two records’ worth of other people singing his songs), but the pandemic has reduced his sonic palette to the essentials:…

Calling Santé Québec
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Calling Santé Québec

The human voice is a powerful instrument. Through speaking, singing, whispering and shouting, our voices express much of the human experience. Our voices are also basic to our sharing meaningfully with others. Through verbal communication we express a range of emotions and experiences: anger, desire, sympathy, fear and amusement, among others. I became particularly attuned…

Goodbye to Québec?
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Goodbye to Québec?

It was supposed to be all about language. After the Parti Québécois formed its first provincial government in late 1976, it enacted Bill 101, the Charter of the French Language, which abolished Québec’s previous bilingual status and guaranteed the priority of the majority tongue.

Rights at Risk
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Rights at Risk

It wasn’t too long ago that the government of Pauline Marois introduced the Charter of Values in the legislature (Bill 60), which would have prevented public employees from wearing conspicuous religious symbols.