In 1974 as a very junior reporter at The Montreal Star, some senior reporters alerted me to a two-part major piece of reporting by Noel Mostert in the New Yorker magazine. The article was about oil supertankers, the skill required to navigate and operate them and their widespread pollution of the sea.
In the wake of the proposed charter on Quebec values, more and more alarming stories are surfacing about employment discrimination against Muslims, mostly from North Africa but also from Iran.
In the debate that has led up to the tabling Thursday of a charter of Quebec values, too many Quebecers, including some well-known Quebec feminists, appear to be supporting the idea of excluding Muslim women who wear head scarves from major employment opportunities in Quebec society.
“Le nouveau portrait de la situation linguistique dans la métropole reflète des tendances particulièrement positives et encourageantes. Des données tirées du dernier recensement démontrent que parmi les habitants de l’île de Montréal, pas moins de 85% parlent français.”
The Language Situation should be embraced for the opportunities it offers, not fought over.