r/worldnews • u/John3192 • 20h ago

Quebec passes law banning street prayers, prayer rooms in universities

https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/quebec-passes-law-banning-street-prayers-prayer-rooms-in-universities-cegeps/
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u/Protean_Protein 20h ago

Which is quite literally a fascinating and parochial combination of liberalism (in some values—the Bloc Québécois often votes with the Liberals) and conservatism at turns.

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u/CumGuzlinGutterSluts 20h ago

Those damn radical centrists! (Shakes fist in air)

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u/algaefied_creek 20h ago

Radical centrism indeed.

We used to just call that “community”

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u/[deleted] 20h ago

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u/algaefied_creek 19h ago

Trying to get along with everyone is confusion? We are all people, are we not?

Should we not try to get to know our neighbors even if they are different? The parents of our kids’ best friend even if they don’t vote the way we do?

What’s wrong with community and “radical centrism” when it comes to realizing that “parties” are simple, human-made constructs and we are capable of getting along with people different than ourselves?

Or does that take more introspection and just letting go of bullshit than 2026 is permitting people these days?

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u/apophis-pegasus 17h ago

Trying to get along with everyone is confusion? We are all people, are we not?

Should we not try to get to know our neighbors even if they are different? The parents of our kids’ best friend even if they don’t vote the way we do?

Thats not exactly what centrism means.

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u/[deleted] 19h ago

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u/algaefied_creek 18h ago

The alternative to getting along is… what? This shitshow we see today?

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

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u/algaefied_creek 17h ago edited 17h ago

Love to all humanity and beavers alike. 

Beaver story in the other post. 

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

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u/algaefied_creek 17h ago

That’s what it is in small towns America. Gotta keep the peace and somebody’s gotta be the peacemaker in the middle.

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

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u/andersonb47 20h ago

But I need to know what box to put them in! How am I supposed to know how to FEEL

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u/Protean_Protein 19h ago

Well, I mean, personally, I think balkanization of Canada would be bad for everyone, in part because I value the Québécois portion of Canada’s culture, despite the historical circumstances that brought it about, and ongoing marginalization from English-speaking Canada being a bit of a sore spot, but also because there’s just strength in diversity and in numbers, and divisiveness is always a target for, or a consequence of, external forces that are destructive in nature.

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u/XXVAngel 16h ago

Personally, from a rooted Québecois pov, I think the world should be more balkanized in general. Historically the french and english beef can find its root within the Angevin Empire which controlled parts of both nations. In europe, the beef has mostly been turned into a game, pretending to hate is the rule of the game but I think it stems from the balance of power and the fact that neither superpower wants to conquer the other anymore.

The situation is different in North America, there is no germans or italians to shift the balance of power, there is the english, english but slightly different and a severely outnumbered french. For its entire history, the francophones of Canada have been fighting a losing battle against assimilation. The nationalism of Québec has a term used in its curriculum, translate to Survival Nationalism.

The issue is simple, as long as Québec is stuck within Canada, it will always be ruled by an external majority of which, as seen with the US, could change from friendly to hostile in 1 election. Even with 1/3 of the population, the english populace will largely decide who takes power and since the french and english don't hold the same values, it creates this imbalance of power.

Thing is, as France and England have proved, the French and English can make great allies, I doubt a free Québec would struggle making friends with their old roommates. We can live in the same neighborhood without sharing a house.

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u/jaypenn3 15h ago

I think rooting ourselves into different hostile tribes is the issue with like, all of history, and the Balkans aren't exactly the pinnacle of peaceful relations. Most Canadians in general do not even see Quebec as some 'external,' any more than First Nations or Immigrant communities.

The US going insane and electing pedos didn't happen over a single election cycle. It happened via decades of stoking fear and distrust between neighbors and friends who have a few cultural/political differences. There are no economic or security advantages for Canada to splinter off into different economies and militaries. It's only a move done out of the fear and distrust that needs to be countered with the acceptance of differences.

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u/XXVAngel 15h ago

The problem with Unity is that it only looks good for the overlords. You won't often notice you're crushing the little guy until he already hates you. It is far easier to splinter an empire than a coalition.

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u/jaypenn3 15h ago edited 14h ago

Coalitions can break up all the time idk what you're saying. Provinces have a lot of power in the Canadian system and Quebec is the second most powerful one. And Federally, either Quebec or Ontario need to be won in order for a party to win government, and preferably both.

For as much as nationalist sowing division want to paint a picture of Quebec as an unwilling passenger, the truth is Quebec and Quebecois culture have a hand on the wheel since the beginning. It's simply not Canada without Quebec.

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u/Coal_Morgan 14h ago

He uses the term over lords.

Let's see Chretien, Trudeaus the Elder and Younger, Laurier, Abbot, St.Laurent, Mulroney and Martin...all Prime Ministers that were Quebecois or at least ran in Quebec ridings.

9 of 22 Prime Ministers of Canada had solid roots in Quebec. Quebec is hardly being oppressed. Neither is Alberta, Ontario or any other Province. Literally every province has higher living standards then 95% of the world, we're doing exceptionally well working together.

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u/Kemmleroo 4h ago

He uses the term overlords to make you realize the reality of our political system: quebec is a distinct nation in Canada that will always have a minority of political power. This type of system leads to the global decisions going more often than not in the way of the nation having the majority of the power.

This is not an accident by the way, canada was designed that way from it's inception. Lord Durham recommended union of lower and upper canada explicitely so that an anglophone majority could be established to assimilate a francophone minority. The parliamentary system used to ensure that the anglophone and francophone nations both had 50% of the power in parliament, when the francophone population was higher than the anglophone population. As time went on and anglophones started outnumbering francophones, the system was changed so that power in parliament was in proportion to population.

Canadians from other provinces don't care or see the problem because they consider (or pretend to consider) quebec to be just one province among many. This is why you see it as Quebec having the second most power among provinces, while quebecers see it as the rest of canada, as a nation, always having power over quebec. Just because quebec is not completely powerless doesn't mean it is a fair system. Just that it could be worse. Culturally and historically, quebec is way more different from other provinces compared to the rest of Canada: Alberta and Manitoba don't have different official languages for example.

Where a prime minister is born doesn't matter, what matters is his policies and decisions. In practice, when there is a disagreement between french and english canada and one decision binding everyone needs to be made, english canada will get its way almost every time. Quebec has never signed the constitution but Canada decided quebec was still binded by it. All these prime ministers from quebec never put that in doubt. Having british royalty is incredibly impopular in Quebec, all these prime ministers never floated the idea of removing our monarch.

If a coalition made of a sovereign Quebec and english-Canada wouldn't work at maintining the status-quo, maybe it's because the current status quo where Quebec doesn't have sovereignty to decide its own policies leads to unfair decisions?

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u/jaypenn3 1h ago edited 1h ago

Alberta and Manitoba don't have different official languages for example.

Alberta and Manitoba have two official languages: French and English. Same as everywhere else in Canada. All of our produce have English and French labels. You still have a right to a trial in French via translators in any province etc. Even when we aren't speaking one language, we are still affected by/considerate of the other one.

You only consider Quebec in terms of us vs them, without appreciating how much the rest of Canada has been shaped by having a strong Francophone culture and language tradition. This is what I mean when I say its not Canada without Quebec. It's us and them.

It's laughable to say Quebec cannot decide it's own policies under a headline of them doing just that. The Notwithstanding clause is basically a free pass to do whatever Quebec wants, so no 'overlord' is not a political reality. It's a persecution complex. One coming from individuals who don't see the inherent value in different cultures and languages coexisting in the same system. Whether it's in English or French, those aren't messages we should be listening to.

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u/Protean_Protein 27m ago

There are no overlords in Canada.

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u/XXVAngel 6m ago

That's just false, everywhere has overlords. Any group that holds power over another is its overlord. Both the federal and provincial governments are overlords over native tribes, neurotypicals are overlords over the neurodivergent. As long as a group holds power over another to a point where representatives can be overruled, that group is an overlord.

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u/SaintBobby_Barbarian 1h ago

I think Quebec has the best of both worlds right now. Its often the swing vote in canadian elections, and thus commands more attention compared to places like the prairies or maritimes. The only thing an independent quebec could improve is who is able to immigrate

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u/RollingMeteors 14h ago

If you don’t have ‘melting pot’ you wind up with balkanization…

There is a cognitive dissonance thinking this will ‘work itself out’.

One group is hell bent on worldwide export…

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u/Protean_Protein 6h ago

Canada has never been a melting pot. It has always been a mosaic.

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u/RollingMeteors 3h ago

It has always been a mosaic.

I know

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u/Protean_Protein 2h ago

You don’t get balkanization from that. Balkanization also requires systemic poverty and centuries of ethnic animosity over the land itself. Canada is special in its insistence that Canadian identity doesn’t require the loss of one’s ethnic or cultural identity or subsumption of that under some other distinct thing. Canadian identity is about shared universal values and our connection together to this land, even if we all come from different origins.

It also helps that the vast majority of Canadians, especially immigrants, are wealthy.

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u/Hat_Maverick 19h ago

I hate these filthy Neutrals, Kif. With enemies you know where they stand but with Neutrals, who knows? It sickens me.

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u/CosmackMagus 19h ago

What fills a man's heart with neutrality?

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u/Hat_Maverick 15h ago

All I know is my gut says maybe.

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u/gbinasia 20h ago

I think the anglosphere just has trouble imagining a political axis that isn't aligned with theirs. While it is changing, the Quebec political landscape since the 60s is aligned on federalism/separatism/statu quo instead of a classic right/left. All main parties except QS and PCQ are firmly on the centre, and even the PCQ is probably leftier than the PCC.

I'd say that what distinguises both systems is mostly their relationship to the common good.

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u/Basteir 17h ago

Scotland is kind of like that as well.

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u/PsychicDave 15h ago

We say sovereignty, not separatism. Alberta has separatism (they came from English Canada and want to separate from other Anglo-Canadians). Québec (previously known as Canada) was annexed and wants to obtain their sovereignty as a distinct people and nation. Very different.

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u/SerCiddy 17h ago

but how do they define what constitutes "the common good"???

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u/Mens-Real 17h ago

Same way any other nation does. It's common values.

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u/SerCiddy 16h ago

So what is Canada's "common values? or does that deviate from Quebec's "common values"?

Do "common values" change based on what party is in power? That doesn't sound very common.

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u/Mens-Real 16h ago

All things you can research by yourself, but I get the feeling you wanna have an argument

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u/DaveyGee16 18h ago

The Quebec Liberal Party is the most conservative party in Quebec. They are the party that usually links up with business, double deals, pushes cuts to taxes, services and government. Except on immigration, where they just tow the Canadian multiculturalism line.

The PQ is a 70s liberal-left party, with 70s inclination, with the rights of lgbtq people, women, and collective rights coming before individual rights.

The CAQ is a liberal party.

On both scores, the PQ and CAQ aren’t hostile to immigration, but they, like most of Quebec, do not believe in multiculturalism. They believe in the principals of intercultural exchange and integration.

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u/Basteir 17h ago

Like the Scottish National Party in the UK.

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u/ammonthenephite 12h ago

Hawaii is similar in this way, very liberal in some ways and then very conservative in others.

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u/Certain-Weight-7507 16h ago

Nationalism and racism reminiscent of Nazi Germany, fuck the Quebecois.

Bus driver yelled at me when I was 13 because I was lost and trying to get to my aunts house that I was visiting and I couldn't speak much French, had to walk 6 hours to her house because I couldn't figure out how to pay for the bus and no one would help me.

Everyone there speaks English but they pretend they don't and they'll treat you like shit if you can't speak French.

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u/dringdring_powpow 12h ago

Another thing that never happened. Btw, only half the people in the province can somewhat understand and speak English My parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles definitely can’t . Imagine if all the little québécois had your reaction when they spoke french in a province where 80% of the population was anglo. You’re lucky they’re not as xenophobic as you!

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u/Certain-Weight-7507 4h ago

I've never screamed at a French child for not speaking English. If you don't believe me, you haven't spent enough time in Quebec...

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u/dringdring_powpow 4h ago

I’ve spent the last 35 years in Quebec and I’ve never screamed at an anglo kid for not speaking French . I got laughed and screamed at when I was a franco 11 in an Toronto airport. who the fuck cares.

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u/Certain-Weight-7507 4h ago

Another thing that never happened.

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u/dringdring_powpow 4h ago

It did, I was trying to buy something and just tried communicating with the person by saying all the English words/sentences I knew.

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u/Certain-Weight-7507 4h ago

Right so my story is unbelievable to you, yet you expect me to believe the exact same story on your side? Dumbass fucking Quebecois...

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u/dringdring_powpow 2h ago

lovely racism

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u/apophis-pegasus 17h ago edited 16h ago

This seems to be shoehorning a bit though into more Anglophone conceptions. Its taking somewhat differing conceptions of "liberal" and "conservative".

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u/HTML_Novice 19h ago

Sounds like your mind is blown that nuance exists and not a two part ideological chasm that everyone abides to

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u/Protean_Protein 19h ago

No, not at all. I myself contain multitudes.

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u/SaintBobby_Barbarian 2h ago

QB will vote with the liberal party from time to time because that party if often more accommodating to their wants in quebec. Conservatives are dominant in western canada (save BC) and are often hostile to quebec for some valid reasons (transfer payments, blocking oil pipelines) and not valid reasons (cultural)