Gérard Bouchard and Charles Taylor, co-chairs of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission on Reasonable Accomodations, pictured here at the commission's hearings in Laval this past week.
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
A commission on reasonable accommodations or on the wearing of the veil?
The debate on the Islamic scarf was central to the Bouchard-Taylor Commission hearings in Laval
Even though there were some very interesting witnesses, it cannot be said that the Bouchard-Taylor Commission shed any light on the city of Laval's multicultural character.
In the three days of commission hearings in Laval this past week, it was obvious that the cultural communities that are most present on Île-Jésus did not participate in this process of public consultation. The majority of briefs deposited and testimony given by cultural communities, came from Moslems.
The debate swirling around the wearing of the Islamic veil was very much a part of the proceedings. Several Quebecers of long-standing origins going back many generations expressed their uneasiness over this ostentatious sign of religion, especially when it is worn by someone representing a public institution. Several Moslems who testified at the hearings were consistent in their declarations that the wearing of the veil was not a religious obligation and that in fact it was a matter of personal and individual choice.
For their part, the representatives of the Table de concertation en condition feminine (Round Table on the Status of Women) avoided the question. "We did not pronounce ourselves on the wearing of the veil because there is no consensus among our members," indicates Marie-Ève Surprenant.
According to Mrs. Surprenant, the more the finger is pointed at women who wear the veil, the more they find themselves misunderstood. "Some will wear the veil as a mark of identity," she reports. "It's not by prohibiting them from wearing the veil that we'll help them integrate," notes Eve Leblond.
The brief submitted by the two young women insisted on the importance of equality between men and women. For Mrs. Leblond and Mrs. Surprenant, reasonable accommodation should not go against this principle. Marie-Eve Surprenant is of the opinion that the government must provide a framework to guide public institutions in their decision-making (relative to this and other questions of reasonable accommodations).
CSSS
The director-general of the Centre de santé et des services sociaux (CSSS) de Laval (Health and Social Services Centre of Laval), Luc Lepage, submitted the blueprint for the process by which his organization responds to requests for 'personalization of care', the expression used for reasonable accommodation. To be fulfilled, a request must respect four signposts: professional ethics, safety regulations, budget limits, and the rights and freedoms of users and workers in the health sector. These workers have also been better trained in order to develop skills that can be used in working with cultural communities.
A specialist in ethnic affairs at the CSSS, Marie-Ève Bouthillier, reports that one of the requests that had to be handled concerned an 'intern' in inhalation therapy who wanted to wear her veil in the operating room. For reasons of hygiene and need for sterile conditions, the request was refused, says Luc Lepage.
The director-general specifies that birth deliveries are the source of the largest number of requests. Women of certain cultural communities ask for a female physician. The Cité de la santé now foresees that there will an attempt to accommodate these mothers but it cannot guarantee it will always be the case. As for the rest of the hospital staff (apart from doctors), no other compromise is possible.
A Citizens Forum
Prior to the two days of hearings, commissioners Bouchard and Taylor heard testimony from private citizens at a forum held Tuesday evening. In all, 173 people attended the hearing, with 40 of them speaking.
According to testimony at the hearings, the tensions which have arisen between Quebecers and cultural communities can be traced to the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Commission, co-chaired by sociologist-historian Gérard Bouchard and philosopher Charles Taylor, has as its mission the development of a practical approach to reasonable accommodations and the making of an analysis of the stakes involved, by way of public hearings throughout Quebec.
The Commission's Report and Recommendations are expected to be delivered to the Premier of Quebec on March 31, 2008.
Photo:Taylor
(Photo: Martin Alarie)
Météo: Laval, 6 juillet 2008 / 25°C
/ Généralement dégagé
/ Vents: 11 Km/h / Humidité relative: 44 % 
Steven Guilbeault - 
