When political leaders choose politics/votes over principle, as in this case, they are giving into the age-old threat to democracy - the “tyranny of the majority”.
For a democracy to be healthy, we need courageous, principled leadership, committed to the fundamental democratic principle that we are all born equal and worthy of dignity and respect, which includes the right to freedom of religion.
A powerful and important read by CBC News Opinion journalist Robyn Urback: Quebec's secularism law is a national disgrace -- and yet barely an election issue. When state sponsored discrimination is the law anywhere in Canada, it's everyone's business
“Majority opinion in this case is merely that; it certainly doesn't mean the law is righteous or good...we have laws that protect individual freedoms & minority rights precisely because the majority can't be counted on to uphold them.”
“There's no question that any sort of intervention would be abysmally received by Quebec and within Quebec, and could very well decide the election. But it would also be a true demonstration of putting principles above political interest — which is probably too much to ask. Doing the right thing often comes with an enormous cost, and it's quite evident that whoever becomes our next prime minister will not be willing to pay it.”
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