Event

What has changed in Quebec in the five years since the "Reasonable Accomodation Crisis"?

Thursday, May 23, 2013 17:30to19:00
Chancellor Day Hall Room 312 (NCDH), 3644 rue Peel, Montreal, QC, H3A 1W9, CA

The question of reasonable accomodations in Quebec, which in the past was largely a legal issue, has become a driving force in the public discourse.

Coexistence among diverse cultures has also taken on a life of its own in the media with the so-called "Reasonable Accomodation Crisis" and attendant ideological disputes, cystallizing identity politics and feeding various academic and public polemics.

Five years after the Bouchard-Taylor Commission, this round table looks at the concept and practice of reasonable accomodation (meaning, principles, framework, reach and limitations, etc.) by revisiting the major themes of the debate : pluralism or assimilationism as a model of social integration.

The discussion necessitates an examination of the ramifications of the «laicité» or secular legalo-political models, applied to religious practice, the State, and pluralistic adjustments of beliefs and philosophies of life in the public domain.

Panelists

  • Daniel Weinstock, Full Professor, Faculty of Law, McGill.
  • Marie McAndrew, Chair Holder Canada Research Chair in Education and Ethnic Relations, Université de Montréal
  • Jack Jedwab, Executive Director, Association for Canadian Studies.

Moderator: Anne Lagacé Dowson, President and Director General, ENSEMBLE for the respect of diversity.

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