Quebec Targets Halal Food In Publicly-Funded Schools
Episode Stats
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Summary
The province of Quebec is banning halal food in public daycare centers and other public institutions. What does this mean for Jewish and Muslim children in public schools and day care centers? What will it mean for kosher and halal foods? And how will it affect Jewish and Jewish children in Jewish day care centres and other publicly funded day cares?
Transcript
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I have some great news for people that believe in secularism and upholding Western societal norms.
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The province of Quebec, the French-speaking province of Quebec in eastern Canada,
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they're now banning halal food in publicly funded schools.
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Daycares and other public institutions in Quebec that serve halal or kosher food
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are wondering how the province's new secularism law will affect them.
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The law, which was tabled last month, says that no public institution can offer exclusively a diet
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I've heard very little in terms of how that detail would look like.
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I think it's all up in the imagination right now.
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How do we navigate the kosher food or the halal food or whatever other food restrictions other communities have?
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The minister responsible says it's not that complicated.
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Here's how he explained it when he first tabled the bill.
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They can serve kosher meal, but they will have to serve some other food too to enlarge the offer.
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And I'm not sure why this is controversial in a Western country like Canada.
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What the province of Quebec is essentially doing is they're saying that with these schools,
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And if you're only going to serve one type of food, it has to be non-halal.
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What these schools are doing, it's unacceptable.
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And the province of Quebec is right to push back against this.
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These kids have the right to eat non-halal food.
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They shouldn't have halal food forced down their throats.
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This would affect mostly publicly funded or subsidized daycares.
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Many of them serve exclusively halal or kosher food,
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even to children who aren't Jewish or Muslim, simply out of convenience.
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It doesn't really change the material nature of the meat or the poultry itself.
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In a statement to CBC, the association representing publicly funded daycare
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It's important to understand that those responsible for providing food in child care centers
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have to work with limited suppliers and budgets.
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So what will a manager do if the only suppliers able to meet budgetary constraints
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offer, for example, only halal or kosher products?
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In some cases, it could mean a daycare might require two separate kitchens.
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So for example, a kosher kitchen is, you know, very particular.
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And you can't bring other food into a kosher kitchen without it no longer being kosher.
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And so how do you navigate that while serving all communities and serving your community as well?
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Beyond daycares, the institution that could be the most affected is Montreal's Jewish General Hospital.
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The hospital's patient guide online says all of its food preparation services are kosher.
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A spokesperson told CBC non-kosher meals are available, but didn't offer any other details.
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Does that mean that the Jewish General Hospital has to build a new kitchen?
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CBC has repeatedly asked the hospital about the bill since it was first tabled.
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It will only say that it's still studying the situation and analyzing potential impacts.
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We also asked the minister responsible what he thinks about all these concerns.
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There are no exceptions provided for in the bill.
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However, it's important to remember that we're still in the tabling stage.
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Before answering more specific questions, it's necessary to consult with stakeholders
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Muslim and Jewish groups say they're ready to participate in that process.
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Both Jews and Muslims, they're minorities in Canada.
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Yet, they come here and they demand that their food is prepared a certain way.
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And not only that, they ignore the fact it comes at a great inconvenience to regular Canadians.
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Either you eat regular food or go back to your country.
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If you want to eat halal food, go to Iran or Saudi Arabia.
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But don't think for one second, you're going to come to my country and tell me and my people what to eat.
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Alternatively, what parents can do, especially at school,
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if you want your kids to have halal or kosher food,
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Naturally, Muslims are not very happy about this.
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Quebec's new secularism bill is raising concern among public institutions
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that serve halal or kosher food, including daycares and hospitals.
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One clause of Bill 9 mentions banning publicly funded institutions
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from offering menus based exclusively on religious dietary rules.
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This has created uncertainty about how food services would operate.
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Muslim and Jewish groups warn the measure could unfairly target religious minorities
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They say some kitchens cannot easily mix religious and non-religious foods
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without fears of cross-contamination or added expenses.
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Quebec's secularism minister insists the rule is simple,
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saying halal or kosher meals can still be served
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Now, I find it really strange that we have a Muslim news network in Canada.
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But I guess there's a high demand for stuff like this.
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I'm tired of this small minority of people coming to our country
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We let these people into our country, a relatively rich and safe country.
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They repay us by being entitled, being a complete pain in the butt.
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And I want you to hate Muslims, Jews, or anyone else.
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All I'm saying is that if you have a problem with cafeteria food,
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pack your own lunch or go to a country that upholds your religious beliefs.
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But stop pushing it on regular Canadians, right?
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We eat regular food, and it's been fine for a long time.
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And it's a great inconvenience to the rest of us.
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And I truly believe that Poliev will be great at dealing with this.
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He probably won't go as hard on the Jewish people
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because there's a lot of Jewish people in his base.
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However, he will go hard on the Muslims, especially the radical Muslims,
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the ones that want to force everyone to eat halal food,
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and also the ones that pray in the streets and call for the destruction of Canada.
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Poliev had a couple MPs leave his cabinet, and one guy quit.
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Okay, the way I see it, Poliev didn't need those people anyway,
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and they're probably going to lose the next election.
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If it's not this summer, he'll get in eventually.
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I'm still holding on to hope for a conservative supermajority.
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Unfortunately, it's just going to take a little bit more time than I previously thought.
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But like I always say, hang in there, have a bit of patience, have a bit of faith.
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We're going to win, and we're going to win big.
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As you notice, my voice is still pretty shot, but hopefully it gets better soon.
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We're also going to have to get this checked out.
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Thanks to anyone that's ever watched any of my videos.
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And the message of Eid resonates in this room, across the city.
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And I may say, it should resonate with all Canadians.
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It's a story that some of us hear with slightly different nomenclature, whether the prophet is
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Canada, our Canada, our Canada is a diverse country.
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Proud home to different languages, different beliefs, different cultures.
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Those are differences that make us unique and make us strong.
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All of us must come together around the values of Eid.
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The values of community, of generosity, and yes, of sacrifice.