Can we, in Quebec, exclude certain citizens from public facilities because of their political views?
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we → exclude → views
This type of discrimination, common under authoritarian regimes, “has no place in a free and democratic society like Quebec,” the province’s Superior Court said on July 31, in deciding a case involving a Christian group, B.C.-based Harvest Ministries International (HMI) and the former Quebec minister of tourism Caroline Proulx.
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Court → have → tourism
The drama began in 2023, when Proulx forced the termination of a lease agreement because she disapproved of HMI’s views on abortion.
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she → begin → abortion
Her communications team tried to frame this cancellation as part of the abortion debate despite the fact the event in question, called “Faith, Fire and Freedom,” had nothing to do with abortion.
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event → try → abortion
Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental rights recognized in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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Freedom → recognize → Rights
The state may infringe upon these rights only in rare cases and within strict limits established by case law, such as a violent situation.
uncertain
state → infringe → situation
But that is not what happened here.
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what → happen → ?
First, the evidence presented did not indicate that HMI hosted an “anti-abortion event,” but a gathering that “had as its primary objective to unite Canada’s two founding peoples.”
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that → present → peoples
Second, it was not the nature of the event that prompted the minister to cancel its holding at the Québec City Convention Center, but rather the organizer’s beliefs regarding abortion which she discovered by visiting the organizer’s website.
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she → prompt → website
Finally, the minister claimed to have acted entirely within the law to protect the “fundamental rights and freedoms” of Quebec women.
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minister → claim → women
On this point, the ruling could not be harsher: the Superior Court found that she acted “without legislative or regulatory authority,” meaning she lacked the legal authority to force the termination of the lease.
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she → find → lease
The court found that Proulx acted “in an arbitrary and abusive manner, without any regard for (HMI’s) rights.”
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Proulx → find → rights
It further emphasized that “her interference” was “motivated by considerations of an essentially political nature and her contemporaneous public statements based on personal convictions.
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interference → emphasize → convictions
It was not the minister of tourism who acted here in her capacity as a minister.
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who → act → minister
It was Caroline Proulx who abused her position to stifle the freedom of expression of a group with which she disagreed.
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she → abuse → which
It is regrettable that, following such a harsh ruling, Ms. Proulx refuses to admit any wrongdoing and is once again attempting to shift the focus of the case to the issue of abortion by claiming to defend Quebec’s “fundamental rights and freedoms.”
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Proulx → follow → rights
These so-called fundamental rights do exist, but it is not up to a minister to redefine them.
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it → call → them
They are already enshrined in the Charter.
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They → enshrine → Charter
If, after such a harsh ruling, the minister can simply reiterate her narrative and reject the court’s conclusions outright; if media attention shifts elsewhere; if citizens shrug it off — this signals that this kind of anti-democratic behavior can pay off politically.
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kind → reiterate → behavior
One can find some comfort in the fact that, notwithstanding the ministers’ claims, the government of Quebec will not be appealing the decision according to the lawyer for HMI.
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government → find → HMI
It is important to remember that the real issue is whether we accept that a member of the government can trample on the rights of a group because of their own personal beliefs.
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member → remember → beliefs
A democracy that answers “yes” to this question is already beginning to forget why it adopted a Charter in the first place.
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it → answer → place
National Post
Jean-Christophe Jasmin is the Québec director at Cardus, where he draws on his background as a federal public servant and his training in political philosophy and theology to foster collaboration between faith communities, policy-makers, and the broader public.
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he → draw → communities
The Aporia
