Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Chassidim, teachers draw fire in minorities debate
Chassidic men reportedly requesting that male evaluators only be in the car with them when they take Quebec Automobile Insurance Board driving tests became the latest in a series of incidents in recent months that purportedly demonstrate the lengths to which Quebecers must go to satisfy religious and cultural minorities.
The Quebec Public Service Union and the Fédération des femmes du Québec complained that asking female evaluators to defer to their male colleagues violates the principle of the equality of men and women.
The insurance board defended the practice as simply good customer service. Moreover, it said, about 80 per cent of the evaluators are male, and only about 100 chassidim take a driving test each year.
Days before, a group of employees of Quebec's largest school board, the Commission Scolaire de Montréal began circulating a petition against the fact their Jewish and Muslim co-workers are allowed to take paid time off for their religious holidays generally two or three extra days per year. They said the policy is unfair and increases the workload of non-Jews and non-Muslims. Among other irritants, the group also cited the banning of pork from the menus of the commission's day-care centres.
The commission contends that it must pay for the days off because of a 1994 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that upheld the right of three Jewish teachers working for the school board in Chambly, Que., to be paid when they took a day off on Yom Kippur.
Nevertheless, the Montreal board said it would create a committee to look into the "reasonable accommodations" that are accorded its staff.
Comments:
That's all we need -- to be associated with the #$%^&*ing Head-choppers in the public mind!!
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Comment Credit ---This article posted by 
: February 12, 2007 10:06 PM
: February 12, 2007 10:06 PM
