Last year, when it was announced that Shawville would finally be getting a long-awaited slaughterhouse, many people celebrated another business coming to the Pontiac.
Some people changed their attitudes when they found out that the new slaughterhouse was going to have a Halal certification.
The complaints were first made to Shawville’s municipal council, who then approached the abattoir’s owners to host a town hall question and answer event – which the owners graciously did.
The owners painstakingly detailed what it meant to be a Halal certified abattoir and why they needed the designation.
They told the crowd that a Halal certification was the main factor that got them the funding to get the project off the ground – banks wouldn’t lend to them unless they got the Halal certification.

Those banks recognized that the business of turning livestock into cuts of meat is an already saturated industry – unless you have a niche product.
The abattoir is a project that’s been sitting on the shelf for close to two decades, and is finally coming to fruition because it’s going to capitalize off of a niche market instead of competing in a competitive market dominated by a few large players.
The abattoir’s owners also allayed fears that there would be foul odours coming from the facility, that animals suffer more as a result of Halal slaughter practises and that property values would plummet because of it.
By the end of the session, many of those who opposed the abattoir had their minds changed and warmed up to the idea.
Fast-forward to this past week and it’s clear that several people missed the boat on the information session.
A job posting for the abattoir that stated it was looking for a Muslim butcher was circulated online and soon had more than 100 comments – many of which were negative and some outright racist.
Some folks were upset that, by looking for a Muslim employee, the abattoir was no longer looking to employ people of the Pontiac. This, despite the fact that 10 of the 11 current employees are from the Pontiac.
Others complained that this online job posting showed a “hidden agenda” on the part of the business owners, even though the community already went over this eight months ago.
The Quebec Charter of human rights and freedoms was invoked. Section 10 of the charter says that no employer can discriminate or show preference based on an employee’s religion.
However, section 20 says that if a position requires certain “aptitudes or qualifications,” it is not discriminatory for an employer to show preference based on religion.
This whole ordeal is alarming for two reasons.
First, it reveals a startling level of ignorance that a group of people would take to Facebook several times over the course of a day without bothering to make sure what they’re saying – online and in writing – has a basis in reality.
The second and more concerning factor is the outright bigotry on display. A commenter even went as far as to liken Muslims to “a society of liars, murderers and rapists.”
This shows that the opposition to the abattoir on display isn’t coming from a place of good faith – it’s coming from one of the darker parts of the human psyche.
It’s a safe bet that there wouldn’t have been this much outrage against the abattoir if it was, say, a kosher slaughterhouse.

Chris Lowrey