Last week, Quebec Premier Phillippe Couillard sounded off on the recent stabbing of a security guard in Michigan by a Quebec native.
Couillard said that “you cannot disconnect this type of event, terrorism, from Islam in general.”
It’s a stunning change of face from a premier who, in the wake of this year’s shooting at a Quebec City mosque, said that the province needs to fight its “demons” with a united front.
“Our society is not perfect,” Couillard said at the time. “None is. These demons are named xenophobia, racism, exclusion. They are present here. We need to recognize that and act together to show the direction we want our society to evolve.”
Good to know that his idea of presenting a united front is essentially throwing all law-abiding Canadian Muslims under the bus with a single deranged extremist.
Couillard’s statement essentially ties terrorism and Islam together. Despite the fact that terrorism comes in all shapes and forms.
Think back to the shooting on election night in Quebec in 2012. Richard Henry Bain stormed the Parti Québécois election night celebration and killed one person and wounded another.
In the wake of that, did we hear calls to tie Bain to his religion? We didn’t.
Instead we heard about the dangers of becoming “over-invested in extremist political views.” This seems like a reasonable response. One that could easily be applied to last week’s attack in Michigan.
In fact, Couillard’s comments ended up in a New York Times editorial entitled: “Quebec’s Response to Hate: More Tolerance.”
But why the distinction now? Why was it that when a white guy stormed a PQ event and killed a man, we just saw him as a lone nut? But when a Muslim man does something similar, some segments of society – and now our premier – chalk it up to his religion.
In his comments after the Quebec City mosque shooting, Couillard specifically talked about exclusion.
What better way to combat the feeling of exclusion that many Muslims in Quebec feel than by equating them with terrorists.
Let’s not forget that this is the same province that toyed with the idea of banning all religious garb worn by public servants while still having a crucifix hanging in the National Assembly.
So, in other words, all religious garb unless it’s Christian.
This kind of identity politics is what drives communities further apart.
At a time when the world is shrinking and different cultures are constantly coming into contact with one another, now is not the time to resort to tribalism. Especially if the goal of that tribalism is to win votes.
In the wake of the mosque shooting in Quebec City, Quebec was lauded for its response to the tragedy and the united front of its citizens.
Now, Muslims in the province can’t be faulted for wondering whether they should, in fact, feel welcome in a province that is so willing to turn on a dime and cast a suspicious eye their way.
Chris Lowrey
