Laïcity in the State, a delicate balance

Benoît Pelletier. The author is a lawyer emeritus, has a doctorate in law and is a distinguished professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Ottawa. March 5, 2024, published in Le Devoir The recent ruling by the Quebec Court of Appeal marked an important victory for the Quebec government in its defence […]

Humanists International 2023: An Exciting Congress

By Pierre St-Amant, AHQ delegate to the conference. Humanists International (HI) is a non-governmental organization representing humanists, atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers from all over the world. It promotes humanist principles and defends humanists who are victims of persecution and violence around the world. It also promotes policies based on reason and science. It holds annual general meetings […]

Rights and privileges, the reign of confusion

by Patrick Moreau, Le Devoir, Friday July 28th, 2023 Rights and privileges should not be confused. Rights, in particular “human rights”, are freedoms granted to all citizens of Quebec and Canada; these shared rights are a fundamental condition of the equality that must reign among citizens in a democracy. A privilege, on the other hand, […]

Multiculturalists are mistaken about liberalism

By Sam Haroun, writer Le Devoir, May 31, 2022 They call themselves liberals, but they have an elastic idea of liberalism when it comes to freedom of religion, as if freedom of conscience, the matrix of all freedoms, is exercised differently depending on its field of application: freedom of expression, assembly, demonstration, etc., are subject […]

Our collective call to include the non-religious in the Special Humanitarian Assistance Program for Afghan nationals

Statement to Address Discriminatory Oversight in Canadian Special Humanitarian Assistance Program for Afghan Nationals October 4th, 2021 The tenuous and dangerous living circumstances in Afghanistan following the nation’s fall to the Taliban are dire for many of its citizens, especially atheists and other apostates. Humanist, atheist, and agnostic organizations in Canada represent a diverse group […]

President of NEP interviewed by Humanist Freedoms

DISCUSSION: LAUNCH OF “THE NEW ENLIGHTENMENT PROJECT” OCTOBER 7, 2021 HUMANISTFREEDOMS In our search for interesting, challenging and critical perspectives on contemporary humanism, we occasionally find organizations and activities that we think humanistfreedoms.com readers may enjoy. The “New Enlightenment Project” caught our eye (particularly the blog section of the organization’s website which features a growing library of articles and […]

ISLAMOPHOBIA

NOURISHING THE BREEDING GROUND OF POLITICAL ISLAM? NADIA EL-MABROUK, TAREK FATAH AND YASMINE MOHAMMED RESPECTIVELY AUTHOR OF NOTRE LAÏCITÉ, JOURNALIST AND PRESIDENT OF FREE HEARTS FREE MINDS In preparation for the National Summit on Islamophobia, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) released a series of recommendations that were reported in the media. As their […]

Québec: the Guy-Rocher Secularism Award

The Mouvement laïque québécois (MLQ) receives the Guy-Rocher Secularism Award!  The Minister responsible for Secularism and Parliamentary Reform, Mr. Simon Jolin-Barrette, paid tribute to the Mouvement laïque québécois by awarding it the very first Guy-Rocher Secularism Prize on May 16 at the Bibliothèque nationale du Québec in Montreal.  Here is the speech of the President […]