Adam: Non-Christians are tremendous with Christmas — so have a merry one

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In just a few days, tens of millions of Canadians from all corners of the nation will collect with household and buddies to mark Christmas, as they’ve accomplished for generations. And people of us who don’t have a good time will watch and supply greatest needs.

However you wouldn’t know that this is similar Christmas that solely weeks in the past, politicians have been falling over themselves to guard as if it have been in some mortal hazard. All due to a misguided paper revealed by the Canadian Human Rights Fee (CHRC). In case you missed it, CHRC scored a spectacular personal purpose when it revealed an ill-conceived dialogue paper suggesting that statutory Christmas holidays are a type of spiritual discrimination grounded in “colonialist” spiritual intolerance.

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Media and political backlash was swift. CHRC tried to stroll it again, saying the paper had been misinterpreted, and that it by no means stated Christmas was racist. However the genie was already out of the bottle and there was no placing it again.

CHRC opened a Pandora’s field with its poor selection of phrases, and blaming “misinterpretation” when issues blew up in its face wasn’t going to fly. It was not shocking that assorted politicians took the chance to grandstand and attempt to create a “them and us” battle over Christmas when none existed.

First out of the blocks was the Quebec Nationwide Meeting, and shortly after, the Home of Commons adopted with its personal denunciation. The Conservative celebration then launched a “Don’t cancel Christmas” marketing campaign, and others known as for December to be declared a Christian Heritage Month. It was dizzying.

Fortunately for all of us, the sound and fury was restricted. Most Canadians shrugged all of it off as a result of despite the CHRC take, and the bombast from politicians, Christmas holidays have by no means been a divisive difficulty. After I was a full-time author on the Citizen, I might usually volunteer to work through the Christmas holidays as most of my colleagues have been off celebrating. This was by no means onerous or seen as some type of discriminatory follow. It was by no means an issue, and lots of non-Christians I knew didn’t give the difficulty a second thought.

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And when Eid got here round, which it did twice a yr, my editors would usually give me the time off. If I wanted extra time, I went into my time or trip financial institution. I by no means thought something about it. It by no means crossed my thoughts that I used to be being discriminated in opposition to as a result of I wasn’t getting a statutory vacation for Eid. After all, if somebody supplied me two statutory holidays to have a good time Eid, I might take them. However I didn’t sit there pondering that the dearth of statutory vacation for Eid was a part of “systemic spiritual discrimination.” For the report, non-Christians don’t begrudge Christians their statutory holidays to have a good time Christmas. It’s not a hill to die on.

The Canadian Human Rights Fee created this storm and it should study from its bitter aftermath. If CHRC wished to open a nationwide dialogue on holidays for spiritual observances, it might have accomplished so with out resorting to provocative language. We might have that debate on the professionals and cons of such a transfer, and comply with disagree if it got here to that. However by framing the dialogue when it comes to systemic discrimination, CHRC misplaced the argument earlier than the controversy even started.

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The actual fact stays that spiritual minorities in Canada benefit from the freedom to worship as they please, one thing they’ve accomplished for generations. We must always all the time acknowledge this, and chorus from careless discuss spiritual discrimination. The human rights fee additionally shouldn’t have been stunned that some politicians took benefit to grandstand and current themselves as defenders of Christmas when no defence was wanted.

It’s good to see that Canadians paid no consideration and acquired on with their busy vacation plans. So, within the spirit of goodwill that marks the festive season, right here’s wishing all those that learn this column, and Citizen readers at massive, a really Merry Christmas.

Mohammed Adam is an Ottawa journalist and commentator. attain him at [email protected]

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