QUOTE: “In Islam, the moon and the
influence of the moon is quite important,” Lauterbach says of the film that
will be ready sometime in the fall.
NOVA SCOTIA- CANADA
Crew shoots world's highest tides for Mecca documentary
FRANCIS CAMPBELL TRURO BUREAU
Published July 6, 2015 - 9:09pm
Last Updated July 7, 2015 - 10:16am
Published July 6, 2015 - 9:09pm
Last Updated July 7, 2015 - 10:16am
Director Thomas Lauterbach and a
German crew are working on a documentary about tides to be shown in Mecca,
Saudi Arabia. The crew will spend close to a week taking pictures and filming
at Burntcoat Head Park near Noel. (FRANCIS CAMPBELL / Truro Bureau)
BURNTCOAT HEAD — The world’s
highest tides are about to make a big splash at the world’s largest clock
tower.
“The master plan is to produce a
scientific documentary about the tides and the influence of the moon and the
sun on the Earth,” says Thomas Lauterbach, a film director who lives in
Stuttgart, Germany.
The master plan belongs to Vista
Rauch, a company that will produce the 10-minute documentary film that
Lauterbach and his two German assistants create this week at Burntcoat Head
Park for a lunar gallery and museum in the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel in
the Islamic holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
“In Islam, the moon and the
influence of the moon is quite important,” Lauterbach says of the film that
will be ready sometime in the fall.
To bring the master plan to
fruition, the German crew, along with Petra O’Toole, a project manager and
Canadian liaison who lives in Dartmouth and speaks fluent German, are taking
photos and film of the tides, moon and stars. They are busy setting up cameras
in difficult locations among the rocks, monitoring the success of photos taken
remotely from drones on hire from Flitelab of Halifax, and discussing at length
in German where to find lunch and how to get it to the park in a timely manner.
“What we are doing here in
Burntcoat, you have the highest tides in the world, so it’s a good spot for us
to discover, to take some pictures, time lapses and to work together with some
locals, using local knowledge,” Lauterbach said. “We use the drones for a
bird’s point of view. It’s dimension. It’s quite difficult to find a picture
that shows or describes the phenomenon because we are talking about billions of
tonnes of water coming in and going out two times a day. We are just little
humans, like ants, and finding pictures that describe the phenomenon is
challenging.”
Kumaran Herold, Stefan Mehlhorn
and O’Toole work on a rock face, diligently setting up an impromptu tripod of
sandbags and rocks to hold a camera in place to take a 24-hour cycle of
pictures. Mehlhorn sports a muddy white sweater and a ripped pair of jeans from
a previous spill on the slippery rocks below.
“Ridiculous,” O’Toole, a
26-year-old Toronto native who holds a master’s degree in German literature
from Dalhousie University in Halifax, says in translating Mehlhorn’s
good-natured description of his wipeout.
“We put a camera here for a
hyper-time lapse,” explains Herold. “It will make a picture every 30 seconds
for 24 hours. In the end, we will have a complete film of one minute. Low tide,
the tide is coming in and goes back. We will also record the camera during the
night so we can see the stars and the sunrise. We hope that it will actually
work. When it’s finished, we have to put it on a laptop, with special software
and then we can see if it worked out or not.”
Work is a matter of perspective
in Burntcoat Head Park. The crew works hard, sometimes running among the rocks
and the beach in their bare feet. O’Toole keeps things organized, including
snacks and meals. The four stay at a bed and breakfast operated by a German man
in Summerville, near Windsor.
“This has been a really
phenomenal experience for me,” says O’Toole, a freelance artist who has an
undergraduate degree in theatre and acting. “Not only do I get to work in the
industry that I love, but I also get to do it in another language and make
cross-cultural connections. It has been everything that I enjoy all happening
at once. I get to speak German every day, I get to show people around Nova
Scotia, which is a province that I now call home and that I love, and I get to
work in film and culture, which is what I want to do, that I’ve trained to do
and that I’m happy to do.”
It’s also the work that
Lauterbach loves to do and the experience of watching and filming the highest
tides in the world is work and play for him.
“We will be here during the
night, recording time lapses and we are some times isolated,” says Lauterbach,
in his late 30s. “The tide is in, we are there on some rocks and it’s getting
cold. It’s a bit like camping. It’s probably not so clever to say this because
for me it’s commercial work, but it is a combination.
“The thing is it can feel like
holidays, but you never can relax your mind totally because you have to be
aware of is the exposure right, will the tides crush the camera. All these
things are running in your mind, but there are still some moments where we can
relax, enjoy it, go swimming, even though it is cold.”
And filming the great tidal
surges is a humbling experience, he says.
“Being at this spot puts you in
the right relation between nature and your own existence. You see how powerful
nature is. When you are walking along the sea and see the water going through
your feet, it looks so soft and so sensitive and so charming on the one hand.
“On the other hand, you cannot
stop and this makes you a bit afraid. We’ve discovered quite often that we did
a time lapse and we did not recognize that water had already passed our
(sandbag) and we felt sometimes like being in a prison because the water was so
fast and quick and it makes you aware that we humans are really limited. This
is how it feels, but we enjoy it a lot.”
--------------
Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on Ramadan
·
Ottawa,
Ontario
17 June 2015
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
today issued the following statement to mark the beginning of Ramadan:
“This evening at sunset, Muslims
in Canada and around the world begin an important spiritual journey as they
observe the holy month of Ramadan.
“Ramadan takes place during the
ninth month of the Islamic calendar to commemorate the revelation of the Qur’an
to the Prophet Muhammad.
“For those observing this holy
month, it is a time for reflection, personal sacrifice of material comforts,
and spiritual devotion through prayer, fasting and charity. Ramadan is also a
time to celebrate and reconnect with family, friends and communities, as well
as to reaffirm one’s commitment to uplifting humanity by further assisting
those who are less fortunate.
“On behalf of all Canadians, I
wish Muslims in Canada and around the world a peaceful Ramadan.
“Ramadan Mubarak.”
--------------
Ramadan begins in Canada
Ramadan (also known as Ramadhan
or Ramzan) is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. It is a period of
prayer, fasting, charity-giving and self-accountability for Muslims in Canada.
The first verses of the Koran (Qu'ran) were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad
(also written as Mohammad or Muhammed) during the last third of Ramadan, making
this an especially holy period.
Some homes have lit lanterns in
the evenings during the month of Ramadan.©iStockphoto.com/GHOSS
What do people do?
Many Muslims in Canada fast
during the daylight hours in the month of Ramadan. Fasting during Ramadan is
one of the Five Pillars (fundamental religious duties) of Islam. It is a time
of self-examination and increased religious devotion. The fast is broken with
prayer and a meal called the iftar after sunset. The evening meal
usually consists of lentils or other pulses, including chickpeas. Some mosques
host daily community dinners where Muslims can break their fast together during
Ramadan.
Many Muslims broaden their
compassion for the hungry and less fortunate when they fast. Therefore, Ramadan
is also a time for many Muslims to donate to charity by participating in food
drives for the poor and other voluntary activities. Muslims are encouraged to
be charitable during Ramadan.
People of Islamic faith are
encouraged to read the entire Qur'an during Ramadan. Some Muslims recite the
entire Qur'an by the end of Ramadan through special prayers known as Tarawih,
which are held in the mosques every night of the month, during which a section
of the Qur'an is recited.
Public life
Many Islamic businesses and
organizations may amend opening hours to suit prayer times during Ramadan in
Canada. There may also be some congestion around mosques during prayer times,
such as in the evenings.
Background
Ramadan is the ninth month in the
Islamic calendar, which consists of 12 months and lasts for about 354 days. The
word “Ramadan” is derived from an Arabic word for intense heat, scorched ground
and shortness of food and drink. It is considered to be the most holy and
blessed month. Fighting is not allowed during this period.
The month of Ramadan
traditionally begins with a new moon sighting, marking the start of the ninth
month in the Islamic calendar. Many Muslims (except children, the sick and the
elderly) abstain from food, drink, and certain other activities during daylight
hours in Ramadan. This is considered as the holiest season in the Islamic year
and commemorates the time when the Qu’ran (Islamic holy book) is said to have
been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. This occurred on Laylat Al-Qadr,
one of the last 10 nights of the month. Ramadan ends when the first crescent of
the new moon is sighted again, marking the new lunar month’s start. Eid-al-Fitr
is the Islamic holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
About Ramadan
begins in other countries
Read more about Ramadan begins.
Ramadan begins Observances
Note: Regional customs or moon sightings may cause
a variation of the date for Islamic holidays, which begin at sundown the day
before the date specified for the holiday. The Islamic calendar is lunar and
the days begin at sunset, so there may be one-day error depending on when the
New Moon is first seen.
--------------
Mi'kmaq First Peoples- PowWows- prayers -nature-spirit-healing
----
RELIGIONS IN CANADA
Religion
·
Religion
(from the Latin, religio, "respect for what is sacred") may be
defined as the relationship between human beings and their transcendent source
of value.
Religion (from the Latin, religio,
"respect for what is sacred") may be defined as the relationship
between human beings and their transcendent source of value. In practice it may
involve various forms of communication with a higher power, such as prayers,
rituals at critical stages in life, meditation or "possession" by
spiritual agencies. Religions, though differing greatly, usually share most of
the following characteristics: a sense of the holy or the sacred (often manifested
in the form of gods, or a personal god); a system of beliefs; a community of
believers or participants; ritual (which may include standard forms of
invocation, sacraments or rites of initiation); and a moral code.
Religious
Traditions
In Canada the principal religion
is Christianity; as recently as the 1971 census,
almost 90 per cent of the population claimed adherence. In the 2011 census, 39
per cent of Canadians identified themselves as Roman Catholic and 27 per cent
as Protestant. Whereas in 1971, only 5 per cent of Canadians were unaffiliated
with any religion, by 2011 that number had risen to 24 per cent. Before
European settlement Aboriginal peoples practised a wide variety of religions (see
Religion of Aboriginal People). Many Aboriginal
persons and groups were converted to Christianity through missionary work that
began in New France, but in recent years there has been a
revival of Aboriginal religions.
Major Religious
Denominations
During the 19th century, and
boosted particularly by 20th-century immigration, the variety of religions in
Canada has grown. By the 1980s Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Islam, Chinese religions and the Baha'i faith were well represented. As of 2011,
8.8 per cent of Canadians adhered to religious faiths other than Christianity.
The missionary legacy has included the translation of the Bible into many languages
and dialects, including several Aboriginal languages. Missionary efforts also
reflected colonial and paternalistic European policies inwhich many Aboriginal religious
rites, such as dances and the potlatch and which undermined self-respect and
self-sufficiency among Indigenous communities.
Today, pluralism of religious
belief is common in Canada. The various traditions can be contrasted according
to their sense of the sacred based on historic events (Judaism, Christianity,
Islam, Sikhism and the Baha'i faith) or on the natural cycle and rhythms of
life (Hinduism, Taoism ,to some extent, Buddhism and Aboriginal religious
beliefs), but such contrasts can overlook the similarities across these
traditions.
In the academic study of
religion, Christian usages and definitions of the descriptive vocabulary of
religious studies tended to dominate discussions of the subject, as did
Christian views of what constitutes religion. In North America this tendency
has been influenced most strongly by Protestant Christianity. The Protestant
Reformation of the 16th century marked a reaction against priestly religion by
scholars such as Martin Luther (see Lutherans) and John Calvin (see Calvinism), who studied the Bible in its original
languages of Hebrew and Greek, rather than in Latin translation. Following St.
Paul, Luther stressed what God does for humanity through Christ, rather than
how human beings prove themselves to God, with the result that faith (trust in
God's actions), rather than ritual (human routines), became the touchstone of
what Protestants regarded as true religion. The preachers, rather than the
priests, became the leaders in Protestantism, basing the Christian message on
the prophetic tradition of the Hebrew Bible and summarizing it in set creeds.
Consequently, to most North Americans, religion has come to mean a system of
beliefs. Since Christians are theists (believers in a personal god), their
central belief has been in God as creator, redeemer and judge of the world.
Among Roman Catholics, the church
was a dominant influence in Québec until the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s because it served
as an institutional base for nationalism. Anti-English sentiment was directed
against Irish prelates in Ontario, as well as Protestant business leaders
in Montréal. In the West, the "left wing"
of the Reformation was predominantly represented by colonies of Mennonites and Hutterites. Immigrants from Eastern Europe
included Russian and Ukrainian Christians from the Orthodox Church. Jewish worship has been led by
rabbis from the Orthodox, Conservative and Reformed traditions.
In recent centuries, partly under
the impact of the prophetic emphasis on personal faith and social justice,
Christians and Jews influenced by the philosophy of Immanuel Kant have emphasized the
moral life as the key to true religion. The Women's Christian Temperance Union advocated for
women's rights with leaders such as Nellie McClung, and the founders of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (now the New Democratic Party) all stressed the Social
Gospel. Consequently, religion typically refers to moral codes, as well as
religious practices and creedal affirmations, as equally necessary components
of any organized religion.
Interplay Between
Past and Future
The contrast between the cultural
compromises of different churches and "true religion" (considered as
true faith, moral probity or purified ritual) means that, in the case of
Christianity and other major religious movements such as Buddhism, believers must distinguish between the
cultural forms associated with a religious tradition and its "critical
edge." This is usually derived from its otherworldly perspective, or from
contrasting the ideal life portrayed in its scriptures with the historical
practices of different congregations. Allowing for both aspects, religion may
be seen as the interplay between the past and the future, between traditional
faith and the hope for the future of individuals and their communities. For
instance, Christianity includes a range of practices, organizations and
expectations of a life where God's will is fully realized (defined by many as
heaven); Buddhism includes the customs of the monks and laity with respect to
life in this world (samsara), and the expectation of ultimate bliss (nirvana).
As religion loses its hold on its
sacred reference, it loses some of its reasons for being. Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor, along with Québec historian and
sociologist Gérard Bouchard, co-authored the Bouchard-Taylor Commission report,
A Time for Reconciliation, which among other things assessed the
cultural factors of this trend on the religious pluralism in Québec. Taylor’s A
Secular Age provides an interpretation of what has come to be understood as
the secularization of the West since the Reformation, arguing that religion has
not been in the process of disappearing but has become increasingly diversified
and personal.
The Study of
Religions
Christian views have tended to
dominate Western discussions of religion, but in the academic study of religion
the impact of the social sciences has led to a more functional
approach to research and understanding. Anthropologists have identified
so-called primal traditions, including those of Aboriginal peoples in North
America, and scholars of religion have reconsidered the significance of these
traditions. For instance, where a culture is shaped without a codified
scripture (such as the Bible or the Quran) and without formalized creeds, the
meaning of different rituals is typically carried by myths that are relayed
orally from generation to generation. Scholars have tended to impose cosmogonic
myths (myths of creation) as the religiously significant mythology. However,
some myths and their meanings remain concealed from researchers: the Shamans or tribal seers and medicine men and
women who perform the rituals have often kept the secrets of the most sacred
traditions of the group's ancestors and tribal life. Analysis of such
traditions uses the contrast between the religious and the secular, since the
sacred is equally secular ("this-worldly") in these traditions. The
"sacred" is described as whatever is of foundational value in a given
society and is a point of reference for creating order from chaos.
Through myth and ritual the
symbolic system of values is often tied to specific events and places and
within any given group, sacred mountains, trees, rivers, plants and symbols can
be found.
The functional approach to
religion can be used also to analyze religious traditions that rely on written
scriptures. For instance, the importance of Mount Zion or Jerusalem in Judaism,
Rome in Catholicism, and Mecca in Islam indicates the
importance of sacred places and times in Judaeo-Christian culture, as does the
close association of Christmas and Easter with winter and spring festivals. One
consequence of the use of social science methodology in the study of religion
today is that a profession of faith is less likely to be taken at face value
than it was when its leaders controlled the study of religion. For instance,
the hierarchical structure of the Roman Catholic and major Protestant churches
can be viewed from outside those faiths as a set of myths and rituals that
serve to reinforce male supremacy; within those faiths, this hierarchy is
regarded as a response to divine revelation.
At the same time, a functional
approach looks beyond the confines of formally organized religious groups for a
broader view of religion. In modern Canada, research may look to rituals
associated with Hockey Night in Canada and the Grey Cup, as well as the
Hebrew Bible, when the discussion turns to our cultural and foundational
values.
New Religions
The terms quasi-religious creeds,
codes and cults have been used to describe non-mainstream religions; new
religions exist as contemporary movements that develop articulated traditions
that often have a social identity of non-conformity that is critical of the
compromises of present culture. The assumption that religion must include a
belief in a god or some form of supernaturalism prevents the inclusion of
non-denominational movements under the heading "religion." Some
participants in the environmental movement have developed seasonal rituals
celebrating Mother Earth and have revived an interest in Wicca (knowledge of
healing rhythms, herbal remedies, etc.). Many who interpret the spirituality
within these religious movements are syncretists (i.e., those who combine ideas
whose origins are in different religions), and minimize the divisions among
traditional religions (see Spiritualism).
As various Asian traditions have
been introduced to North America through immigration, one indirect consequence has been
the development of new religious movements. Some of these are
actually ancient but are newly transplanted and are attractive to Westerners
disaffected with the secularism of Judaism and Christianity (e.g., Hare
Krishna, which has its roots in Hinduism). Other groups represent a fusion of
Christian and Asian beliefs (e.g., the Unification Church, which combines
Christian with Korean ideas). Still others (e.g., Scientology) are the
invention of charismatic individuals who gain a following by using traditional
philosophies to meet secular aspirations. So far, these movements are known to
us mostly through the functional analyses of social scientists or the claims of
converts. While participation in traditional, organized religious practice may
be on the decline (in 2011, 22 per cent of native born Canadians said they
attended religious services at least once a month, down from 31 per cent in
1998), fascination with the occult and esoteric rituals seems to be on the rise
in North America. Christians in North America, especially Pentecostals, have inspired some religious groups
in once predominantly Catholic regions to convert, or adopt new religious
beliefs. Such developments reinforce the claim that some form of religious
behaviour is typical of all human societies, even when formal religion is
repudiated.
Magic, Science and
Religion
It is useful to distinguish the
characteristics of magic, science and religion. Magic uses formulas supposed to
effect changes willed by manipulative individuals. Science uses formulas or
laws to explain general physical processes. Religion reflects ancestral wisdom
and a spirituality that brings one to terms with one's personal destiny. With
the increasing complexity of, and emphasis and specialization in the industrial
world, these distinctions have become more significant. As it is, many critics
have come to accept that science and religion need not conflict and that
magical practices can be found in all cultural modes, including religion.
Criticism
Religion has been studied as a
reflection, or as an awareness, of weaknesses in human behaviour. Much
religious imagery projects human fears concerning death and social decay onto
symbols of ultimate power. Besides psychology, scientifically oriented scholars
look to evolutionary biology for explanations of religious phenomena. In the
name of religion, wars have been started, minorities persecuted and social
inequalities such as apartheid perpetuated. At the same time, religion as a
response to the deepest spiritual values in the universe has been the motive
for major reform movements in history. Spiritual and moral leaders such as
Gotama Buddha, Jesus, Confucius, Socrates, Muhammad and Mahatma Gandhi, Martin
Luther King Jr and Malcolm X have directly or indirectly inspired the abolition
of slavery and the caste system, and the alleviation of ignorance and disease.
Following the theory of psychologist Gordon Allport, one way to account for the
paradox is to contrast extrinsic and intrinsic motivations in religion.
Extrinsic motivation involves the use of religious institutions for other
purposes, social or economic. Discrimination against women or minorities among
some conservative Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities might be studied in
this connection. Intrinsic motivation involves living by such commands as to
love strangers and to seek justice for the less fortunate.
Religious Studies
in Canada
English Canada
An integral part of early
university pedagogy in the history of many Canadian universities and colleges,
religion has continued to make significant academic contributions, especially
in seminaries. Seminaries were established to teach ministers and church
workers the particular doctrines of their denomination. Christianity was seen
as the one true religion, and the denominational formulation of Christian
doctrine was regarded as authoritative. Seminaries and their residences were
frequently attached to universities, and their degrees were often given the
status of university degrees. Despite criticism of anti-intellectualism and
suspicion that courses could be used for proselytism (encouraging conversion)
general religion courses in biblical literature or church history were offered
by seminary staff to the arts and science faculties.
In the 1960s a distinction was
made between confessional and academic studies of religion. This provided the
philosophical prerequisite for new departments of religious studies established
at universities including McMaster University, Sir George Williams
University (now Concordia University) and the University of British Columbia. In these and
similar institutions, religious studies are approached as an academic
discipline and are located in faculties without denominational ties.
The Canadian Society for the
Study of Religion (CCSR) was established 1965 to supplement three existing
societies: the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies, the Canadian Society of
Church History, and the Canadian Theological Society. The academically oriented
CSSR was the first society connected with religion to join the learned societies and to adopt bilingualism. In
1970, the four societies formed the Canadian Corporation for Studies in
Religion/ Corporation canadienne des sciences religieuses. In 1971, CCSR began
publishing SR: Studies in Religion/Sciences religieuses, which succeeded
the Canadian Journal of Theology. Today the CCSR publishes journals,
books, and supports the academic study of religion.
Most universities and many
colleges offer programs for religious studies including major world religions
and movements, and sacred languages such as Hebrew and Sanskrit.
Wilfred Cantwell Smith stood out
in the academic study of religion in Canada. A Presbyterian minister and an
Islamic specialist, in 1951 he organized the McGill University Institute of Islamic Studies to
foster academic interreligious dialogue. In 1964, Smith became Director of
Harvard University's Centre for the Study of World Religions. Returning to
Canada in 1973, he developed a religious studies department at Dalhousie University. Smith emphasized the
cumulative history and the personal faith experience of each religion.
Traditional Christian theology's assumption that it has a monopoly on divine
grace and salvation was, in Smith's view, morally wrong and must give way to
thinking that allows for God to be active in other traditions.
French Canada
In French Canada, the academic
study of religion was long identified with the study of theology as practised
in seminaries for the education of clergy. However, various phenomena and
events of the Quiet Revolution era (1960–66) helped break that
monopoly and speed the introduction of a new tradition in religious study. This
new approach to religion had been known in Europe for a century, mainly under
the German name Religionswissenschaft. In Québec it takes a number of
names: human sciences of religion, sciences of religion, religious sciences and
religiology. Many Francophone theologians belong to the Société canadienne de
théologie. In 1944, francophone exegetes formed the Association catholique des
études bibliques au Canada. The ACEBAC translated the New Testament in 1953; in
1982 it was reissued, with commentaries, by Éditions Bellarmin in Montréal.
French-language Canadian journals
devoted to the scientific study of religion include Sciences religieuses
and the Cahiers du centre de recherche en sciences de la religion of the
Université Laval. Francophone theologians publish
in magazines such as Science et Esprit, Laval théologique et
philosophique, Église et théologie and Sciences pastorales. Cahiers
éthicologiques follows research being done in ethics by the religious
sciences department at Université du Québec.
Suggested Reading
·
R. Bibby,
Unknown Gods: The Ongoing Story of Religion in Canada (1993) and Fragmented
Gods: The Poverty and Potential of Religion in Canada (1987); B. J. Fraser,
The Study of Religion in British Columbia (1995); Willard Oxtoby, ed, World
Religions: Eastern Traditions (1996) and World Religions: Western
Traditions (1996); Terrence Murphy, ed, A Concise History of
Christianity in Canada (1996); H. Remus, W.C. James and D. Franklin, Religious
Studies in Ontario (1992); L. Rousseau and M. Depland, les sciences
religieuses au Quebec depuis 1972 (1988); R.W. Neufeldt, Religious
Studies in Alberta (1983); Huston Smith, The World's Religions
(1991).
CONTINUED... FIRST PEOPLES RELIGIONS- CANADA -by Canadian resources
Aboriginal People: Religion
·
First
Nation, Métis and Inuit religions in Canada vary widely and consist of complex
social and cultural customs for addressing the sacred and the supernatural.
·
First Nation, Métis and Inuit religions in Canada vary widely and consist
of complex social and cultural customs for addressing the sacred and the
supernatural. The influence of Christianity — through settlers, missionaries
and government policy — significantly altered life for Aboriginal peoples. In some communities, this
resulted in hybridized religious practices; while in others, European religion
replaced traditional spiritual practices entirely. Though historically
suppressed by colonial administrators and missionaries, especially from the
late 19th to mid-20th centuries, many contemporary Aboriginal communities have
revived, or continue to practice, traditional spirituality.
Background
There is no definitive and
overarching “Aboriginal religion.” Traditional Aboriginal religions vary
widely, as do the spiritual practices of contemporary Aboriginal peoples in Canada. This article
attempts to discuss broadly similar themes and practices, but is by no means
exhaustive or authoritative. Additionally, traditional ways of life are often
intermingled with religion and spirituality. Activities such as hunting, clan
membership, and other aspects of daily life may often be imbued with spiritual
meaning. More specific information may be found through further reading, or the
guidance of community elders.
Three main types of myths,
features of which often occur in combination, are particularly important in the
religious practices of Aboriginal peoples. These three types are creation
myths, institutional myths and ritual myths.
Creation,
Trickster, and Transformation Myths
Creation myths describe the
origins of the cosmos and the interrelations of its elements. Among these
stories is the Earth Diver myth. In this myth the Great Spirit or the Transformer
dives, or orders animals to dive, into the primeval water to bring back mud,
out of which he fashions Earth (Eastern Woodlands, Northern Plains). In some versions of the myth, Earth is
formed on the back of a turtle; Turtle Island is a popular name used by
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples for the land of North America.
In some stories, the Transformer
appears as a human being with supernatural powers, who uses heroic feats to
bring the world into its present form. One of those Transformers is Glooscap of the Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, Abenaki and Algonquian peoples. The Algonquian
peoples of Ontario and Québec have two Transformers — one good, one evil.
Glooscap formed the sun, moon, fish, animals, and humans, whereas his brother
Malsum formed snakes, mountains, valleys and anything else he thought would
make life difficult for humans.
Trickster myths frequently
represent the Great Spirit or Transformer as a comical character who steals
important things such as light, fire, water, food, and sometimes animals or
people, The captives are then lost or set loose to create the world as it is
now. The Trickster character in Aboriginal myths takes on a wide variety of
forms. Trickster can be male or female, foolish or helpful, hero or
troublemaker, half-human-half-spirit, old or young, a spirit, a human, or an
animal, depending on the area and the specific group of Aboriginal peoples. In
Canada, Trickster is Coyote (Mohawk); half-human-half-spirit beings (Cree,
Ojibwa, and Blackfoot); a racoon (Abenaki); a spider (Sioux); and Raven (many groups,
including the Haida, Tsimshian, Tlingit, Inuit, and Nisga’a). Among various
Native American groups, Trickster is also a badger, fox, hare, rabbit, coyote,
bear, and blue jay.
Many myths tell the origin of the
moon, the sun and the stars. In these myths, there is usually a tension between
the heavenly bodies. For example, the cool moon by night is said to be
necessary to counteract the burning of Earth and the killing of people by the
heat of the sun. An Inuit myth tells of the sun and moon as a brother
and sister who were originally together. The brother engaged in incest with his
sister, so she chose to be eternally separated from him. Among many forms of
myth about human origins around the world are those that tell of the
Transformer changing various animals into people. Others tell of the origin of
death.
Institutional and Ritual Myths
Institutional myths tell the
origins of religious institutions such as the Sun Dance (Northern Plains, Siksika, Sioux), sacred Medicine Bundles (Siksika, Cree, Ojibwa, Haudenosaunee [Iroquois]), winter ceremonies (Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka’wakw) and the Green Corn Ceremony (Haudenosaunee). See also False Face Society.
Ritual myths, on the other hand,
serve as detailed texts for the performance of institutions, ceremonies and
rituals such as the Sun Dance, Green Corn Ceremony and the Ojibwa Midewiwin ritual. Fertility, birth, initiation
and death rites are often clearly stipulated in mythology. Shamanic performances may also be described.
Ceremonies are often preceded by stringent purification rites, such as sweat lodges or baths (common for Salish,
Blackfoot and Eastern Woodlands peoples) fasting and sexual abstinence.
Feasting is a common feature of such ceremonies.
Other Myths
Culture Hero
Many important Culture Hero myths
for the peoples of the Eastern Woodlands (Wendat, Ojibwa, Cree, Innu, Haudenosaunee, Odawa), Northwest Coast (Salish, Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, Haida, Tsimshian, Tlingit) and Plateau areas (Nlaka'pamux, Syilx, Dakelh, Interior Salish) are reminiscent of the Greek
myth of Orpheus. They tell of the Culture Hero or other prominent religious
figure making a perilous journey to the realm of the dead to bring back a
deceased loved one. These myths contain detailed characterizations of the land
of the dead, and are important to an understanding of such diverse phenomena as
the Plains Ghost Dance, concepts of the soul and many aspects of shamanism.
Great Spirit and Worldview
Among societies that have
practised agriculture sometime in their history, many groups believe in a
senior Great Spirit or Great Mystery (Wakan Tanka of the Dakota and Kitchi Manitou of the eastern
Algonquians). In general, supernatural mystery or power is called Orenda by the
Haudenosaunee, Wakan by the Dakota and Manitou by the Algonquian peoples, and is
potentially beneficent, though it can be dangerous if treated carelessly or
with disrespect. This mystery or power is a property of the spirits, but also
belongs to the Transformer, Trickster, Culture Hero, or other spirit figures,
as well as Shamans, prophets and ceremonial performers. The spirits of all
living things are powerful and mysterious, as are many natural phenomena and
ritually significant places. Ritual objects such as the calumet, rattles, drums, masks, medicine wheels, medicine bundles and ritual
sanctuaries are filled with spiritual power.
Myths of the Star Husband, the
Chain of Arrows or the Stretching Tree tell of contacts made between humans and
the world beyond. Ceremonially, columns of smoke, central house posts or the
central pole of the Sun Dance lodge represent such connections. Many groups
tell of a primeval sea or world deluge. Northwest Coast peoples, such as the Kwakwaka’wakw, divide the year into two major
seasons: the summer time and the winter time, in which most religious
ceremonies take place. Agricultural societies such as the Haudenosaunee have
more complex ceremonial calendars organized around the harvest times of various
food plants, with a life-renewal ceremony usually held in midwinter.
A key concept among many
societies is the notion of guardians. Among the Abenaki, for instance, Bear is
considered one of six directional guardians (west), representing courage,
physical strength and bravery. Among the Inuit, the sea goddess Sedna is the guardian of sea mammals and controls
when stocks are available to be hunted. Shamans may visit Sedna and coax her
into releasing the animals by righting previous wrongs, or presenting
offerings.
Shamans
Shamans are the most notable of the multiple religious
figures present in traditional Aboriginal religion. They function as healers,
prophets, diviners and custodians of religious mythology, and are often the
officiants at religious ceremonies. In some societies, all these functions are
performed by the same person; in others, shamans are specialists. Healing
practitioners may belong to various orders, such as the Midewiwin or Great Medicine Society of the Ojibwa, while other groups had secret or closed
societies (Kwakwaka’wakw, Siksika). Members of such
societies were not necessarily shamans, but did practice religious ceremonies
and rituals.
The Ojibwa Midewiwin was a closed
society containing four (sometimes eight) orders of men and women who could be
consulted at any time of sickness or communal misfortune. Shamans were
coordinators of the Sun Dance, which was also a world-renewal
ceremony. Shamanic societies played an important role in the Winter Ceremony of
the Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth and other Northwest Coast societies. Shamans were
associated with powers generally thought to be beneficial to the community, but
were believed in some cases to use their powers for sorcery. Shaman-prophets
and diviners were concerned with predicting the outcome of the hunt, relocating
lost objects and determining the root causes of communal discontent and ill
will. Blackfoot, Cree, Ojibwa and other societies had diviners who made
their prophecies (perhaps in trance states) in the dramatic Shaking Tent ceremony. Shamans in these societies
were custodians of the sacred medicine bundles containing objects and materials
endowed with great mystery and power. Innu shamans divined game trails by burning a
caribou shoulder blade, then reading the cracks and fissures created by the
fire.
Natural causes were recognized
for many diseases, especially physically curable ones; others were commonly
believed to be the result of intrusion into the body of objects placed there by
sorcerers. The shaman-healer's treatment of such diseases was dictated by his
guardian spirit, but usually consisted of the shaman ritually sucking the
disease agent out of the body, brushing it off with a bird's wing, or drawing
it out with dramatic gestures. Illness could also result from "spirit
loss." The shaman-healer's action was then directed to recovering the
patient's spirit (either the soul or guardian spirit power, or both) and
reintroducing it to the body.
Guardian Spirit
Quest
The Guardian Spirit Quest once
occurred throughout most of the Aboriginal groups in Canada; it has undergone a
revival in many communities, especially among the Coast Salish peoples. Males,
especially at puberty but also at other times of life, make extended stays in
remote areas while fasting, praying and purifying themselves by washing in
streams and pools. The goal is to seek a vision of, or an actual encounter
with, a guardian spirit — very frequently an animal, but possibly a
mythological figure. Contact with a guardian spirit is believed to make an
individual healthy, prosperous and successful, particularly in hunting and
fishing.
The individual focus of the
Guardian Spirit Quest is also present in the very common celebration of life
events. Among these rituals are ceremonies at birth or the giving of a name, at
puberty, marriage and death, all of which are normally accompanied by some
solemnity. Life-event ceremonies, though individual, had some level of communal
integration. For example, the 17th-century Wendat Feast of the Dead may have incorporated features
of both seasonal and life-crisis rituals.
European Influence
Contact with European religious
systems — through settlers, missionaries, church- and government-sponsored residential schools, and direct and indirect
government policy — brought some type of change to all Aboriginal religious
forms.
In areas where sustained contact
occurred relatively early—in the 16th and 17th centuries—many Aboriginal
peoples were baptized into Catholicism by French missionaries. The Mi’kmaq, for
instance, began their conversion to subjects of the Vatican after the
conversion of Grand Chief Membertou in 1610. Mi’kmaq religion incorporates many
traditional aspects in fusion with Christianity, even the flag for the Mi’kmaq
Grand Council features a large cross.
The adaptability of Christianity
to Aboriginal spirituality is evident in the Huron Carol — a Christmas carol purportedly
written for the Wendat by Jesuit missionary Jean de Brébeuf in the 17th
century. The carol fuses Aboriginal imagery and mythology — including Kitchi
Manitou — onto the Christian Nativity myth. Wise men bearing gifts become grand
chiefs bearing pelts, and the manger becomes a lodge of birch bark. The stories
of saints, and of Jesus, closely resembled the familiar Culture Heroes, and
were readily adapted in many Aboriginal communities.
Intermarriage was a more literal
merging of religious and spiritual traditions, and Métis religious practices typically combine traditional
spirituality with either Protestant or Catholic customs. Some unique
"syncretistic religions" combine traditional Aboriginal forms with
European observances, such as the Shaker Religion of the Coast Salish area.
Adaptation was not always so
smooth. While some peoples rejected early conversion attempts, generations of
Aboriginal peoples in Canada suffered under destructive government policies
such as residential schools and the outlawing of the potlatch and Sun Dance under the Indian Act in 1885. Some First Nation
religions rejected European forms and turned to traditional spirituality to
revive previous religious practices and beliefs (e.g., the Haudenosaunee Handsome Lake Religion). Other religious
movements radically opposed European forms, such as the 19th-century Ghost
Dance of the Dakota and other Plains Aboriginal communities. The divide between
Christian and non-Christian Aboriginal peoples remains an issue of tension. In
2011, the Cree First Nation of Oujé-Bougoumou, headed by an all-Christian
council, outlawed all expressions of Aboriginal spirituality, including sweat
lodges, which prompted backlash and division within the community.
Suggested Reading
·
John W.
Friesen, Aboriginal Spirituality and Biblical Theology: Closer Than You
Think (2000); Michael B, Davies, Following the Great Spirit Exploring
Aboriginal Belief Systems (2002); Laurence J. Kirmayer and Gail Guthrie
Valaskakis, Healing Traditions: The Mental Health of Aboriginal Peoples in
Canada (2009).
Links to other
sites
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thechronicleherald.ca/.../1297487-world’s-highest-tides-being-recorded-for-documentary-to-be-shown-in-mecca - Cached14 hours ago ... The crew will spend
close to a week taking pictures and filming at Burntcoat
Head Park near Noel. ... German, are taking photos and film of the tides, moon
and stars. ... from Flitelab of Halifax, and discussing at length in German where to
... Kumaran Herold, Stefan Mehlhorn and O'Toole work on a rock face, ...
Head Park near Noel. ... German, are taking photos and film of the tides, moon
and stars. ... from Flitelab of Halifax, and discussing at length in German where to
... Kumaran Herold, Stefan Mehlhorn and O'Toole work on a rock face, ...
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CANADA'S
TWO OFFICIAL LANGUAGES- FRENCH AND ENGLISH
Official Languages Act (1969)
·
Official
Languages Act (1969), federal statute that declares French and English to be
the official languages of Canada, and under which all federal institutions must
provide their services in English or French at the customer's choice.
Official Languages
Act (1969)
Official Languages Act (1969),
federal statute that declares French and English to be the official languages
of Canada, and under which all federal institutions must provide their services
in English or French at the customer's choice. The Act (passed following the
recommendation of the Royal Commission on BILINGUALISM AND BICULTURALISM) created the
office of Commissioner of Official Languages to oversee its implementation.
Politically, the Act has been supported by all federal parties, but the
public's understanding and acceptance of it has been mixed. In June 1987 the
Conservative government introduced an amended Official Languages Act to promote
official language minority rights.
----------------
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NOVA SCOTIA- CANADA- Pier 21
Pier 21 was an immigration depot on the Halifax harbourfront that operated from 1928 to
1971. The point of entry for some one million immigrants into Canada — and the
point of departure for nearly 500,000 soldiers in the Second World War — it has often been called the
“Gateway to Canada." Today it is a national historic site and museum.
1920s and 1930s
Since its founding in 1749, Halifax had always been a popular arrival point
for immigrants. As Canadian industries boomed at the
turn of the 20th century, immigration grew steadily. By 1913, Canada was
welcoming more than 400,000 newcomers each year.
Most immigrants to Canada arrived
by ship at an East Coast port, and by the 1920s, about a quarter of all
immigrants were coming via Halifax. They entered through the city's modestly
sized Pier 2. But immigration officials realized a new facility was needed to
accommodate the growing numbers. In 1924, a solution was reached — a massive
facility, named Pier 21, would be built on the shore of Halifax harbour. It
opened officially in March 1928.
No sooner had the Pier opened
than immigration began to wane. The Great Depression, with its meagre job prospects
and restrictive immigration policies, led to a significant decline in arrivals.
Canadian immigration dropped from almost 105,000 in 1930 to just over 21,000 in
1932, and would never rise above 20,000 until after the Second World War.
Off to War
In 1939, Pier 21 was taken over
by the Department of National Defence, becoming a
departure point for roughly 500,000 Canadian servicemen and women bound for the
Second World War.
After the war, when the soldiers
came home through Pier 21, a tide of war brides would return with them. Young, mostly
British women, having met and married Canadian servicemen overseas, accompanied
their husbands home after the war. Some 48,000 war brides and 22,000 of their
children immigrated to Canada, most arriving at Pier 21.
Postwar Influx
The postwar years were some of
the busiest for Pier 21. While Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King favoured conservative
immigration policies, he faced pressure from many groups to welcome more
newcomers. Business leaders, confronted with labour shortages, lobbied King to
open Canada’s doors. Humanitarian groups encouraged the government to provide
war refugees (known as Displaced Persons, or DPs)
with a new home. Many Canadians were dissatisfied with what they saw as a
xenophobic attitude in Ottawa towards immigrants. In 1947, King announced a
shift, urging a “sustained policy of immigration.”
Canada was then flooded with DPs;
some 200,000 arriving between 1946 and 1952. Pier 21 bustled with new arrivals
during this period, receiving almost 94,000 in 1951 alone — 48 per cent of the
Canadian total. Many who stepped ashore at Pier 21 had lived through the
Holocaust.
One war refugee, Rosalie Abella,
summarized what Pier 21 meant to her: “Opportunity, generosity, and idealism is
what this Pier stands for — Canada’s best self. It is the Canada that let us
in, the Canada that took one generation’s European horror story and made it
into another generation’s Canadian fairytale.” Abella was born in a Displaced
Persons camp in Germany in 1946 and arrived in Canada with her parents in 1950.
She would go on to become the first Jewish woman appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Hungarian Crisis
As the refugee crisis began to
fade, the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, an anti-Communist rebellion crushed by the
Soviet Union, caused a mass exodus of Hungarians. Canada’s Minister of Immigration,
Jack Pickersgill, offered free passage to all fleeing Hungarians. Canada
welcomed as many as 50,000 Hungarians — 35,000 in December 1956 alone — many of
whom came through Pier 21.
For some Hungarians, experiences
in Canada were disappointing: Judy Stoffman recalled her father, Ignac Bing — a
skilled loom technician who had intended to work in Montréal’s booming textile industry — being told
on arrival at Pier 21 that his family would instead have to go to Vancouver, to fill the city’s labour shortage.
With no textile industry in British Columbia, her father was forced to work
as a taxi driver. “I’ve never understood how an official at Pier 21 had the
right to make such a grave decision about my parents’ future, a decision from
which there was no appeal,” said Stoffman.
Decline and Renewal
As air travel surpassed shipping
as a preferred means of immigration, Pier 21 went into a period of decline
during the 1960s — immigration into Halifax dropped from nearly 26,000 in 1959
to less than 1,200 in 1970. The Pier closed in March 1971.
The structure fell into disuse
until the late 1980s, when the Pier 21 Society was formed. The society lobbied
Ottawa to recognize the Pier as a National Historic Site — a status granted in
September 1996, along with $4.5 million in government funds for the creation of
a museum on the site. The project was completed on 1 July 1999.
The Canadian Museum of
Immigration at Pier 21 is one of Halifax’s most popular historic sites. It
tells the story of the Pier, the people that passed through it, and the lives
they went on to live in their new home. It stands as a reminder of how
radically Canada’s character was shaped by immigrants; a testament to the
country’s multicultural past and present.
Links to other
sites
--------------
By Lisa Evans
June 4, 2013
June 4, 2013
http://canadianimmigrant.ca/guides/moving-to-canada/diversity-in-canada-an-overview/attachment/istock_000005415467medium-3Diversity
has played an important role in Canada’s formative history. Today, Canada
boasts the highest percentage of foreign-born citizens than any other G8
country. In 2012, Canada welcomed a record number of immigrants for its seventh
consecutive year, with 257,515 newcomers entering the country. In opening its
doors to immigration, Canada has created a society of mixed languages, cultures
and religions.
A History of Immigration
Canada is a nation of newcomers.
Originally inhabited by Aboriginal peoples, immigration to Canada began with
the French and British colonization in the 17th century. The trend
continued through the 18th and 19th centuries with United
Empire loyalists who fled the United States during the American Civil War. A
subsequent wave of immigration from Europe after the two World Wars brought
many new cultures, languages and religious groups to Canada, resulting in many
changes in government policy and the first laws to protect diversity. During
the last 60 years, immigration has continued to flourish, with newcomers
arriving from every corner of the globe. In 1971, Canada became the first
country in the world to enact an official policy of multiculturalism, showing
how valued diversity is in Canada’s political and social landscape. The Canadian
constitution, implemented by Prime Minister Trudeau in 1982 contained a Charter
of Rights and Freedoms that protected multiculturalism. The Canadian
Multiculturalism Act was introduced in 1988 and federal funds began to be
distributed to ethnic groups to assist them in preserving their cultures. Many
of the cultural community centres that exist today were established during this
time as a result of this funding.
Diversity by the Numbers
Today, immigrants represent over
20 percent of the total Canadian population, the highest proportion among G8
countries. According to Statistics Canada, the majority of Canada’s
foreign-born population reside in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and
Alberta, and most in the nation’s largest urban centres. Over 200 ethnic
origins were reported in the 2011 National Household Survey and 13 of those had
surpassed the one million population mark.
Language Diversity
Walk down the street in one of
Canada’s major cities and you won’t be surprised to hear a dozen languages
spoken. Although Canada has two official languages (English and French), more
than 200 languages were reported in the 2011 Census of Population as a home
language or mother tongue. 17.5 percent reported speaking at least two
languages at home, compared to 14.2 percent in 2006. In 2011, 80 percent of the
population who reported speaking a language other than English, French or an
Aboriginal language lived in one of Canada’s six largest census metropolitan
areas (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa).
The Future of Diversity
The diversity of Canada’s
population is expected to increase significantly in the next two decades,
especially in the large metropolitan cities. Statistics Canada projects by
2031, between 25 to 28 percent of the population will be foreign-born and 29 to
32 percent of the population will belong to a visible minority group. Visible
minorities are expected to account for 63 percent of the population of Toronto,
59 percent of Vancouver and 31 percent of Montreal.
A Broad View of Diversity
Diversity in Canada extends
beyond race and ethnicity but spans language, gender, religious affiliations,
sexual orientation, abilities and economic status. One area where diversity is
often discussed is in the labour market. Canadian employers have taken strides
to ensure their corporations are representative of the diverse Canadian
population. Canada’s Best Diversity Employers competition has been held for the
past seven years and recognizes employers across the country who have developed
exceptional workplace diversity and inclusion programs towards five major
groups of employees: women, members of visible minorities, persons with
disabilities, aboriginal peoples, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgendered/transsexual peoples.
--------------
God bless our troops always- thank u for our freedoms
Legislation-
CANADA- WOMEN EQUAL MEN
Canada was among the first
countries to sign CEDAW. The 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms enshrines the principles of gender equality in employment, public
life, and education in Part I, section 15. Section 28 of the Charter also
reinforces the principle of gender equality (Baines 2005).
These principles are also reflected in the Canadian Human Rights Act and the
1998 Multiculturalism Act, which introduced measures to protect and promote the
rights of aboriginal women and foreigners.
-------------------
Canada - we have taught our children and they have taught theirs well- from a Canadian Grade IV Student
Canada - we have taught our children and they have taught theirs well- from a Canadian Grade IV Student
RELIGIONS
AND WOMENS RIGHTS IN CANADA-
QUOTE:
In addition, the
Women's Convention does not provide for any religious or customary law exceptions
to its commitment to gender equality. Indeed, the Article 2(f) enforcement
provisions of the Convention place a positive obligation on States parties to
“modify or abolish existing laws…, customs, and practices which constitute
discrimination against women.” Moreover, the Article 3 obligation that States
parties take “all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the
full development and advancement of women” precludes a cultural or religious
defence for discriminatory familial practices that hinder this development.
Research Report
Polygyny and
Canada's Obligations under International Human Rights Law
September 2006
IV. ARGUABLE LIMITS
ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS
In addressing polygyny, it may be
argued by some that prohibiting the practice may deny men, women and children
of the following rights:
A. The
Right to Freedom of Religion and Right to Non‑discrimination on Grounds of
Religion/Ethnicity
One argument consistently raised
against prohibiting or restricting polygyny is that such measures violate the
right to freedom of religion. Some commentators have argued, for example, that
the right to manifest one's religion or belief as protected under the Universal
Declaration, the Political Covenant, and the Declaration on the Elimination of
All Forms of Religious Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or
Belief (Declaration on Religious Intolerance)[275] includes the right to observe and apply
religious law through religious tribunals in both public and private life.[276] Such arguments are
often informed by the fact that some interpretations of a number of belief
systems, including Islam, maintain that the observance of religious law is
integral to religious practice.[277]
While such arguments are
important to consider in the context of polygyny, given that many
interpretations of Islamic family law as well as Fundamentalist Mormon
teachings permit the practice, there are several reasons why this argument is
at best tenuous under international law. Article 18 of the Political Covenant,
for example, protects the right to religious freedom, including the freedom:
to have or adopt a
religion or belief of his choice, and freedom… to manifest his religion or
belief in worship, observance, practice and teachings… .
There is no indication, however,
from the text itself or the HRC General Comment on the Article that this
includes a right to be governed by religious law in familial matters.[278] That is, the right
to religious freedom does not allow personal status or customary law to trump
secular law in family matters. Indeed, the Declaration on Religious Intolerance
does not include a freedom to be governed by religious law amongst the many
protected religious practices it lists.[279]
In addition, the Women's
Convention does not provide for any religious or customary law exceptions to
its commitment to gender equality. Indeed, the Article 2(f) enforcement
provisions of the Convention place a positive obligation on States parties to
“modify or abolish existing laws…, customs, and practices which constitute
discrimination against women.” Moreover, the Article 3 obligation that States
parties take “all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the
full development and advancement of women” precludes a cultural or religious
defence for discriminatory familial practices that hinder this development.
Even if there were a right to be
governed by familial religious law, the Political Covenant does not extend its
religious freedom protection to those practices that violate the rights of
others. Article 18(3) expressly permits legislative limits on freedom of
religion where “necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or
the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.” In Sing Binder v. Canada,
for example, the HRC held that the Article 18 religious freedoms of a Sikh
author whose religion obliged him to wear a turban could be justifiably
restricted by a law that required federal workers to wear safety headgear (a
“hard hat”). Here, the legislative aim was to protect federal workers from
injury and thus was “regarded as reasonable and directed towards objective
purposes that are compatible with the Covenant.”[280] The health harms associated with polygyny
may raise precisely such reasonable purposes for prohibiting its practice.
Even more on point, the HRC, in
its General Comment 22, noted that in limiting religious practices:
States parties
should proceed from the need to protect the rights guaranteed under the
Covenant, including the right to equality and non-discrimination under the
Covenant, including the right to equality and non-discrimination on all grounds
specified in articles 2, 3, and 26.”[281]
Given that the HRC itself has
found that polygamy violates these equality guarantees, international law
clearly sanctions domestic legislation that prohibits its practice in order to
protect the rights, health and safety of women and children.[282]
The Mauritius Supreme Court
applied precisely this reasoning in Bhewa v. Government of Mauritius
where it interpreted the national Constitution's religious freedom guarantee in
conjunction with the Political Covenant's requirement that women have equal
rights within marriage.[283]
In doing so, the Court denied a Muslim community the right to apply personal
Islamic law governing marriage, divorce, and inheritance. The Court noted the
important balance between:
…the duality of
religion and state in a secular system. The secular state is not anti-religious
but recognizes freedom of religion in the sphere that belongs to it. As between
the state and religion each has its own sphere, the former, that of law-making for
the public good and the latter that of religious teaching, observance and
practice. To the extent that it is sought to give to religious principles and
commandments the force and character of law, religion steps out of its own
sphere and encroaches on that of law-making in the sense that it is made to
coerce the state into enacting religious principles and commandments into law….[284]
Given this balancing between the
duality of State and religion within a secular system, the Court dismissed the
plaintiff's claim that the freedom to practise their religion required the
Mauritian government to impose Islamic rules concerning marriage. In addition,
the Court noted that even if one construed religious freedom in the manner
argued by the plaintiff, the Mauritius Constitution's exceptions to religious
freedom (the same as those noted above in the Political Covenant Article 18(3))
required the country to prohibit polygyny. As a signatory to the Political
Covenant, the Court noted that the Article 23(4) marital equality requirement,
in addition to Articles 2(1) and (2), 3, 24, and 26 all obligate Mauritius to
ensure:
the maintenance of
monogamy, including measures designed to safeguard the family and to ensure the
largest measure of non-discrimination against women, whether as wives or
daughters…[285]
Within the Canadian context, a
similar judicial recognition of the boundary between individual religious
freedom and the State within a secular system is evident in Kaddoura v.
Hammoud.[286]
There, the Ontario Court of Justice (General Division) was deciding whether a
wife would be able to recover the mahr (a gift or contribution promised
by a Muslim husband-to-be to his wife‑to‑be in the event of the dissolution of
their marriage) upon her divorce.[287]
In rejecting the wife's claim, the Court noted that “the obligation of the Mahr
is a religious obligation and should not be viewed as an obligation that is
justiciable in the civil courts of Ontario.”[288] In this sense, the Court recognized that
the State would not act as a positive agent to enforce religiously-based
duties. It noted that:
because Mahr is a
religious matter, the resolution of any dispute relating to it or the
consequences of failing to honour the obligation are also religious in their
content and context… They bind the conscience as a matter of religious
principle but not necessarily as a matter of enforceable civil law.[289]
This reasoning can similarly be
applied to cases where petitioners are seeking to be governed by religious
family law that permits polygyny. Secular states should not positively
recognize or apply religious laws that permit the practice, particularly when
it undermines the rights and freedoms of others.
Moreover, United States'
jurisprudence on Mormon polygyny, most notably Reynolds v. United States,[290] has clearly
recognized that although state law cannot interfere with religious belief,
it may intervene where religious practices undermine the rights of
others. In Reynolds, the Supreme Court noted that while laws:
cannot interfere
with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices. Suppose one
believed that human sacrifices were a necessary part of religious worship,
would it be seriously contended that the civil government under which he lived
could not interfere to prevent a sacrifice? Or if a wife religiously believed
it was her duty to burn herself upon the funeral pile of her dead husband,
would it be beyond the power of the civil government to prevent her carrying
her belief into practice?[291]
As Deller Ross has noted, the
important belief-practice distinction drawn by the United States Supreme Court
has resonated in other domestic court decisions on polygyny.[292] In each of the two cases where the Bombay
High Court in India upheld local statutes prohibiting Hindu polygyny (before
national law prohibited it), for example, it cited the belief-practice
distinction drawn by the U.S. Supreme Court.[293]
B. The
Right to Enjoy One's Culture
Beyond religious freedom
arguments, some proponents of polygyny also claim that the practice is integral
to the right to enjoy one's culture.[294] They may point to the Economic Covenant's
preamble, which states that:
in accordance with
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ideal of free human beings
enjoying freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are
created whereby everyone may enjoy his … cultural rights….
While it is clear that
international law recognizes a right to enjoy one's culture, this right does
not encompass practices that violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of
others. Accordingly, Article 4 of the Economic Covenant observes that the
rights proclaimed therein can be legislatively limited by States parties for
“the purpose of promoting the general welfare in a democratic society.” The
elimination of cultural practices that undermine the rights and dignity of women
and children is well within this purview of “general welfare.” Moreover,
Article 3 of the Covenant requires that States parties “undertake to ensure the
equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and
cultural rights.” Prohibiting cultural practices such as polygyny that
undermine women's equality, dignity, health, and economic well-being is part of
the important balancing of rights that states must undertake.
In addition to the Economic
Covenant, a measured balance between minority cultural freedoms and individual
rights protection is also evident in the Political Covenant. Article 27 of the
Political Covenant guarantees some cultural rights for minorities by requiring
that they “not be denied the right, in community with the other members of
their group, to enjoy their own culture…” While this clause would not apply to
the cultural norms of the majority group (for example, where polygyny is
practised as part of the majority culture),[295] it does on its face provide a negative
right for minority groups within a state such as Canada to enjoy their culture.
When the provision is read within the context of the remainder of the Covenant,
however, it is clear that this right does not include harmful cultural
practices such as polygyny. Firstly, Article 23(4) requires States parties to
“ensure equality of rights and responsibilities of spouses as to marriage,
during marriage and at its dissolution…” This equal rights and responsibilities
mandate cannot be achieved where unequal marital practices such as polygyny are
legally permitted or condoned. In addition, Article 2, which guarantees that
the rights in the Covenant be recognized “without distinction of any kind, such
as… sex…,” along with Article 3, which requires states to ensure the “equal
right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights set
forth in the Covenant,” establish gender equality as fundamental to the
Covenant.
To this end, the HRC has stated
that the minority cultural rights articulated in Article 27 “do not authorize
any State, group or person to violate the right to the equal enjoyment by women
of any Covenant rights.”[296]
Clearly, as Courtney Howland's analysis indicates, practices that constitute
and encourage familial inequality deprive women of some of their core civil and
political rights as guaranteed in the Political Covenant and thus are
justifiably limited by domestic legislation. Thus, while the HRC accepted a cultural
rights argument in Lovelace, namely that Ms. Lovelace's right to her
Aboriginal culture had been violated by discriminatory marriage provisions in
the Indian Act, it did so within a context where the right to culture
coincided with the right to gender equality. Nothing in the Lovelace
decision indicates that a free-standing right to culture could trump gender
equality norms.
Building on the Economic and
Political Covenants, the Women's Convention not only permits the legislative
restriction or elimination of gender-discriminatory cultural practices, but in
fact requires it. Article 2(f) obliges States parties to:
take all
appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing
laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination
against women.
Given that CEDAW has
characterized polygyny as a gender-discriminatory practice, the Women's
Convention not only precludes cultural arguments that justify the practice, but
imposes a positive obligation on States parties to abolish it.
Similarly, Article 5(a) calls on
States parties to take all appropriate measures:
to modify the
social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to
achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices
which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of
the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women.
Here, the Women's Convention
strives to ensure that practices such as polygyny that are often based on
reproductive stereotypes and the perceived inferiority of women are not legally
justified through cultural or customary norms.
Finally, a reliance on cultural
arguments to legally justify polygyny fails to account for the positive duty
Article 3 of the Women's Convention places on States parties to “ensure the
full development and advancement of women.” To this end, States parties shall:
take in all
fields, in particular in the political, social, economic and cultural fields,
all appropriate measures, including legislation, to ensure the full development
and advancement of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and
enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms on a basis of equality with
men.
The “development and advancement
of women” cannot be ensured where harmful and discriminatory practices are
perpetuated in the name of culture. In fact, Article 3's reference to “cultural
fields” makes clear that far from being immune, the cultural realm is in fact a
central part of States parties' obligations to guarantee women's equality.
C. The
Right to Respect for One's Private and Family Life
Another argument raised against
the prohibition of polygyny, and particularly against immigration policies that
prohibit the entry of multiple wives, is that they violate the right to respect
for one's private and family life. Where polygynous unions are unrecognized in
the country to which one immigrates,[297] or subsequent wives are prohibited from
entering a country,[298]
all of the persons involved in that union, including the husband, his wives and
their children could argue that their right to family life has been
unjustifiably violated.
This right to family life, it has
been argued by some commentators, now forms part of an international legal norm
against involuntary family separation. Starr and Brilmayer contend that the
individual right to privacy, the right to marry, children's rights, parental
rights and provisions that protect the family as an institution cumulatively
account for such a norm.[299]
In Bibi v. The United Kingdom,
the European Commission of Human Rights addressed this issue of involuntary
family separation in a case brought by the child of a Bangladeshi polygynous
wife.[300] The petitioner
claimed that her Article 8(1) right to respect of family life under the
European Convention had been violated by United Kingdom immigration legislation
that prohibited the entry of more than one spouse per immigrant.[301] In that case, the
claimant's father had already brought his second wife to the U.K. along with
his children, thus separating them from their mother, who was forced to remain
in Bangladesh. While the Commission found that the claimant's Article 8(1)
right had been interfered with, it held that the U.K. legislation was justified
to preserve a Christian-based monogamous definition of marriage as part of the
“protection of morals” exception under Article 8(2) of the Convention.[302]
In reaching this decision, the
Commission missed an important opportunity to undertake a rights analysis of
polygyny within the immigration context, especially given that one of the
exceptions under Article 8(2) is legislation necessary “for the protection of
the rights and freedoms of others.” In such an analysis, the Commission
arguably should have considered the rights violations associated with polygyny
and the ensuing public policy basis for excluding such families in an attempt to
discourage the practice on the one hand, and the rights violations associated
with involuntary family separation on the other. Despite the Court's weak
reasoning, the case nevertheless remains significant in highlighting one of the
most difficult transitional scenarios that both international and domestic law
must consider.
Indeed, the immediate consequence
for this applicant and her mother was that they would remain separated (unless
the claimant moved to Bangladesh). Particularly where states such as the United
Kingdom or Canada prohibit the entry of multiple spouses because of their own
domestic prohibition of the practice,[303] there is a concern that husbands will
choose to bring their more favoured, often younger second wife, leaving the
first wife vulnerable and isolated within her home country.[304] Some commentators, including Prakash A.
Shah, argue that exclusionary immigration policies ignore the extreme
vulnerability wives that are left in their homeland face.[305] The remaining wife is often left without
any legal recourse to ensure support from her husband. Moreover, even if a
remaining wife receives a judgement for spousal support in her home country,
her ability to enforce this judgement will depend on whether her home country
and her husband's new country of domicile reciprocally enforce each other's
judgements. Finally, given the economic challenges many polygynous wives face,
their poverty may prevent them from being able to access courts to receive or
enforce a judgement for spousal support.
The transitional difficulties
that such immigration policies raise should be contrasted, however, with the
even greater vulnerabilities that an ‘open-door' policy to polygynous families
can create. This is perhaps most evident in the formerly decades-long French
policy of legally recognizing and permitting the immigration of foreign
polygynous families provided that the marriages were valid in the original
jurisdiction.[306]
While polygamous marriages could not be lawfully performed in France, the
recognition and immigration scheme was motivated by a postwar need for
immigrant labour. The policy permitted male immigrants to bring multiple wives
into the country on long-term spouse visas.[307] With mainly West Africans taking advantage
of the policy, and to a lesser extent Algerians and Moroccans,[308] there were by the
1990s more than 200 000 people living in polygynous families in France. These
families became concentrated in enclaves and poorer Parisian suburbs, where, as
of the early 2000s, they still made up the majority of some communities.[309]
The shortcomings of such a policy
became apparent in the 1980s and early 1990s as African women's advocacy groups
within France began organizing to challenge the poor living conditions of
polygynous wives.[310]
Many of the concerns raised echo those outlined in this report, including
harmful co-wife competition, spousal neglect, and coercion into marriage at a
young age. Moreover, privacy harms were particularly aggravated in the French
setting where accommodation expenses meant that separate living arrangements
were not economically feasible for the vast majority of polygynous families.[311] Compounding the
psychological, emotional and health harms suffered by polygynous wives was the
animosity multiple wives and their children often endured as a result of the
broader French populace's repugnancy toward the practice.[312] In addition, second and third polygynous
wives at times had difficulty accessing public health care and social security
benefits despite having proper residence and working papers. As a result of
these cumulative harms, some African women's advocacy groups began to lobby the
government to discourage the practice by reforming its immigration policy.[313]
The ensuing French legislative
response failed, however, to protect those polygynous families already living
in France. Rather than addressing the transitional concerns that emerged as
France rightfully moved to discourage a harmful practice, the government tried
to retroactively eliminate polygyny even though it was responsible for
originally permitting and even encouraging the immigration of such families.
The loi Pasqua (named after the then-Interior Minister Charles Pasqua)
passed in 1993 changed immigration policy so that only one spouse per immigrant
would be issued working papers and a spousal visa.[314] The deeply troubling aspect of the
legislation, however, was its retroactive nature.
Instead of applying the loi
Pasqua only to new immigrants, the law was applied retroactively to
polygynous families already living in France. This meant that unless multiple
spouses divorced one another and physically separated their households (which
the vast majority could not afford to do), they would lose their residence and
working papers, social benefits and be subject to deportation.[315] The severity of the
policy was mitigated only by the fact that French law does not permit the
deportation of parents whose children are born in France.[316] A circular issued in 2000 further added to
the inequity of the legislation by formalizing a policy of not applying the
retroactive provisions to the first wife, but only to subsequent wives. This
made the position of subsequent wives even more precarious. Given that
polygynous families in France and elsewhere are often impoverished, the
retroactive denial of social benefits for second wives was particularly
devastating.[317]
Moreover, despite recent government initiatives to relax the legislation by
lowering the standards for polygynous spouses to obtain work permits, for
example, “these measures will not eliminate the damage.”[318]
It is clear, therefore, that the
prohibition of polygyny calls for a careful balancing of rights and interests
during transitional stages in order to protect vulnerable members of polygynous
families. The retroactive nature of French legislation failed to protect
spouses by forcing many to submit to living and working illegally (as “sans-papiers”).[319] Indeed, a Ministry
of the Interior's April 2000 circular supporting these retroactive provisions
cited “consistent” holdings of the Conseil d'État that polygamous families were
not covered by the Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights protection of
private and family life.[320]
These holdings are clearly refuted by the European Commission of Human Right's
above finding in Bibi that the claimant's Article 8 right to family life
had indeed been interfered with (although this was ultimately justified).[321] It is clear that
European human rights jurisprudence considers polygamous families to have a
right to private and family life. Given this, it is incumbent upon states such
as France to provide a level of protection to such families where they
exist—something that the loi Pasqua failed to do.
Yet in arguing that France's
enforcement of the loi Pasqua violates international legal norms against
involuntary family separation, commentators like Starr and Brilmayer have been
careful to focus on the law's retroactive nature. They are clear that this
claim:
should not be
understood to mean that French law may not make any distinctions between
polygamous and monogamous marriages, nor that France must authorize the
performance of polygamous marriages.[322]
Rather, Starr and Brilmayer
distinguish between laws that limit certain types of family formation and those
that require retroactive family separation. Thus, while international law
clearly prohibits states from limiting the formation of certain types of
families (inter-racial marriages, for example),[323] it does not require states to allow the
formation of polygynous unions. In fact, it calls on them to eliminate the
practice. Although there is less international consensus about the most
suitable means to achieve this goal, given precisely the type of transitional
challenges that France has faced, there is nevertheless considerable agreement
that polygyny violates women's right to be free from all forms of
discrimination.
Most states recognize the
difference between proactive and retroactive exclusion. In fact the proactive
exclusion of multiple spouses even where their marriages were validly performed
abroad is the norm among many Western states including now France, the United
States, and Canada. While international law prohibits racially-discriminatory
immigration policies, commentators have noted that no such prohibition applies
with regard to polygynous families.[324]
Significantly, CEDAW has not made
any statements as to whether countries should distinguish between monogamous and
polygynous unions for immigration purposes. The transitional concerns
surrounding involuntary family separation and the particular vulnerability
faced by those wives forced to remain in their homeland may explain why
consensus around immigration policy is more fractured. Despite the lack of
agreement on these difficult transitional issues, this should not blur the
strong consensus among treaty bodies, nation states, and international law
generally that polygyny is a violation of women's right to be free from all
forms of discrimination and thus should not be encouraged by national laws that
permit or recognize its performance within their jurisdiction.
-------------
[PDF]
Women's
Equality and Religious Freedom ... - West Coast LEAF
when
the equality guarantees of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Free- doms
came ... Devising legal strategies to protect
women's equality rights in the context
of freedom of .... place, if these women
decided to leave Bountiful? I am sure the
.... During our visits to various religious
institutions, most women were not com-.
[PDF]
The
Evolution of Human Rights in Canada - Commission ...
How
have Canadians' ideas of human rights evolved over time? ... constitution,
human rights law, and foreign policy as
evidence of Canadians' evolving ... the
basis of race, religion, colour, creed, sex
(sexual harassment, pregnancy), age,
place
... Canadians speak today of clean water, gender identity, genetic equality,
...
------------
Women's
Movement - The Canadian Encyclopedia
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/womens-movement/
- Cached - Similar
Through
legal and political means, the women's movement has allowed
Canadian
women to obtain a certain formal equality. ... Since the end of the 19th
century, Canadian women have been organizing
to redefine their place in society
, ... politics, culture, the mass media, law,
education, health, the labour force,
religion,
the ...
-------------
Status
of Women - The Canadian Encyclopedia
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/status-of-women/
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2
Apr 2014 ... She had weaving looms installed in houses throughout Montréal and
ran the ...
Women
in religious orders played a significant role in developing the early ...
Clara Brett MARTIN became the first Canadian
woman lawyer in 1897. ... During
WWI women were brought into the labour force
as new jobs were ...
----------
BLOGSPOT:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Oct30/2014-
O Canada/Sir Elton adores POPE FRANCIS/- don't immigrate if u don't like
gays/women having equal rights/Abortion is legal 1988/Same Gender Love legal
since 1969/and basically- if u F**K WITH OUR TROOPS OR OUR KIDS WE'LL DESTROY
U... other than that... we are young, beautiful, educated, free and savvy- No.
19th on gender equality in the world- and we love hockey.... and keeping the
innocence of our kids... don't immigrate if u don't or won't tolerate the
above.... just don't- over a billion want 2 come, visit move 2 Canada...If u
hate gays women rtroops n kids just find another hole... and we love our formal
true and pure decent religions... SIR ELTON PRAISES POPE FRANCIS... tons of old
blogs... troops /protest with honour and respect of communities- NEVER HIDE UR
FACE- honour ur cause/NEDA /Stephen Colbert honours Canada in his own way
-------------
BLOGSPOT:
ONE BILLION RISING- Canada
Military News Feb/2015- IDLE NO MORE CANADIANS- All Canada's girls and women
need saving- especially those isolated - it's time STORIES/BLOGS/HELPLINES- ONE
BILLION RISING /HISTORY OF CANADA- AND WOMEN EARNING THE VOTE - so f**king vote
Canada whatever party u choose.... VOTE -Afghan women did in the face of
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--------------
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