Weekly Update: to

by | October 21, 2017

Here’s your Canadian Atheist Weekly Update for to .

[A cartoon showing the silhouette of a man praying, saying: "Dear Lord, ever since I was a child, instead of eating communion wafers, I stuck them in my pocket."]

This could be the start of the most awesome sex confession ever.

This week, the Update is going to have a slightly different format. That’s because the big news this week of the passing – not just of Gord Downie – of Bill 62 in Québec. Bill 62 bans having one’s face covered when giving or receiving public services, and Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée has already confirmed that means everything from entering a school, to riding a bus, to getting treated at a hospital. To dodge the obvious accusation that this is intended to target Muslims, she has additionally stressed that the ban also covers bandanas, hoodies, and sunglasses. You can buy that if you want, but the Bill actually says it’s about “religious neutrality” in the title, so it falls squarely in Canadian Atheist’s wheelhouse.

So first I’ll list the items not related to Bill 62, and then after that, a focus on Bill 62-related items.

Now, onto this week’s big news.

The first few reports of the Bill:

Philippe Couillard’s response:

The responses of other politicians:

The responses of some of the victims:

Several major Canadian news outlets published official editorials:

And numerous other writers published opinions:

Canadaland offers some context about why the ban is so popular in Québec:

Ania Onion Bula pulls the rug out from under the absurd claims that this is about helping vulnerable women:

Finally, my favourite response, from average Canadians:

Canadian Atheist’s Weekly Update depends on the submissions of readers like you. If you see anything on the Internet that you think might be of interest to CA readers, please take a minute to make a submission.

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