Poll on reasonable accommodation

My Comments:

I think, with all due respect, that conduction opinion polls regarding human rights of minorities
can be a dangerous thing, even in a democracy, or perhaps because we are in a democracy where the majority (this may be disputed in the current Canadian context) rules. By design it is looking at the opinions of the general public (i.e. the majority) with respect to the accommodation of a minority group. The Charter of Right and Freedoms is precisely to protect the rights of minorities against the will of the majority. It seems to me self-evident that: “The greater the accommodation in question and the smaller the minority group the stronger the results of the opinion poll may be against accommodation; but, the greater the need for protection.”

As an extreme example, one need only ask one’s self what the results of an opinion poll would
likely have been on the Chinese Head Tax (or, on the free accommodation of Chinese immigrants) during its hay-day.

I am a strong believer in a free and open society. However, I have a lot of difficulty
understanding the benefits of such opinion polls or what the possible purpose(s) might be, except perhaps, to illustrate the need and importance of fundamental laws such as the Charter and of we, Canadians, being vigilant in their application.

We have emerged into a Golden Age of Human Rights, lets not allow anything to cause us to drift back into the Dark Ages.


Lloyd MacIlquham


The above comments were in response to the following:

http://www.nikonthenumbers.com/topics/show/49#comment_2657
By significant majorities in Canada as a whole, and by overwhelming majorities in Quebec, Canadians and Quebecers declare limits to reasonable accommodation.

When asked whether it was reasonable to accommodate religious and cultural minorities, or whether immigrants should fully adapt to culture in Canada, only 18 percent of respondents said reasonable accommodation best reflected their personal views, as opposed to 53 percent who thought immigrants should fully adapt (21 percent who agreed with neither statement).


In Quebec, only 5.4 percent of respondents thought reasonable accommodation reflected their views, while fully 76.9 percent thought immigrants should fully adapt.Interestingly, the parts of Canada with fewer new Canadians were more likely to support accommodation. Leaders from across Canada should be watching the developments in Quebec, because they may well be a precursor of things to come in other parts of Canada.In the support materials on the right is the release and the detailed polling tables. Survey results touch upon awareness of reasonable accommodation, and views about accommodating minorities at work, school, public places etc.

Quite a bit of very interesting information.