concordia faculty for religious freedom

The following petition was opened for the signatures of full-time Concordia University faculty members only on September 13, 2013.*

It will be submitted to the Secrétariat aux institutions démocratiques et à la participation citoyenne de Quebec on or after October 15, 2013:

"We, the undersigned full-time faculty members at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, do hereby petition the Quebec government to withdraw its proposed legislation for a so-called 'Charter of Quebec values'.

This proposed law would discriminate against those who wear religiously significant attire in public places of work and it identifies university personnel as falling under its purview.

Therefore, we reject this proposed law in its entirety.

We reject the specific targeting of university personnel since such a legal provision would constitute a legislated form of discrimination that would infringe upon the independence of university faculty members, our personal freedom and the rights of those of us who affiliate with particular religious traditions as well as the terms of employment contained in our contract with the university.

We affirm that agencies of the state and public institutions such as universities should embody tolerance toward all members of our diverse society. We benefit when public employees exercise good judgment rather than an allegiance to an artificial concept of neutrality. Regardless of our religious affiliation or none, we welcome those whose religious beliefs and practices constitute the basic motivation for their contributions toward the good of our university and thereby to Quebec society."

 

*I regret that for some faculty members, offensive, sexist ads have appeared in the margins of this petition website. To possibly offset the appearance of such ads, you might try adjusting the settings of google ads in your web browser via your gmail/google account at:

https://www.google.com/settings/ads/preferences?hl=en


Dr. Paul Allen, Assoc. Prof.    Contact the author of the petition