Xref: utzoo can.politics:2014 can.francais:100
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Newsgroups: can.politics,can.francais
Subject: Re: Notwithstanding clause -- truly a sad day for Canada
Message-ID: <2547@looking.UUCP>
Date: 24 Dec 88 06:32:58 GMT
References: <1988Dec13.133220.28851@lsuc.uucp> <4321@hcr.UUCP> <809@auvax.UUCP> <230@electro.UUCP> <2521@looking.UUCP> <560@cavell.UUCP> <165@ecicrl.UUCP> <1736@maccs.McMaster.CA>
Reply-To: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Distribution: can
Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd.
Lines: 22

1) People have been providing examples of non-English areas of Toronto
because the exact question, "What would you do if they had sections of
Toronto (or Kitchener) without English signs?" You can't complain if
people ask that question.

2) It doesn't matter one whit that the comparison isn't valid.  That
English is not threatened while French is.

It wouldn't matter of French or English were about to be utterly
destroyed, and you had 100% incontravertable proof that a sign law would
save the day.

The preservation of cultural elements and icons is *never* a grounds
for infringement of the rights of individuals to say and print what they
want.  The whole *point* of freedom of expression is to protect forms
of expression that go against the culture and main endanger it.  That's
why freedom of expression is in the constitution.

Unfortunately, our constitutions is a wimp constitution, with that
NW clause, but it was still written with the above intent in mind.
-- 
Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd.  --  Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473