An appeal to our fellow secularists

Dear fellow humanists and secularists,

The MLQ (Mouvement Laïque Québécois, or “Quebec secular movement”) is a non-profit voluntary association founded in 1981 that promotes freedom of consciousness and the separation of Church and State.  We write today to seek your assistance as we enter a crucial battle in front of the Supreme Court of Canada.

What’s at stake?
As you probably already know, Quebec is a small society that lived under the strict domination of the Catholic Church for nearly 2 centuries.  During the 1960’s, a profound cultural emancipation process called the “Quiet Revolution” took place, which lead to the secularization of our institutions.  We believed that this secularization process would complete itself as quietly, but that was without foreseeing a serious backlash taking form today.

In the last few years, different organized groups from different faiths have aggressively been lobbying and petitioning law courts in order to bring religious prerogatives back into every sphere of public life.  This type of so-called “religious rights” activism too often rhymes with group identity politics rather than liberal freedom.  Only secularism insures a proactive defence for freedom of consciousness.  Contrary to what we too often hear, religious opinions are the first to gain a safe space with secularism, in privacy where they can be free from social pressure.  Liberal democracy cannot exist without that secular space.

Today, we face a spate of court cases coming from politico-religious activists.  Some resemble slapp suits aimed at silencing whoever publicly criticizes religion or religious activists.  Other legal cases challenge the secular nature of Quebec and Canadian public institutions.

It is in one such legal battle that the MLQ is presently involved.

The MLQ against Mayor Jean Tremblay

In 2011, following a complaint by a citizen and by the MLQ, a human rights tribunal ordered city of Saguenay’s mayor, Jean Tremblay, to stop reciting a Catholic prayer at the beginning of every city hall meeting and to remove the Catholic symbols present in the institution.  Mayor Tremblay appealed the judgment and, to our disbelief, had it overturned.  The case is now in front of the Supreme Court of Canada.  (For further details, please follow this link.)

We have good reasons to believe that we can win this crucial round here in Canada.  But the process is very costly (our lawyer bill is presently at 100,000$) and we are a small non-profit organization with a local network stretched thin from having to fight on different fronts.  We are thus asking for the kind contribution of your network of supporters, because we know that we are many and everywhere.

We know that we are not alone.  Other secularist associations and networks all over the world are fighting alongside us for the same universal values: Freedom of consciousness and a secular public space for it to flourish.  And every concession in any society will be exploited by politico-religious activists in all other countries.  Thus we must all stand together.

Today, we are asking for your help.
If you want to give us a hand, please distribute this plea among your members and associated networks.  Even the most modest contribution is dearly needed and welcomed.

To make a donation, please follow this link to find our Paypal button: http://production.mlq.qc.ca/

Or you can write a cheque to:

Mouvement laïque québécois
CP 32132, Succursale Saint-André
Montréal, QC, CANADA
H2L 4Y5

We thank you immensely for your support!