Is Christmas ‘racist’? Why the question came up on Parliament Hill

globalnews.ca:

Yves-Francois Blanchet nearly landed him on Speaker Greg Fergus’ naughty list — but was ultimately allowed to proceed.“Mr. Speaker, according to the prime minister, is Christmas racist?” Blanchet asked in question period on Wednesday.“I’m very pleased to stand up and try to answer a totally ridiculous question.

Obviously, Christmas is not racist,” Trudeau replied.This question from Blanchet did not come out of nowhere. It comes after an Oct.

23, 2023 discussion paper published by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) on religious intolerance.In a section looking at examples of religious discrimination in Canada, the CHRC says that “discrimination against religious minorities in Canada is grounded in Canada’s history of colonialism.”For an example, the paper points out that Christmas and Easter, both Christian holidays, are the only two religious statutory holidays in Canada.“As a result, non-Christians may need to request special accommodations to observe their holy days and other times of the year where their religion requires them to abstain from work,” the paper reads.In an emailed response, the CHRC says Christmas is an important tradition for millions of Canadians, both Christians and non-Christians alike. The organization says that the paper is not about Christmas or any other religious tradition, but a discussion on how to ensure all Canadians can equally observe their religious holidays.“When the Commission’s academic discussion paper mentions Christmas it is in the context of statutory holidays.