Canadian Human Rights Commission Labels Christmas Celebration “Discrimination Grounded In Colonialism”

The cancerous spread of woke ideology into every facet of society and government is more obvious in some places compared to others, but every so often the movement crosses a line and sparks considerable opposition.  In the US, the social justice movement seems to have hit a few snags; numerous companies adopting and promoting ESG related propaganda have been pummeled with successful boycotts, losing billions in profits and in stock value.  Overall public sentiment is quickly turning against major universities as a root source of woke beliefs.  And, government officials pandering to the extreme left are confronted with increasing vitriol from the populace.

It would seem that Canadians are also hitting their limit these days when it comes to the far-left, and it took a thinly veiled attack on Christmas to do it.

Part of the ongoing invasion of the woke movement involves regular attempts to undermine Christian holidays as “problematic” and archaic.  Leftists argue that increasing diversity (mostly through open border policies or illegal immigration) requires increasing inclusion at the national level.  Meaning, it is not for immigrants to adapt to the west, the west must adapt to them.  National celebrations like Christmas are therefore a representation of “discrimination” because they are being given preference over minority holidays.

This was the message given by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) in a paper published under the radar in October.  The treatise on “Religious Intolerance” was then condemned in a motion unanimously adopted on Nov. 30 by the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the Canadian Parliament.  The paper cited Christianity’s two biggest holy days (Christmas and Easter) as examples of “present-day systemic religious discrimination” linked to colonialism because they are statutory holidays in Canada.

The CHRC was established by the Canadian government in 1977 and claims to be an “independent” watchdog.  It is empowered under the Canadian Human Rights Act to investigate and to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the provision of services within federal jurisdiction.  The group is similar to the ACLU in that its momentum is ever to the deepest reaches of the political left.  Their ideological positions carry weight in the higher echelons of government; for example, their paper attacking Christmas has since been avidly defended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The woke all-or-nothing argument against state recognized religious holidays is built on a host of illogical demands.  First and foremost, Canada is a majority Christian nation, with 53.3% of the population identifying as Christian, 34.6% identifying as non-affiliated, and around 12% identifying with several other faiths.  The next largest religious group in Canada is Muslim, representing only 5% of the religious population.  

But what about that 34% of people who are non-affiliated?  Do they feel discriminated against by national Christmas celebrations?  No, not really.

Surveys show the vast majority of Canadians have no ill feelings towards Christmas revelry.  In a poll asking average Canadians if seasons greetings of “Merry Christmas” bother them during the holidays or if people should use the more inclusive “Happy Holidays”, 52% said they don’t care either way.  Over 32% said they prefer Merry Christmas, while only 16% of the public preferred the progressive “Happy Holidays.”

Why should a majority Christian country worry about adopting every single minority celebration as a national holiday?  No Muslim nation does this.  No Hindu nation does this.  No Buddhist nation does this.  Israel doesn’t do it.  Why should western nations be expected to do it?   

The woke establishment effort to gratify minority concerns over all others stems from the illusion of equity – The false narrative that equal opportunity is not enough, and that equal outcomes must be codified.  However, in any society where certain belief systems are the norm and have been since the the society was founded, it is not only naive to expect that country to bend to minority beliefs, it’s dangerously delusional.  

Religious freedom does not mean religious equity – There simply is no such thing.  But the CHRC doesn’t see it that way.  They suggest that the existence of a western religious majority is in itself a form of racism.  In other words, they expect western systems to self destruct so that foreign and minority philosophies can be accommodated.  If the roles were reversed and Muslims were the majority in Canada with widely recognized Muslim holidays, it’s unlikely the commission would be making the same argument.  And, it is this double standard, the pervasive bias against the west just under the surface, that makes the public not trust woke ideologues.