Analysis of the End of Quebec Course: A Political Science Report

This report provides an analysis of the removal of the Quebec course on religion and ethics from high school curricula. The report explores the political context, including the influence of the Bloc Quebecois Party and the controversy surrounding Bill 21. It examines the course's objectives, the government's motivations, and the implications for multiculturalism and secularism. The author discusses the course's role in promoting understanding and tolerance, and considers the impact of its removal on democratic values and the education system. The report also delves into the role of mass media in shaping public opinion and highlights the relevance of social sciences in understanding societal dynamics. The student analyzes the government's power play, the public's reaction, and the broader implications for Quebec society.

Running Head: ANALYSIS OF THE END OF QUEBEC COURSE
Analysis of the End of Quebec Course
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author's Note:

1ANALYSIS OF THE END OF QUEBEC COURSE
Table of Contents
Part A.........................................................................................................................................2
Response to Question 1..........................................................................................................2
Response to Question 2..........................................................................................................2
Part B..........................................................................................................................................3
Response to Question 1..........................................................................................................3
Response to Question 2..........................................................................................................3
Response to Question 3..........................................................................................................4
Response to Question 4..........................................................................................................4
Response to Question 5..........................................................................................................5
Response to Question 6..........................................................................................................5
Response to Question 7..........................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................7

2ANALYSIS OF THE END OF QUEBEC COURSE
Part A
Response to Question 1
The article declaring the removal of the course in the Quebec high schools on religion
and ethics defined the grasp and the influence of the Bloc Quebecois Party which has
challenged the dynamic structure of Trudeau’s Liberal Party in the recent election. The news
came at the time when Quebec has been dealing with the criticism and the controversy related
to the tabling of Bill 21 based on the laicity of the state (Valiante, 2020). The coalition
government has expressed their disapproval of the involvement of the young children to
being exposed to other world views. The course introduced by the Liberal party with the
removal of the course based completely on Catholicism deemed as the assertion of a
particular culture and religion. The Quebec course on religion and ethics introduced children
to various other cultures to make them acceptable of others. It aimed to attain amiability in
society with the removal of racism and inequality with the removal of ignorance.
Response to Question 2
It is related to the politics of playing the cultural and ethnicity by the Nationals to
attain the support on anti-multiculturalist who claimed to possess the right to decide which
religion their children will follow and grow understanding towards. It is political in the way
that the removal of the course represents the removal of the exposure and knowledge to be
able to compare one’s religious views with that of others. It is, in a way, a denial of
secularism which goes against the concept of democracy (Valiante, 2020).
Part B
Response to Question 1
The article, which appeared on 8th March 2020 in one of the widely distributed
newspapers of Ontario declaring the news of the Quebec course on religion and ethics being

3ANALYSIS OF THE END OF QUEBEC COURSE
stroked out from the high school curriculum entirely without the replacement curriculum
ready for the next semester (Home, Participants, & Registration, 2020). The reason why the
article appealed about this particular assignment is that this decision via this news shows the
working of political science and political theory, which are read and taught in class. The
removal of the course stands against the multicultural approach and acceptance of the
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The reason behind the choice of the article may also be related to the issue that has
been associated with the course and the ongoing political play in the city of Quebec. It has
been in the headlines internationally, but the Quebecer's have been divided in their view
about the new Bill 21, which was proposed and passed by the coalition government (Brancati
& Lucardi, 2019). The article stands for the change in perspective of the government and how
a particular ideology is introduced in society through institutionalization. The Bloc Quebecois
Party with whom the coalition has been formed is a constant criticizer of the liberal
government and its approach towards multiculturism.
Response to Question 2
The course that has been removed from the curriculum with the claim that the course
gives access to students to worldviews, which is not acceptable for their age, is something
that I cannot stand in favor of. The article portrays the influence of the coalition government
on the school curriculum is noticeable. The course was introduced under the Liberal
government and was implemented and modified further under the Trudeau government. The
idea behind the course generated with the introduction of Bill 95 which removed all the
courses on religion and Quebec Course on culture and ethics was introduced to introduce to
worldviews and shows them the difference in ethics and culture and how rich every culture is
when reading from a neutral point of view (Brancati & Lucardi, 2019). This change in the
curriculum can be seen as the implementation of the pre-election promise of the Party

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Quebecois of making the city free of religious identity and was the one responsible for the
passing of Bill 21.the stance against the move shows more affinity towards the Canadian
Liberal government whose approach has been that of favoring multiculturism present in
Canada.
Response to Question 3
The portrayal of power acquisition and its use by the coalition government is the
display of power play and the way any criticism or unfavorable opinion will be dealt with by
them. Bill 21 was criticized and opposed by a majority of young Quebecers, and the
secularists were quick to blame the course for it (Kislali, Kavaratzis & Saren, 2016). It
implies the growing hostility of the government and the society as a whole towards any step
which is not in favor of the popular demand.
If I were to be responsible for addressing this issue, I would have removed Bill 21
from the policy altogether. It is because though the Bill is shown to be the implementation of
the laicity of the state, it can be seen as the authoritarian form of a decision.
Response to Question 4
When the subject of removal of the course is seen from democracy as a value, it can
be understood directly in conflict with the idea of equality and freedom in the right to choose
one's religion and the access to information. One of the main components of democracy as a
value is the tolerance of political freedom in the people. Moreover, the removal of the course
is a clear indication of taking in control the structure of education to control the way the
young Quebecer think and form their opinion on the working of the government (Rymarz,
2012). However, the Bill cannot be seen as the violation of democracy as a process as it was
passed in the House of Common after enough prior argument and the policy was passed a bill

5ANALYSIS OF THE END OF QUEBEC COURSE
when it earned a majority in the house showing the concept of being proposed by the
representative of the people of the society.
Response to Question 5
The end of the course did not come as a shock to the liberals because the Party of
Quebecois has been adamant in the face of innumerous protests, which was seen after the Bill
was passed by various Quebecers taking the road and protesting (Valiante, 2020). Despite the
protests, the Bill was passed, and the police power was used to disperse the protests. While
the protests were an excellent example of the democratic process, in this case, it was seen in
almost all the states. However, the use of power by the government in order to disperse and
implement the law was, to an extent, a massive breach in democratic policy (Brancati &
Lucardi, 2019). The protests were a clear indication of the public's opinion of the Bill.
Protests are a democratic form of display of expression where the people can portray
their favor of displeasure over an issue dealt with by the elected government. Furthermore, in
most cases, protests are valid and have been seen in many countries of being successful in
bringing a change in the government's decision (Brancati & Lucardi, 2019).
Response to Question 6
Mass media is one of the most significant components in the political scenario
internally, and their portrayal of an issue makes up for the future of the cause. It has been
seen in the case of Bill 21 and the end of the course that the media houses were divided, and
it relates to another giant issue of capitalism (Ford & Mekki, 2019). The news item, in
general, are chosen with a degree of irresponsibility because of the sensational piece required
to create the hype around the subject. The protest regarding the Bill and the ban on the
religious symbol was portrayed by the media in the way, which gave the secularists the
option to use it as a topic of violation on their part (Sarker, et al., 2018). It had been seen that

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several professionals had to give up their jobs or even change states to maintain their ethnic
identity.
Response to Question 7
The presence of social sciences in daily life comes out in a more precise picture with
the understanding of how the society works and the reason and outcome of the result. Social
science and its concepts of equality and freedom are two of the most important and impactful
part of my life as a student. The understanding regarding this particular removal of the course
due to the claim of the secularist that the young minds were being influenced towards other
religions and culture. I cannot locate the negative impact of the increase in individuals in the
society who can understand each other better due to the exposure to worldviews that are
different from theirs.
The value of social sciences on the society cannot be measured as the basic tenets of
the human civilization rests on it. The human creation and imagination of a society which
safe and educated cannot be formed without the understanding and realization of the concepts
on which the social sciences stand.

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References
Brancati, D., & Lucardi, A. (2019). Why democracy protests do not diffuse. Journal of
Conflict Resolution, 63(10), 2354-2389.
Ford, S., & Mekki, S. (2019). Quebec. Canadian Parliamentary Review, 42(2), 56.
Home, Participants, & Registration. (2020). Registered Political Parties and Parties Eligible
for Registration - Elections Canada. Retrieved 10 April 2020, from
https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?
dir=par&document=index&lang=e&section=pol
Kislali, H., Kavaratzis, M., & Saren, M. (2016). Rethinking destination image
formation. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research.
Rymarz, R. (2012). Teaching ethics and religious culture in Québec high schools: An
overview, contextualization and some analytical comments. Religious
Education, 107(3), 295-310.
Sarker, N. I., Chanthamith, B., Anusara, J., Huda, N., Amin, M. A., Jiachen, L., & Nasrin, M.
(2018). Determination of interdisciplinary relationship among political science, social
sciences and public administration: Perspective of theory and
practice. Discovery, 54(273), 353-359.
Valiante, G. (2020). End of Quebec course on religion and ethics seen as win for nationalists.
Retrieved 10 April 2020, from https://globalnews.ca/news/6646996/end-of-quebec-
course-on-religion-and-ethics-seen-as-win-for-nationalists/