"reasonable" for who?
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The term "reasonable" in reasonable accommodation is a problem in itself - reasonable for who? Reading Mahrouse's article, it becomes clear that the issue of accommodation in Quebec is less interested in protecting the rights of immigrant and minority populations, and more interested in protecting "Quebec's national history" (87). The history in question is a result of the Quiet Revolution from 1960-1966, which resulted in a separation of the Catholic Church from the state of Quebec, and in turn led to the "secularisation of the school system and greater gender equality" (Mahrouse 91). Quebec's history with the Catholic Church has thus made them more concerned about preserving this "secularism," which presents itself through thinly-veiled Islamophobia in this context of accommodation.
The Bouchard-Taylor Commission was thus formed to investigate the extent of accommodation allowed due to religious and cultural differences in Quebec, and ensure that it was "reasonable" in the sense that these accommodation practices conformed to Quebec's secular values (Mahrouse 87). It was posited as a "neutral, non-discriminating official stance to separate the state and all religions" (Mahrouse 92). Despite this official framing, however, the actual reports on the Commission reveal that people cared less about protecting secularism and more about policing Muslim women's bodies--the veiled Muslim woman was perceived as the biggest threat to Quebec identity (Mahrouse 92). Still, the Commission was too invested in developing "dialogue" with the host communities and making these white Quebecois people feel comfortable to actually do anything about these findings. There were no structural changes made to the law. As a result, Mahrouse argues that the Commission's interference in this way "amplified the crisis that it sought to remedy" (94).