The need for a federal bill cracking down on forced marriages and polygamy is questionable. The label applied to the bill is downright offensive and xenophobic.
Chris Alexander, minister of citizenship and immigration, on Wednesday tabled a bill called the Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act. He said it would eliminate early and forced marriages from the immigration system, and would allow for the deportation of immigrants who practise polygamy.
The bill would also limit the ability of those who commit “honour crimes” to use cultural differences as a defence.
Polygamy is already a criminal offence in Canada, as it should be. Immigrants who are not yet citizens and who commit crimes are already subject to deportation. No new law is needed — a directive could be sent to the appropriate officials stating that prospective immigrants not willing to abide by Canadian laws should not be admitted to the country.
It’s puzzling that the federal Conservatives see the need for a law to address so-called honour killings. Murder, under whatever pretext, is already a crime in Canada.
Alexander refers to the case of the Afghan man, his second wife and their son who killed the man’s first wife and three teenage daughters. The man thought the women were bringing dishonour to the family because of the way they dressed and behaved.
Why Alexander would cite this case is puzzling — the justice system demonstrated that Canada’s law is adequate by convicting the three perpetrators of first-degree murder. We don’t need a special law for immigrants.
The bill would set 16 as the minimum age for marriage in Canada. That has merit, but most provinces already set 16 as the minimum age, although some have provisions for marriage under the age of 16 with the consent of the courts or the recommendation of a doctor.
Much of what the bill aims to do could be accomplished by strengthening enforcement of existing laws, especially when it comes to protecting the rights and safety of women and children. The laws should apply to anyone, regardless of ethnic origin.
Beyond being legislation of dubious merit, it’s the bill’s “barbaric” label that is most disturbing. It has echoes of Canada’s anglocentric colonial past, when those who were not of the approved British stock were regarded as lesser beings.
It was that mindset that suppressed so much of Canada’s rich First Nations heritage, particularly in B.C. Because the native peoples spoke different languages, dressed differently and lived differently than the invasive culture, they were labelled as barbarians and savages. As a result, their arts, stories, traditions and culture were dismissed as being unworthy of notice, although anthropologists and greedy collectors didn’t hesitate to scoop up spiritual and cultural artifacts.
It was an attitude used to justify residential-school abuses and official policies aimed at suppressing or eliminating traditional cultures.
“Barbaric” is a term that resonates with bigotry. The very word is xenophobic — it stems from a Greek word meaning to speak or behave like a stranger. It’s “us” versus “them.” It’s not a term in harmony with what Canada has come to mean.
Those who immigrate to Canada should not expect to engage in cultural practices that violate Canadian law and standards. We should not tolerate for one second such horrible practices as female genital mutilation, forced marriages, child marriages and “honour” killings. But current laws already cover those crimes, and if there are loopholes or grey areas, they should be fixed.
But tabling immigration law under the label of “barbaric cultural practices” has ugly undertones. The Conservatives should take note of one of the definitions of barbarism: “Any act or object that offends against accepted taste.”
