So what the hell was Ezra Levant talking about? It seems — according to material Levant sent me by email, which he has now posted on his website — that the copy of the memo forwarded to Levant, which was otherwise complete, included only the Muslim soldier links at the bottom. Levant’s TV producer sent questions to school board spokesperson Scott Scantlebury. The questions led him to think he was being asked about the board’s religious accommodations policy. So he responded with general information about that policy, saying that in the context of Remembrance Day it would hypothetically apply to faiths “in which pacifism is a tenet.” Levant’s producer then sent the text of the memo, and a followup question about why the Muslim soldier links are included. Scantlebury replied with more general information about the accommodation policy, denying it was put in place for any specific faith. And then he says the links are in the memo as a “reminder of the diversity that exists in our armed forces.” Levant’s producer never asks directly if this memo is about Muslims asking to be excused, even though that assumption would form the thesis of the resulting broadcast and newspaper pieces. Scantlebury never explains that public safety in light of recent attacks was the memo’s motive. “Both parties were probably at fault for incorrect assumptions,” Scantlebury wrote. “I assumed they were asking about religious accommodations, to which we provided forthright replies.” Levant and his producer also assumed they were asking about religious accommodations, even though nothing in the memo suggests that would be the case. They interpreted the replies as confirmation. Levant wrote to me Tuesday that he might revisit the story with updated details. “I stand by my views that immigrants to Canada, from whatever source, ought not to be exempted from Remembrance Day, for allegedly religious reasons,” he wrote. He emphasizes this view in the absence of any evidence that a single immigrant to Canada has ever requested such an exemption. Except in his imagination. That’s the source of the real insult to Canada that was delivered on Remembrance Day: Ezra Levant’s mind. thestar/news/gta/2014/11/12/minority_disrespect_existed_only_in_ezra_levants_mind_keenan.html
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 13:49:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015