Quebec Shows Respect for Freedom

A RADIO broadcaster in Montreal, Quebec, noted recently on the evening news that Jehovah’s Witnesses have long been harassed in that Canadian province “because they are different.” He focused on a recent attack made via radio by Yvon Picotte, the minister for municipal affairs. The broadcaster reported that Picotte “called the Witnesses ‘parasites on society’ who, in many cases, live off welfare. Thus, Picotte insulted not only Jehovah’s Witnesses but anyone who has to rely on social assistance.”

The broadcaster rebutted Picotte’s charge by noting that the proportion of Witnesses on welfare is no higher than that of any other religion. “They no more deserve to be called ‘parasites’ than does Mr. Picotte,” he said. “In fact, come to think of it, there are those who argue that the real social parasites in our society are the politicians.”

“What piqued my interest in Picotte’s ridiculous tirade,” the broadcaster continued, “was its ‘flashback’ or ‘déjà vu’ aspect. Back in the late ’40’s, Maurice Duplessis, the autocratic premier of Quebec and self-appointed defender of the Roman Catholic faith, put some 400 Jehovah’s Witnesses in jail, not for ringing doorbells​—which Picotte took such strong exception to—​but on charges of ‘sedition.’ In the law according to Duplessis, distributing religious pamphlets was a seditious act! The Witnesses had their meeting places padlocked and were subjected to merciless persecution by the provincial police.”

Duplessis’ 1946 announcement of “War Without Mercy on the Witnesses of Jehovah” was also attacked by the press. Headlines cried: “The Dark Ages Return to Quebec,” “Return of the Inquisition,” and “The Stench of Fascism”!

Now, 50 years later, this Montreal broadcaster concluded: “While we still have a few Neanderthal politicians, their egregious rantings are no longer tolerated. In fact, Picotte, who would have been applauded by Duplessis, was ordered by Mr. Bourassa [the current premier of Quebec] to apologize for his remarks in the National Assembly today. Civil libertarians take heart. We have come a long way since people in this province were jailed for propagating their faith.”