Toronto Star columnist Chantal Hebert writes: (excerpt)
"To understand how the Quebec government is coming to use its full legislative might to set the terms of its relationship with the tiny minority of Muslim Quebecers who wear the niqab or the burqa it helps to first grasp the distinctive dynamics of the province's media.
"By the sheer nature of its size and its relative homogeneity, francophone Quebec is home to a journalism of proximity that translates into a capacity to mobilize public opinion in ways unparalleled anywhere else in Canada, with the possible exception of Newfoundland and Labrador. . . .
"At its best, the exceptionally intense interaction between the province's media, its chattering class and Quebecers reinforces a social cohesion that is regularly bolstered by vigorous debates. . . .
"At its worst, the capacity of the Quebec media to pile on an issue, as it has regularly done on the issue of reasonable accommodation over the past few years, can act as a magnifier that distorts not only the substance of a given debate but also its relative importance. . . "
Click on the totle to read the full column.
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