Civil
Rights Complaint against City of Saskatoon (Saskatoon Transit Services) for Christmas
Messages on Programmable Bus Signs
By Ashu M. G. Solo
I saw that the programmable
signs for the #6 Broadway bus and a Special bus of Saskatoon Transit Services had
a “merry Christmas” message. The signs alternated between displaying the
bus number/route name and “merry Christmas.” I was extremely surprised,
offended, and angered that a municipal government organization like Saskatoon
Transit Services would display a message pertaining to a religious holiday on
its main bus sign. I found out that many more buses displayed a “merry
Christmas” message. This violates the
freedom from religion inherent to freedom of religion, violates the separation
of religion and state, imposes religious beliefs on people who don't share
them, and gives preferential treatment to one religion over all other religions
in violation of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code and Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms.
I talked to a
bus driver about this. He said that Saskatoon Transit Services management
programmed the bus signs to give drivers the option of having a “merry
Christmas” message. He said the bus signs are not programmed to display a
message for a holiday for any other religion. If they did, I'm sure there
would be a public backlash from conservative Christians.
Author David Barrett has documented 10,000 different
religions, 150 of which have one million or more followers: http://www.adherents.com/misc/WCE.html. This article is attached. Therefore,
it would be impossible to have messages for holidays in all other
religions.
It is extremely inappropriate
and extremely discriminatory to have a Christmas message displayed by Saskatoon
Transit Services, which is owned by the City of Saskatoon and funded by
taxpayers. People are free to put “merry Christmas” bumper stickers on
your personal vehicles, but the City of Saskatoon is not free to put “merry
Christmas” signs on Saskatoon Transit buses or other City of Saskatoon
vehicles. If the “merry Christmas” message were from a private advertiser
on one of the internal bus signs, this would be more acceptable, but it is not
acceptable for Saskatoon Transit Services to display this message on its
own. If the “merry Christmas” message were by a private organization or
individual, this would be more acceptable, but it is not acceptable for a
government organization like Saskatoon Transit Services to display this message
on its own.
Christmas messages on Saskatoon
Transit buses make religious minorities, atheists, and agnostics who do not
celebrate Christmas feel excluded and like second class citizens. Many
new immigrants use these buses and a large percentage of them are not Christian
and do not celebrate Christmas. Christmas messages on Saskatoon Transit buses
make them feel like Christianity is the religion of Canada and like they need
to convert to Christianity to be first class citizens. Therefore, the
Christmas messages on Saskatoon Transit buses are a forcible attempt at
Christian indoctrination.
The Christmas messages on buses are a more important issue
than the Christian prayer recitation at the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet
because the Christmas messages are on numerous buses and are a yearly
occurrence whereas I only witnessed the Christian prayer recitation once.
Religion is a prohibited
ground of discrimination under the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code and a
fundamental freedom under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The freedom of religion includes freedom from religion.
The same sections of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code that
were violated with the Christian prayer recitation at the Volunteer
Appreciation Banquet on April 18, 2012 were also violated by Christmas messages
on Saskatoon Transit programmable bus signs. The Christmas messages on
programmable bus signs discriminated on the basis of the prohibited grounds of
religion and creed contrary to section 2 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights
Code. Also, the Christmas messages on programmable bus signs violated
freedom of conscience in section 4 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.
Furthermore, the Christmas messages on programmable bus signs violated section
12 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code by discriminating against people who
aren’t Christian with respect to the services provided by Saskatoon Transit
Services. It's my position that freedom of conscience in
section 4 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code includes freedom from religion.
It's my position that freedom
of conscience in section 2a of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
includes freedom from religion, that section 15 of the Charter guarantees
religious equality, that the Charter forbids attempts to coerce, limit, or
otherwise influence the choice of religious observance, and that section 27 of
the Charter on multiculturalism forbids conferring special privileges or
benefits on any particular religion. It's my position that a Christmas
message on Saskatoon Transit buses violates these sections of the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The freedom of religion
includes freedom from religion. Separation of religion and state is a
fundamental aspect of freedom of religion. Separation of religion
and state means the state can't interfere with freedom to practice religion,
but also means the state can't promote any religion. This is to protect
people of all religions including Christians. Secularism protects
religion from the state and the state from religion.
In a free society, the
majority cannot discriminate against the minority. We need to protect the
rights of the minority from the misdirected will of the majority.
If Saskatoon Transit Services
were not owned by the government, I wouldn’t make this complaint. I am
not seeking any money. I just want this discriminatory practice stopped.
It extremely offended me and extremely angered me that the
City of Saskatoon would have Christmas messages on programmable bus signs for
Saskatoon Transit buses. It made me
think that Christianity is treated as the religion of Canada. Furthermore, it made me think that people who
aren’t Christian are treated as unequal and second-class citizens in
Saskatoon.
The City of Saskatoon’s
promotion of a Christian holiday through Christmas messages on Saskatoon
Transit buses sent the message that Christianity is treated as the religion of
Canada, that there is a priority given to Christian values, that Christianity
is more valued than other religions or a lack of religious beliefs, that
Christians are more valued or welcome than others while others are marginalized,
and that citizens have second-class treatment if they’re not Christian. Also, the retention of the Christmas messages
make Saskatoon look like an archaic city of religious intolerance. This is absolutely disgraceful.
The
City of Saskatoon’s promotion of a Christian holiday is a coercive attempt at
Christian indoctrination because this sends the message that Christianity is
treated as the religion of Canada, that Christianity is more valued than other
religions or a lack of religious beliefs, that Christians are more valued or
welcome than others while others are marginalized, that citizens are considered
second class if they’re not Christian, that one needs to convert to
Christianity if he wants to fit into the city, and that one needs to convert to
Christianity if he wants to be a first-class citizen whose rights are respected.
Furthermore,
because none of the members of Saskatoon City Council had the courage to reject
the discriminatory Christmas messages on buses for fear of voter backlash, this
sent the message to me that a politician needs to accept Christian privilege
and superior treatment of Christians to be elected to public office. I was approached last September by a
progressive political party represented in the House of Commons to be a
candidate for the federal parliament in the next federal election, but it will
be harder to get elected in Canada because I’m not willing to give preferential
treatment to Christianity and Christians as can be seen with my civil rights
complaints.
I am offended and angered
that my taxpayer money is funding city buses that promote a religion I don’t
believe in.
Christmas messages strongly violate my conscience because I
am not a Christian, I absolutely do not believe in a Christian God, I
absolutely do not believe that any Christian books are the word of a God or a
prophet, I absolutely do not believe in any Christian stories, I absolutely do
not believe in many Christian values, I strongly oppose many Christian values,
I absolutely do not practice any Christian observances, I absolutely do not do
Christian prayers, and I absolutely do not attend Christian religious
institutions.
There
was a strong public opposition to getting rid of the Christmas message. My
opponents are being extremely petty by insisting on having “merry Christmas”
instead of a more inclusive greeting like “happy holidays" on the
programmable bus signs for Saskatoon Transit buses. The only reason that
there would be so much backlash and such a petty position by my opponents is
because they want to use the state to promote Christian holidays, to promote
Christian traditions, to promote Christianity, and for Christian
proselytization.
I
understand that Christians have a religious requirement to push their religion
onto others. That’s why there is so much opposition to removal of
Christmas greetings from buses. They should not be using the state for
proselytization. If Christmas greetings are so important to them, they
can put them on their own personal vehicles instead of on city buses. “Merry Christmas” might be a secular greeting
to many, but it is also a religious greeting to many. Otherwise they
would not oppose getting rid of the greeting or replacing it with a more
inclusive greeting like “happy holidays.” Many Christians say “merry
Christmas” to push their religion onto others and that’s why some of them
boycott retail stores where clerks are told to not say “merry Christmas” to
customers.
“Merry Christmas” on
programmable bus signs doesn’t offend many people who are of Christian ancestry
because their families celebrate it and they're accustomed to it. Some
people argue that Christmas is secular to non-Christians, but the people that
they’re talking about are mostly of Christian ancestry and the same can be said
about all religious holidays. Eid al-Fitr is secular to non-Muslims who
are of Muslim ancestry and Hannukah is secular to non-Jews who are of Jewish
ancestry, but the bus doesn't display messages for Eid al-Fitr or Hannukah.
It can't display messages for all religions because there are over 10,000
religions, 150 of which have 1 million or more followers (http://www.adherents.com/misc/WCE.html). This doesn't include branches of each
religion. Therefore, it shouldn't display messages for any
religions. Saskatoon Transit Services is giving preferential
treatment to the Christian holiday.
It has been claimed by some
that this issue is petty. If it’s petty, why did I get massive media
coverage, numerous hate messages, and threats?
This is a yearly occurrence on Saskatoon buses. I’m not the one
being petty. My opponents are the ones being petty by insisting on having
“merry Christmas” on Saskatoon buses instead of a more inclusive greeting like
“happy holidays.” This issue isn’t petty
to my opponents; it’s extremely important to my opponents.
There was an extremely
racist and bigoted backlash against me. This shows how important it is to
make complaints like this. Numerous people told me to go back where I
came from. I was born here, served in the army reserve here, and don’t
have to accept religion in government here.
The idea suggested by City
Council of allowing greetings for other holidays in addition to Christmas
greetings is not a practical idea. There are over 10,000 religions, 150
of which have one million or more followers. This doesn’t include
branches of each religion. This has been
documented by author David Barrett in the World
Christian Encyclopedia (http://www.adherents.com/misc/WCE.html).
Most of these religions have multiple holidays. Therefore, it would be
impossible to have messages for holidays in all other religions.
Are they going to have
greetings for Scientology holidays and Voodoo religion holidays? Are they
going to have messages for L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday, a holiday that is as
important for Scientologists as Christmas is for Christians? They would
have to hire a staff just to figure out all of the religious holidays and
program all of them into each of the 110 buses with programmable messaging
signs. They can’t display messages for all religions, so they should
display messages for no religions. Also,
nobody’s taxpayer money should fund city buses that promote a religion he
doesn’t believe in or that he opposes.
The bus drivers can choose
which programmed messages they want to display at their discretion, so I doubt
if many of them will display messages for religions that they don’t
believe in. Do they think bus drivers are going to display messages
for Diwali or Ramadan? A bus driver told me that most drivers said that
they will not display messages for religions that they don’t believe in.
Are they going to force bus drivers to display messages? How is this going
to be enforced? Are they going to discipline bus drivers who refuse to
display messages?
If “merry Christmas” messages
are so important to people, they can stick them on their own personal vehicles
or even pay for private advertisements inside the bus containing this message. The city shouldn’t be displaying this message
on its own along with the route name and number on programmable bus signs.
Christmas is a statutory
holiday, but I intend to challenge this too in the future. Instead of being forced to take holidays on
Christmas and Easter, people should be free to take a few holidays every year according
to their own religions or convenience. Instead
of being forced to close on Christmas and Easter, if a company or organization
doesn't have enough people willing to work on a particular day, such as
Christmas, it can close for that day.
In direct response to my Christmas message complaint and my
prayer recitation complaint, Mayor Don Atchison has said at least five times to
the media or City Council that Saskatoon was founded on Christianity. As
you know, it’s completely irrelevant how Saskatoon was founded. Atchison
is clearly implying that he still believes Saskatoon is a Christian city.
This clearly shows the forces of discrimination and bigotry at work here.
As you know, today Saskatoon is a secular multireligious city in a secular
multireligious country. The latest examples of Atchison responding to my
complaints by saying that Saskatoon was founded on Christianity can be seen at
these links:
I didn't serve in the Cdn.
Army Reserve to defend religious discrimination and bigotry. It's
hypocritical for the Canadian Armed Forces to fight for secularism in Kabul
when this doesn't fully exist in Saskatoon.
A Christmas message on a city
bus is analogous to going to a restaurant where there is only one menu option
and the restaurateur force feeds you with that single menu option.
Secularism is analogous to going to a restaurant and being able to eat whatever
you want. The former is suitable for some people. The latter is
suitable for all people. My opponents are fighting for some people.
I’m fighting for all people.
In a constitutional
democracy like Canada, the majority cannot discriminate against the
minority. This is not a Christian city or a Christian country. This
is a secular multireligious city in a secular multireligious country with
people from numerous religions as well as spiritual people, agnostics, and
atheists. We need to respect everybody. We need to protect the
rights of the minority from the misdirected will of the majority.
I would like to amalgamate my prayer recitation complaint
and Christmas message complaint into one case. I believe that this is
best because both complaints have to do with religious discrimination, both
discriminatory acts violate the same sections of the Saskatchewan Human Rights
Code, both complaints are against the City of Saskatoon, and both
discriminatory acts show a pattern of ongoing religious discrimination by the
City of Saskatoon.
I am attaching the demand letter that I sent by email on
December 12, 2012 to Bob Howe, Saskatoon Transit Services manager,
Harold Matthies, Saskatoon Transit Services operations manager, and Murray Totland,
Saskatoon city manager. I gave the City
of Saskatoon ample time to agree to not have the Christmas messages on buses or
replace them with a more inclusive greeting like “happy holidays.” They refused to do so.
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 12:11 PM
Subject: More Religious Discrimination by
City of Saskatoon and Another Potential Civil Rights Complaint against City of
Saskatoon
Dear Mr. Bob Howe, Mr. Harold Matthies, and Mr. Murray
Totland,
I saw that the programmable signs for the #6 Broadway bus
and a Special bus of Saskatoon Transit had a “merry Christmas” message.
The signs alternated between displaying the bus number/route name and “merry
Christmas.” I was extremely surprised, offended, and angered that a
municipal government organization like Saskatoon Transit would display a
message pertaining to a religious holiday on its main bus sign. This
violates the separation of religion and state, imposes religious beliefs on
people who don't share them, and gives preferential treatment to one religion
over all other religions in violation of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code and
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
I talked to a
bus driver about this. He said that Saskatoon Transit management
programmed the bus signs to give drivers the option of having a “merry
Christmas” message. He said the bus signs are not programmed to display a
message for a holiday for any other religion. If they did, I'm sure there
would be a public backlash from conservative Christians.
Author David Barrett has documented 10,000 different
religions, 150 of which have one million or more followers: http://www.adherents.com/misc/WCE.html. Therefore, it
would be impossible to have messages for holidays in all other religions.
It is extremely inappropriate and extremely
discriminatory to have a Christmas message displayed by Saskatoon Transit,
which is owned by the City of Saskatoon and funded by taxpayers. You're
free to put “merry Christmas” bumper stickers on your personal vehicles, but
you're not free to put “merry Christmas” signs on Saskatoon Transit buses or
other City of Saskatoon vehicles. If the “merry Christmas” message were
from a private advertiser on one of the internal bus signs, this would be more
acceptable, but it is not acceptable for Saskatoon Transit to display this
message on its own. If the “merry Christmas” message were by a private
organization or individual, this would be more acceptable, but it is not
acceptable for a government organization like Saskatoon Transit to display this
message on its own.
This is not a Christian city or a Christian
country. This is a secular multireligious city in a secular
multireligious country with people from numerous religions as well as spiritual
people, agnostics, and atheists.
Christmas messages on Saskatoon Transit buses make
religious minorities, atheists, and agnostics who do not celebrate Christmas
feel excluded and like second class citizens. Many new immigrants use
these buses and a large percentage of them are not Christian and do not
celebrate Christmas. Christmas messages on Saskatoon Transit buses make
them feel like they need to convert to Christianity to be first class
citizens. Therefore, the Christmas messages on Saskatoon Transit buses
are a forcible attempt at Christian indoctrination.
Religion is a prohibited ground of discrimination under
the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code and a fundamental freedom under the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The freedom of religion includes freedom
from religion.
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code prohibits
discrimination on the grounds of religion and creed. It's my position
that freedom of conscience in section 4 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code
includes freedom from religion. It's my position that a Christmas message
on Saskatoon Transit buses violates section 4 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights
Code and discriminates against people on the prohibited grounds of religion and
creed.
It's my position that freedom of conscience in section 2a
of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms includes freedom from religion,
that section 15 of the Charter guarantees religious equality, that the Charter
forbids attempts to coerce, limit, or otherwise influence the choice of
religious observance, and that section 27 of the Charter on multiculturalism
forbids conferring special privileges or benefits on any particular
religion. It's my position that a Christmas message on Saskatoon Transit
buses violates these sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Separation of religion and state means the state can't
interfere with freedom to practice religion, but also means the state can't
promote any religion. This is to protect people of all religions
including Christians. Secularism protects religion from the state and the
state from religion. Separation of religion and state is a fundamental
aspect of freedom of religion.
In a free society, the majority cannot discriminate
against the minority. We need to protect the rights of the minority from
the misdirected will of the majority.
When Saskatoon Transit displays a Christmas message on
buses, it sends the message that there is a priority given to Christian values,
it sends the message that Christians are more valued or welcome than others
while marginalizing others, it sends the message that a citizen is second class
if she’s not a Christian, and it makes Saskatoon look like an archaic city of
religious intolerance. This is absolutely disgraceful.
I didn't serve in the Cdn. Army Reserve to defend
religious discrimination and bigotry. It's hypocritical for the Canadian
Armed Forces to fight for separation of religion and state in Kabul when this
doesn't fully exist in Saskatoon.
I previously filed a civil rights complaint against Mayor
Don Atchison, Councillor Randy Donauer, and the City of Saskatoon for a
Christian prayer recitation at a Volunteer Appreciation Banquet organized by
the Mayor's Office. This complaint is currently being processed by the
Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. See http://atchison-discrimination.blogspot.ca
for details. I’m seeking a judgment that has the effect of banning prayer
recitations at civic events throughout the province of Saskatchewan and that
has persuasive value in other provinces too.
Before filing a claim in Saskatchewan Provincial Court, a
plaintiff is required to give the defendant a demand letter with her legal
demands, a date by which those demands must be met, and a statement that a
claim will be filed against the defendant if the demands are not met by that
date. Typically 10-14 days are given to meet the legal demands. I
am following a similar procedure here by sending you this email, despite not
being required to do so for a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights
Commission.
I'm giving Saskatoon Transit 10 days until December
22, 2012 to agree to not display a Christmas message or religious message again
unless it is from a private advertiser and to make an apology to anyone who was
offended including me. If these demands are not met, I will file a civil
rights complaint against Saskatoon Transit, its management, and individual bus
drivers displaying this message with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.
If this case goes to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, I will seek a
judgment that has the effect of banning religious messages by government
organizations throughout the province of Saskatchewan and that has persuasive
value in other provinces too.
If Saskatoon Transit were not owned by the government, I
wouldn’t make this complaint. I am not seeking any money. I just
want this discriminatory practice stopped and I want an apology for this
discriminatory practice to everyone who was offended.
There might be a backlash against me from conservative
Christians and pushover progressives if I'm forced to make a complaint with the
Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, as there was with my previous civil
rights complaint, but I'm willing to deal with that because the advancement of
liberty is more important than the advancement of my popularity. The
backlash from conservative Christians and pushover progressives just shows how
much religious bigotry and social apathy there is and motivated me to make this
complaint.
Furthermore, City of Saskatoon employees should be
ordered to not say “merry Christmas” to members of the public while performing
their jobs. This year, I have already heard two City of Saskatoon
employees wish a “merry Christmas” to members of the public who aren’t
Christian while performing their jobs. This was extremely inappropriate
and offensive.
A Christmas message on a city bus is analogous to going
to a restaurant where there is only one menu option and the restaurateur force
feeds you with that single menu option. Secularism is analogous to going
to a restaurant and being able to eat whatever you want. The former is
suitable for some people. The latter is suitable for all people. My
opponents are fighting for some people. I’m fighting for all people.
Although I'm a representative on the City of Saskatoon
Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee, I'm not speaking on behalf of
the committee because its mandate is restricted to education and awareness, not
civil rights advocacy. I’m speaking independently in this email as a
civil libertarian because I strongly believe that it’s always better to
vigorously stand up for what’s right than passively sit down for what’s wrong.
I am blind copying this email message to the media.
I will also post this message on the Internet at http://atchison-discrimination.blogspot.ca.
Best regards,
Ashu M. G. Solo