A Message to the Community Concerning Subsidized CPE’s
(Centres de la petite enfance) and Other Daycare Centres

Dear friend,

On December 17, Quebec’s Minister of Families, Yolande James, announced a new directive “on religious instruction activities in publicly subsidized daycare centres” as well as a guide for how it is to be applied.

Following Ms. James’ announcement, the press has consistently noted the potential for abuse, confusion and arbitrariness in the interpretation of the directive, and expressed concern about a number of its shortcomings. For our part, we deplore the fact that the directive reduces Judaism to a strictly religious dimension. This indicates a lack of understanding that Judaism encompasses every sphere of human activity, and that the separation of faith from action is foreign to it. Judaism makes no real distinction between the sacred and the secular.

In an attempt to work constructively with the government on this issue in recent months, the Jewish community has expressed its concerns and objections at a number of working meetings with the Minister and her colleagues. In particular, it has been our contention that CPEs are not mandated to promote secularism, but rather should:

• avoid placing children in a situation divorced from their family, social and cultural reality;
• help them to assume the Jewish component of their identity;
• transmit our heritage through values, traditions, and stories.

Although the Minister and public officials have demonstrated their willingness to discuss, and listen to, our thoughts on this matter, it is clear that our community’s main concerns have not been taken into consideration.

We believe that this directive will be difficult to apply, due to the fact that public officials are not equipped to make the necessary judgements regarding religion, doctrine, traditions, customs, rituals, values, and lifestyle.

That is why, working closely with the Association of Jewish Community CPEs, the Association of Jewish Day Schools, and Federation CJA, we are developing an action plan to define how we will respond to this directive.

Every possible course of action is being considered at this time, and we will continue to work with our partners in order to act constructively, keeping the lines of communication open with the ministry and offering solutions to the challenges posed by this directive.

Adam Atlas
President
Quebec Jewish Congress