Ha! Ha! HA! EH!

Well, sure it's amusing when a small Quebec town plays havoc with the Canadian social conscience and the sensitivities of the multi-culti sob sisters.

But, here's the real story behind the scenes ... they're more than half serious.

Just Google "sharia Ontario". Even the Liberals in Ontario couldn't justify the insanity, but that was only a little over a year ago. It's been going on since ... wait for it ... 1991!

It isn't really all that funny, as Margaret Wente explains:

[...] Sharia law in Canada? Yes. The province of Ontario has authorized the use of sharia law in civil arbitrations, if both parties consent. The arbitrations will deal with such matters as property, marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance. The arbitrators can be imams, Muslim elders or lawyers. In theory, their decisions aren't supposed to conflict with Canadian civil law. But because there is no third-party oversight, and no duty to report decisions, no outsider will ever know if they do. These decisions can be appealed to the regular courts. But for Muslim women, the pressures to abide by the precepts of sharia are overwhelming. To reject sharia is, quite simply, to be a bad Muslim.

Ms. Arjomand's cellphone is constantly ringing — with calls of support, or calls for help, or updates on various crises. A client of hers has just that day died of cancer, leaving behind a nine-year-old daughter. The husband was brutally abusive, and now the dead woman's family is terrified that he's going to take the daughter, who was born in Canada, and go back to Iran. Ms. Arjomand has been trying to get Children's Aid to intervene.

In the burgeoning Muslim communities around Toronto, it's customary to settle family disputes internally, by appealing to an imam or an older person in the family. "I have a client from Pakistan who works for a bank," Ms. Arjomand tells me. "She's educated. She used to give all her money to her husband. She had to beg him for money to buy a cup of coffee. Then she decided to keep $50 a month for herself, but he said no."

They took the matter to an uncle, who decreed that because the wife had not been obedient, her husband could stop sleeping with her. (This is a traditional penalty for disobedient wives.) He could also acquire a temporary wife to take care of his sexual needs, which he proceeded to do. Now the woman wants a separation. She's fighting for custody of the children, which, according to sharia, belong to the father.

The law permitting a sharia court was passed in 1991, when Ontario sought to streamline the overloaded court system (and save money) by diverting certain civil cases to arbitration, including arbitration conducted on religious principles. Jewish courts have operated in the province this way for many years. "People can agree to resolve disputes in any way acceptable," said Brendan Crawley, a spokesman for the Ontario attorney-general. "If they decide to resolve disputes using principles of sharia and using an imam as an arbitrator, that is perfectly acceptable under the arbitration act."

[...]

My bold.

Of course, the Jooooos started it.

Anyway, what's really interesting in the National Post article is ...

... Fo Niemi, executive director of Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations in Montreal, called Herouxville's code of standards "an irrational reaction to a legitimate social concern." He said he fears other municipalities will follow suit if political figures do not step in to calm people's anxieties. "People have a right to feel insecure, to feel frustrated, but some of the incidents have been blown out of proportion," he said. "It's spinning out of control, and of course the song by the police officer doesn't help."

A spokeswoman for Quebec's Immigration and Cultural Communities Minister, Lise Theriault, said yesterday the Minister would not comment on the Herouxville code. "We don't want to throw oil on the fire," she said.

Jean Charest, the Premier, called it an isolated incident and said he does not expect others to follow Herouxville's lead. "I think Quebecers will continue to discuss these questions, as they always have, in a spirit of tolerance and dialogue," he told reporters. ...

Some people have no sense of humour.

Jeff, at least, has a grasp on reality.