Saturday, January 12, 2013

27. QUEBEC CITY CARRIAGE TOUR

Monday January 7, 2013 continued

Next, our horse drawn carriage ride called a Calèche.
And who do we have here? Why it's Mr Duplessis. Regarding the Duplessis Era, Wikipedia states the following;

From 1936 to 1959, Jehovah's Witnesses faced religious and civil opposition in Quebec. Historically, the Roman Catholic Church had been the dominant institution in the life of the province of Quebec and a major influence on French Canadian culture. It nurtured the young people of Quebec, in language and faith; and at the same time it endorsed the legitimacy of British rule and of the established economic order.
For generations, the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec worked with the government, schools, and the courts to maintain the values and attitudes that supported the Church. This encouraged people to vote for politicians who favoured the status quo, the existing political, economic and social order.
Under the premiership of Maurice Duplessis, politics and the Church were intertwined as the latter continued to maintain a firm and influential hold on the people of Quebec. Throughout his political career, Duplessis courted the support of the Church.
The clash between the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church became an issue of the competing ideas of freedom of speech and the freedom of religion. The Jehovah's Witnesses went to court to establish the right to distribute their literature on the streets of Quebec. They also became political dissenters because during the Duplessis era, a challenge to the Church was tantamount to challenging the government. Any limitation of the Church's authority would mean limiting Duplessis's authority.
Duplessis' efforts to rid the streets of Jehovah's Witnesses took the issue all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. The legal issues concerned freedom of speech as much as it concerned freedom of religion. The Supreme Court held that there can be no freedom of religion without freedom of speech.
After World War II, the Church came under attack by the Jehovah's Witnesses who challenged its doctrines. They were determined to seek Catholic converts. In response, the Duplessis regime mounted a campaign persecuting of Jehovah's witnesses and communists. The result was a legal struggle taking place here between the Duplessis regime and lawyers such as Frank Scott and Pierre Trudeau who argued in defence of the rights of minorities.

Say no more Mr Duplessis
A church for rent.
The gang half frozen to death.
And here is our driver and raconteurs extraordinaire, Vincent Gabriel Kirouac. An interesting chap to say the least.
Modern knight riding across Canada to promote chivalry
Under the metal helmet and billowing robe, he's a 22-year-old Quebec man who longs for the values of a bygone era. But to curious passersby, Kirouac introduces himself as a modern-day knight riding across Canada on horseback to promote chivalry.
Roughly two months ago, Kirouac and his trusty mare Coeur-de-Lion (Lionheart) left the city of Riviere-du-loup for unfamiliar stables and roads. Along the way, he's keen to share the details of his mission with strangers.
"I'm not raising money for anything. It's just about being good to people -- trying to bring back valour and honour, devotion and generosity," he says.
Of course, Kirouac goes about this dressed like a present-day Sir Lancelot. Except, instead of a rapier or gauntlet, he carries a horse-grooming kit and a cell phone.
Vanessa Greco, CTVNews.ca. Published Saturday, Jun. 2, 2012 11:11PM EDT

Rue Du Petit-Champlain

Lloydnalex

 

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