Dichotomy of Canada's right to free expression (Muslim or First Nation)

I quite regularly have my opinions as do many other of my fellow Canadians, but I am speechless in this situation. Canada has it's Charter of Rights and Freedoms and within it there is a section granting free expression. Within limits - which has come to include hate speech not being tolerated.

Back in February of this year, the French magazine Charlie Hebdo printed some sarcastic caricatures of the Muslim prophet Muhammed. It caused a riot and some deaths in France because of it.

Back here in Canada, Angus Reid conducted a poll for the National Post; about the magazines right to publish the incendiary cartoons. That poll indicated the vast majority of Canadians supported Charlie Hebdo’s right to publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed and most prioritised freedom of speech over fear of offending religious sensibilities by a clear 70 per cent.

Now here is the dichotomy

This year also saw a bandwagon of out door concerts and festivals begin to ban the wearing of First Nations headdresses. On the website for Montreal’s Osheaga Music and Arts Festival, beneath the customary rules and regulations was a comprehensive list of items banned from the festival premises, including laser pointers, fireworks, drones and selfie sticks. This year the list — surprise surprise —  contained the addition: traditional First Nations headdresses.

The rule was clear and ironclad. Any attendee who showed up wearing a headdress would have it confiscated upon entry or be asked to leave and return without it.

The First Nations headdress was also much-discussed when a young white woman donned one at the Winnipeg Folk Festival.  A few surreptitious snapshots circulated on social media, arousing a maelstrom of outrage and indignation and within hours, the festival had issued a statement denouncing such gestures of cultural appropriation and insisted that the organisers consider banning headdresses from future events.

“this time of greater awareness”... respect First Nations culture.

The incident effected more substantive change elsewhere, as music festivals across Canada continued to speak out against appropriation and imposed hardline bans. The Edmonton Folk Festival revealed on Facebook that at “this time of greater awareness” it would like its attendees to respect First Nations cultures and to not wear any type of First Nations headdresses during the festival. The Calgary Folk Festival, following Winnipeg’s precedent, publicly implored its patrons to leave headdresses at home but would not officially forbid them.

So in a nutshell, Canada agrees with the public mocking of a religious leader in the name of free speech, and yet demonises free expression from a few young women for enjoying the aethestic beauty (not mocking, not desecrating) of a First Nations Headdress. Both situations concerning religious attitudes and yet both treated very differently.