the purpose of a constitution should not be to ensure that special interest groups like sikhs are given special treatment under the law - and we should all be outraged by the premise, and outraged with anybody making arguments of the sort. again: these are burkean style arguments about tolerance. they have nothing to do with liberalism, and even less to do with socialism.

the purpose of a constitution in a system such as canada's should be to ensure that everybody has equal access to services - that women are not denied driver's licenses and transgendered people are not denied access to health care.

because, in a liberal democracy, we are not special, we are equal - whether you want equality, liberty and fraternity or you want to declare a truth as self-evident.

and, we have a responsibility, as the demos, to right this backwards sailing ship before it crashes back into the harbour.