Books and public libraries were my gateways to other worlds as a child. It’s understandable, then, why I’m such a fan of the TD Summer Reading Club, a national program involving 2,200 public libraries, celebrating local authors and inspiring children to read. The club is free, all materials and book lists are bilingual across Canada, and since 2008 it’s worked hard to provide original French content.

It was this club that Quebec Francization Minister Jean-François Roberge decided to criticize on social media for the simple reason that one of the many illustrations it uses to promote its cross-country activities features a girl in a hijab.

“Many Quebecers have expressed their discomfort with this poster for a book club held in a public library,” Roberge said on X last month, “which depicts a young girl wearing a hijab. This type of poster does not promote the coexistence we want to promote in Quebec. The principles and foundations of the new law on integration into the Quebec nation must ultimately guide us to avoid this kind of blunder.”

How many........

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