{"id":10283,"date":"2012-09-06T10:22:51","date_gmt":"2012-09-06T17:22:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildhunt\/?p=10283"},"modified":"2012-09-06T11:58:51","modified_gmt":"2012-09-06T18:58:51","slug":"which-kind-of-notoriety-do-you-want-wiccan-chaplain-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildhunt\/2012\/09\/which-kind-of-notoriety-do-you-want-wiccan-chaplain-edition.html","title":{"rendered":"Which Kind of Notoriety Do You Want? (Wiccan Chaplain Edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Canadian\u00a0Public Safety Minister Vic Toews<\/a>\u00a0does not seem to be a fan of\u00a0notoriety. Earlier this week\u00a0Canada\u2019s federal corrections agency announced that they were looking to hire a chaplain to service the spiritual needs of Wiccan inmates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Corrections Canada this week put out a request for a proposal for a Wiccan chaplain who will provide about 17 hours of service a month, about an hour less service than the department says it needs for the Jewish faith. [\u2026]\u00a0\u201cThis has been put to tender because there is a need,\u201d said Corrections spokesman David Harty. \u201cThe requirement of these services is on-going. It has been used in the past.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While this move was welcomed by Canadian Wiccan groups, including the\u00a0Congregationalist Wiccan Association of B.C.<\/a>, mere hours after the Canadian press started reporting on the story (\u201cWiccan priest called to perform rituals, invoke gods for BC prison inmates\u201d<\/a>) Minister Toews immediately retracted the posting saying it needed to be \u201creviewed\u201d before proceeding<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout an hour after The Canadian Press reported about the contract, a statement from Mr. Toews\u2019s office said it will not proceed until after a review.\u00a0\u201cReligious freedom is a paramount value in Canadian society,\u201d Julie Carmichael, director of communications for the minister, said in an email.\u00a0\u201cHowever, the government is not convinced all services offered through the chaplaincy program reflect an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars.\u201d\u00a0A government official said Mr. Toews was not consulted about the Wiccan posting.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m sure Toews simply wanted to avoid\u00a0notoriety, but all he did was trade one kind of sensationalist story (\u201cCanada Hiring Witches\u201d) for an entirely different one (\u201cWhy Won\u2019t Canada Hire A Wiccan?\u201d). It went from a novelty story about hiring a Witch to questions as to why a Wiccan chaplain position needs special review when other religions don\u2019t (though it seems Toews has a history of wrong-headed decisions<\/a>). Here\u2019s a sampling of the headlines\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWiccan priest hire reversed by federal minister,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u201cToews cancels Wiccan chaplain tender:\u00a0Potential backlash spells the end for prison service,\u201d\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u201cSorry Wiccans, no chaplain for you in B.C. prisons,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u201cWiccan prisoners in B.C. cursed by the federal government,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0\u201cToews nixes Wiccan priest for B.C. prisoners,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and my current personal favorite \u201cVic Toews hexes job posting for prison witch in B.C.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0(it\u2019s almost poetic).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So which kind of notoriety would you prefer? The guy who hired a Witch chaplain, or the guy who buckled under pressure and removed a chaplain posting for Wiccan prisoners? Here\u2019s how the Canadian Press is framing the move:<\/a> \u201cPublic Safety Minister Vic Toews appears less concerned about the quality of spells cast from behind bars than he is about a backlash from taxpayers, cancelling a Corrections Canada tender for a priest to nurture the spiritual needs of witches in prison.\u201d<\/em> Ouch. No matter what he does now, he\u2019ll have to explain his decision. In the meantime he\u2019s managed to alienate Pagans in Canada, and may be opening his office up to possible legal action<\/a>.<\/p>\n

David Eby with the B.C. Civil Liberties Association say Corrections Canada is constitutionally obligated to provide the spiritual leader.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s the kind of job posting that is going to catch a lot of people off guard, but the government does have an obligation not to discriminate between religions,\u201d<\/strong> he said.\u00a0\u201cThey don\u2019t get to say, \u2018We like the Catholics but we don\u2019t like the Wiccans,\u2019 or \u2018We like people who practice the Muslim faith but we don\u2019t like the Wiccans.\u2019 They have to provide those services equally.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In short,\u00a0Public Safety Minister Vic Toews<\/a>\u00a0should have sucked it up, strapped on his helmet, and hired a Witch.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Canadian\u00a0Public Safety Minister Vic Toews\u00a0does not seem to be a fan of\u00a0notoriety. Earlier this week\u00a0Canada\u2019s federal corrections agency announced that they were looking to hire a chaplain to service the spiritual needs of Wiccan inmates. Corrections Canada this week put out a request for a proposal for a Wiccan chaplain who will provide about 17 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[338,390,1308,1318,1887,3589,2633,2662],"class_list":["post-10283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-paganism","category-religion","tag-canada","tag-chaplaincy","tag-law","tag-legal","tag-prison","tag-vic-toews","tag-wicca","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\nWhich Kind of Notoriety Do You Want? 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