Soccer can sow sectarian serenity, commission hears

Soccer could build bridges between different cultures in Quebec, aprovincial commission on immigration was told Wednesday.

The world's most popular sport is a way to bring people together even if they have different religious beliefs, said Joseph Morelli, a physical education teacher in Joliette, Quebec.

"We all have the same objective— just to put the ball in the net, and everybody who participates in the sport can go get something out of it. There's no colour or language barrier through all of that,"Morelli said at public hearings Wednesday.

He spoke at the Bouchard-Taylor commission, which is studying the issue of the so-called reasonable accommodation of immigrants in Quebec.

Morelli said he's seen immigrant families come together with Québécois families on soccer pitches to learn the game and have fun.

Soccer is a special sport because it is so cheap to play and so universally accessible, he said. Politicians should keep that in mind, to "make sure that [it] finances all sports, not only sports that they perceive as being the Canadian identity sports, like American football or hockey," he said.

Wednesday was the first time the topic of sports has come up at the hearings, which are travelling across the province to talk to Quebecers about religious and cultural differences.

The commission also heard from a Hasidic Quebecer Wednesday, the first time an Orthodox Jew has participated in the hearings.

Shalom-Charles Delmar of Joliette, whichis located about 50 kilometres north of the eastern tip of Montreal Island,told the hearings that his experience in Quebec has been mostly positive and that he enjoys his work with immigrant families.

But he's concerned about the tone of comments surfacing at the hearings. "I think that there is a lot of intolerance and ignorance," he said.

Delmar, who immigrated to Quebec from Morocco decades ago, saidthat Hasidic communities keep to themselves but are happy to answer questions about their beliefs.

He praised the Bouchard-Taylor Commission for forcing Quebecers to confront their true feelings about others. "I think the commission will be the spark, waking up the minds of people," he told CBC.