Posted by Hemant Mehta in I’ll be speaking at the University of Toronto the last weekend in June. (That’s in Canada! Woo!) More information on that to come.
To promote the event, I did an interview with blogger Katie Kish.
You can download it here (MP3).
She has such an amusing Canadian accent 
And she like Sufjan Stevens. Who is amazing. Therefore, you should listen to the interview.
[tags]atheist, atheism[/tags]
Will it be with the CFI group here? They’re pretty awesome, they brought Michael Persinger of the God helmet research.
Man, I hope I can be there.
So what’s so amusing about a Canadian accent, eh?
~David D.G.
Interesting news – I hope that I’ll be able to attend.
I’m guessing that you were joking about Ms. Kish’s Canadian accent, since we’re famous for not having one (with the possible exception of French Canadians, Easterners, Westerners, and some of the folks up north).
I just realized how odd it must sound for a Canadian to talk about “up north”.
I’m sure you’re already aware of the contrasts in the role of religion in Canada versus it’s role in the states. One of the most obvious being Ontario’s publicly-funded Catholic school system. I don’t think we have the hang of separation of church and state just yet but at least I can choose whether my tax dollars support the public or Catholic school system.
Steve,
You’re right and you’re wrong about the Catholic school system. Your property taxes are earmarked for one of four school systems: English or French, English Catholic or French Catholic. However, property taxes do not cover the cost of running any of the systems. Catholic education receives over $500 million dollars of provincial money yearly. And since education is the bailiwick of the Provinces, they’d have to take care of it if the tradition hadn’t been that municipalities did. The funding formula that is so often decried is a product of the previous Tory government.
Most other provinces also have Catholic education–it’s in the Constitution. The only exceptions are Quebec and Newfoundland (who had the Constitution amended), and Manitoba, who does not fund Catholic education, but does so illegally. Everybody else has figured out a way to accomodate Catholics (and in the case of Alberta, and probably provinces, other religions). I think the constitution only guarantees Catholic education to grade 8 (I’d have to look it up), and the full funding Ontario Catholic Schools receive is a recent addition (twenty years or so).
So, in short, your tax dollars do support Catholic education. Theyre’ just not the tax dollars you thought they were.
Toronto isn’t technically in Canada per se, since it’s south of the 49th parallel. It’s more like a part of New York or Michigan.
Oh, and God is actually in our constitution. First sentence:
Yet we don’t fight the same separation of church and state battles. Funny, eh?
That’s me, playing to stereotype.
First Kanye West and now you! Why doesn’t anyone ever come to Ottawa? D=>
What, are you saying central provinces don’t have an accent? Because they do. Seriously though, the most prevalent accent in Eastern Ontario right now seems to be Valley Girl. I feel like I’m watching Laguna Beach every time I walk by an English school. Good thing we speak proper English in the French system. =D
That’s up in the air… I’m not sure if CFI will sponsor the talk since it is already (partly) being sponsored by the Secular Student Alliance. But I’d love for them to join in on the fun!
omg you’ll be in toronto? lets go out for lunch or something!!
have fun!
Can we organise a pub night, or something?
There will be non-speaking pub-like gatherings that weekend. As soon as I figure out what’s going on, I’ll post it!
Hahahaha, everyone wants to have lunch with Hemant. Hilarious. Ever since I posted about this I’ve gotten so many “lets have lunch!!!” e-mails.
And fun pub nights are already in the works. Location is being fought over.
CFI won’t be sponsoring the event directly. They’ll have a table set up there, and representatives will be there… but they’re not really involved with it. It’s all being set up with the Guelph and U of T campus groups and the SSA.
I totally don’t have any sort of amusing accent.
AWESOME! What day? Where? When? I’d love to come!!!
I believe Saturday night (June 28)… or maybe it’s the Friday right before. I’ll figure this out and let you know
I didn’t know there WAS an SSA in Toronto. Sucks I got all atheist in my last year of school.