Most native Quebecers are lapsed Roman Catholics.
Quebec’s incoming government wants to ban some public servants from
wearing religious symbols to work, spurring concerns from Jewish groups.
The proposed ban by the Coalition Avenir Québec government is ostensibly
to make Quebec public institutions more secular and “neutral”
religiously. It would bar police, prison guards, public school teachers
and some others from wearing visible kippahs, turbans, hijabs and
crucifixes under the possible penalty of dismissal for
noncompliance.Critics say the plan contravenes Canadian human rights
charters and is pandering to intolerant populist sentiment being
increasingly exploited in other countries. They also say the plan is
hypocritical since the new government, which officially assumes power on
Oct. 18, is refusing for “heritage” reasons to take down a large
crucifix hanging in the Quebec legislature since 1936.
Most native Quebecers are lapsed Roman Catholics.
“The banning of religious symbols and the possible firing of public
employees who freely express their religious beliefs is an assault on
the fundamental rights and freedoms,” Murray Levine of B’nai Brith
Canada said.
Rabbi Reuben Poupko of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said:
“[We] reiterate our long-held position that religious neutrality should
be imposed on public institutions, not individuals.”
The proposed ban was an election campaign promise of the Coalition, a
center-right populist party led by businessman François Legault, now the
premier-elect. Legault and his party won 75 out of 125 seats in the
Oct. 1 election and gave the new government the power to pass laws
without concern about being ousted in a vote of no-confidence.The
Coalition’s election also relegated the Liberal Party to the opposition
ranks after nearly 15 consecutive years in power.
A similar plan proposed in 2013 by the separatist Parti-Québécois
government that would have affected all public employees never came to
fruition.
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