MONTREAL – Quebec has launched its next debate on minority accommodation — and this one could make the erstwhile soccer-turban ban look like a leisurely stroll down the pitch.
The government is preparing to introduce long-awaited, controversial legislation that would restrict religious symbols in numerous places.
A media report Tuesday with leaked details of the Parti Quebecois government’s “Charter of Quebec Values” said the proposed policy will prohibit public employees from donning Sikh, Jewish and Muslim headwear or visible crucifixes in the workplace.
The Parti Quebecois minority government hopes to cash in at the ballot box by championing a “secularism” plan that polls have suggested has considerable support in the province.
So the fiery debate that erupted over a recent ban on wearing turbans on Quebec soccer fields offered a sneak-peek of what could be in the political pipeline for the national assembly’s fall session.
The turban ban was lifted by the Quebec Soccer Federation due to external pressure that included unflattering headlines abroad. Inside Quebec, however, Premier Pauline Marois rushed to the defence of the soccer federation and accused its detractors of Quebec-bashing.
Political opponents quickly cast Tuesday’s leak as a PQ “trial balloon.”
The newspaper report said the PQ government is set to restrict public-sector workers in places like daycares, schools and hospitals from wearing religious symbols such as turbans, niqabs, kippas, hijabs and highly visible crucifixes. Some institutions, however, will be free to request exemptions from the government, according to the report.