Quebec: CAQ to ban religious symbols for civil servants
(Staff) PUBLIC SERVANTS in positions of authority who refuse to remove religious symbols and garb will be assigned to different jobs or dismissed, a spokeswoman for the newly-elected Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) said on Oct. 3rd.
The ban would apply to such authority figures as judges, police, crown prosecutors, prison guards and teachers.
Genevieve Guilbault, elected for the Coalition in Quebec City, said Quebecers gave the Coalition a clear mandate to prohibit public servants who wield authority from wearing religious symbols such as a Christian cross, a Sikh turban, a Jewish kippa or a Muslim hijab (a veil that covers the hair). Those who lose their jobs after refusing to respect the new rules will be the authors of their own misfortune, she said.
Guilbault said when the new law is adopted, there will be a “transition period.”
The Coalition’s policies came under heavy criticism as targeting minority religious groups and immigrants.
On Oct. 18th a government spokesperson said that CAQ will talk with opposition parties about the possibility of making the policy only apply to those who have been newly hired or appointed.
Then on Oct. 25th CAQ said it would go one step further, prohibiting all public servants — not just those in positions of authority — from wearing the chador, niqab or burka.
The chador, which is worn primarily by Muslim women from Iran, is a cloak that covers the head and upper body but leaves the face visible. The burka covers the entire face with mesh over the eyes while the niqab leaves a slit for the eyes.
In terms of facial recognition, of all the religious garb, only the burqa and niqab pose a problem for security purposes.
Coalition leader Francois Legault said his government would if necessary invoke the notwithstanding clause to safeguard its religious-symbol legislation against a court challenge.
The proposed Coalition policy would tighten a law passed by the outgoing Liberal government that banned people from receiving or giving public services with their faces covered. That legislation already faces a legal challenge.
The Coalition has also promised to reduce immigration levels by 20 per cent beginning next year and to require immigrants to pass French-language and Quebec values tests within three years of their arrival in Quebec.
Anti-racism groups have held street protests calling CAQ’s policies “xenophobic politics.”
It is thought that if any public service group is eventually exempted from the religious symbols ban it would be teachers. National Post columnist Chris Selby argues, “They are the civil servants most likely to attract public sympathy.”
The Quebec legislature resumes sitting on Nov. 27th. One religious symbol that CAQ is retaining is the crucifix that hangs prominently above the speaker’s chair in the National Assembly. Legault claims that it is a symbol of Quebec’s heritage. TAP
