CAQ talks tough about plan to ban religious symbols
Judges, teachers risk losing jobs if they don’t Comply, MNA says
Premier-elect François Legault steered clear of the topic Wednesday, but his plan to forbid some public employees from wearing religious symbols continued to dominate news about the Coalition Avenir Québec’s transition to power.
On a day when Legault avoided reporters’ questions, the issue surfaced when a CAQ MNA said public servants in positions of authority risk losing their jobs under a “secularism law” the new government is planning.
The CAQ has said the law will apply to police officers, judges, prison guards and elementary and high school teachers, barring them from wearing symbols such as the Muslim hijab or the Jewish kippah on the job.
If such employees refuse to stop wearing the symbols, they will either have to transfer to other jobs or leave the civil service, CAQ MNA Geneviève Guilbault, a spokesperson for the transition to government, told reporters.
“They will be free to move to another job that is not in an authority position,” she said. “It will be up to them at that moment to make their choice. If they choose to no longer continue at that job, at that point it will be their choice.”
“So, they will lose their job?” a reporter asked.
“They will make the choice to no longer occupy their jobs if they wish to continue wearing the religious symbol,” Guilbault answered.
She said only a “small proportion” of Quebec’s civil service will be affected by the measures.
CAQ MNA Simon Jolin-Barrette, another transition spokesperson, was asked why the CAQ thinks it’s a problem for a teacher to wear a hijab in a classroom.
He said there’s a consensus in Quebec that the state and religion should be separate.
Since schools are governmentfunded, “we want to be clear that in schools that there are no religious signs by the people who teach the students,” Jolin-Barrette said.
He said the CAQ’s plan to enforce secularism has been clear for years, and Quebecers gave the party a strong mandate in Monday’s election.
The comments came a day after Legault said he would be ready to invoke the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and push ahead with the ban on religious symbols.
That sparked a rebuke from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said governments should not tell people what to wear.
Trudeau added that “to suppress or avoid defending the fundamental rights of Canadians” is “something one should be very careful about.”
Legault’s secularism and immigration plans are under fire in some quarters and being applauded in others.
Anti-racism activists are organizing a demonstration in Montreal on Sunday to denounce “the CAQ’s racism,” targeting its secularism plan as well as its plan to slash immigration by 20 per cent, and to compel new immigrants to take French and “Quebec values” tests, failing which they would be expelled.
But some far-right groups, including Quebec’s La Meute, have praised Legault’s program.
Marine Le Pen, a prominent farright leader in France, retweeted a story on Tuesday describing the CAQ as nationalistic and antiimmigrant.
“Contrary to what the liberal immigrationists say, Quebecers voted for less immigration,” Le Pen said in her tweet. “The lucidity and firmness in the face of the migratory challenge is the common point of the elections of almost all the countries of the world confronted with this issue.”
Legault was not happy about Le Pen’s blessing.
In his own tweet, he rejected “any association with Mrs. Le Pen. Quebecers are welcoming and generous. We will welcome thousands of immigrants each year, but we will do so in a way that promotes integration. We will take fewer of them, but we will take care of them.”
Asked what the CAQ will do to avoid being labelled racist, JolinBarrette told reporters: “The CAQ is a very open party. It’s not a question of racism. We will remind people that Quebec is an open, welcoming, inclusive place. We will always denounce racism.”
And Guilbault said, “people will judge us on the basis of our actions and our actions will speak for themselves. They will show that we are a welcoming and inclusive society and government.”
She said the measures targeting immigrants are an attempt to better integrate newcomers into Quebec society.
Guilbault and Jolin-Barrette made the comments at a Boucherville hotel minutes after Legault gave an upbeat speech that made no reference to immigration, secularism or French and values tests.
In a brief address to about 100 CAQ candidates, many of them newly elected to the National Assembly, Legault said his government will fundamentally transform the province.
“We will do things in order. We won’t go off shooting in all directions,” Legault said. “But in four years, Quebec won’t be the same as today’s Quebec.”
He vowed to fulfil his campaign pledges. “We will keep our promises,” Legault said.
“Yes, we will create more wellpaying jobs. Yes, we will quickly start to put money back into taxpayers’ pockets. Yes, we will take much better care of children with learning difficulties and we’ll take care of seniors. Yes, we will as soon as possible start renovating our schools and our seniors residences.”
Legault left without speaking to reporters. Most of the CAQ candidates, including Chantal Rouleau, one of only two CAQ hopefuls to win seats in Montreal, brushed past reporters, refusing to answer questions.
We will welcome thousands of immigrants each year, but we will do so in a way that promotes integration. We will take fewer of them, but we will take care of them.