CAQ: Liberals counted religious symbols, too

MONTREAL • Quebec’s Education Department admitted Tuesday it began surveying schools months ago about how many employees wear religious symbols to work.

The questionnaire was sent out two months before ministry officials sparked controversy by phoning school boards asking for information about staff who wear religious symbols.

Education Minister JeanFrançois Roberge moved to deflect attention from his own government’s probe on the symbols question Tuesday by saying the previous Liberal government had the survey drawn up in June, which was sent to 1,100 schools in November.

The current Coalition Avenir Québec government was elected on Oct. 1. It is preparing legislation to prohibit public servants in positions of authority — including teachers — from wearing such symbols as the hijab, kippa or turban at work.

Roberge said the survey was sent without his knowledge, and that he learned of it about a week ago. He said he waited to check its authenticity before deciding to call a last-minute news conference to make it public.

“Several school boards said this (the CAQ’s phone survey) was scandalous, that it was terrible,” Roberge told reporters. “The Liberal Party even used the word ‘profiling.’

“It seems last June the Liberal Party didn’t think it was profiling. It seems last fall, school directors also did not think this was abnormal, because 1,100 schools answered the questionnaire and this was not a scandal.”