SECULARISM TALK HOGGING LIMELIGHT, BLOC LEADER SAYS

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has had his fill of secularism talk. He says Quebec’s Bill 21 banning religious symbols for some public servants is “very important” but it should not be an issue in the federal campaign as it is exclusively a Quebec matter, and it’s time to move on. The Bloc has been outspoken in its defence of the law introduced by the Coalition Avenir Québec government this year and claims that without the Bloc standing guard, federal funds would have been used to challenge it in court. He says he wants the election to move to other topics. Federal leaders will debate again one last time — in French — on Thursday night. With his party climbing in the polls in Quebec, Blanchet says he expects to be the target of attacks from his opponents.