Here we go again.
The Quebec government just does not appear to know when to quit.
Bill 62, which would ban religious face coverings worn by public servants and those receiving public services, is back in the news cycle.
After a recent public spat between Premier Phillippe Couillard and the mayor of Quebec’s largest city, Denis Coderre, Couillard stated unequivocally that all Quebec municipalities will have to abide by the new law if it passed.
Couillard was called out by Coderre when the mayor said that it wasn’t up to the provincial government to dictate to a municipality how its employees should dress.
He also asked what would happen to a woman wearing the niqab if she needed to board a bus in the depths of winter.
“What should the driver do?” Coderre asked the Premier. “Prevent her from boarding because her face is hidden?”
This is a naked attempt by Couillard to score political points with the xenophobic segments of Quebec’s society – the same segments that have made headlines in recent months.
First of all, Couillard characterizes the Bill as an attempt to impose religious neutrality on the province.
It’s an admirable goal, but one that is clearly a thin veil for religious discrimination the way it’s being trotted out.
If the abolishment of religious symbols in public life is really that important to Couillard, I wonder if he will be pushing to have the crucifix that hangs in the National Assembly removed?
Don’t bet on it.
This has nothing to do with preserving religious neutrality, and it is yet another attempt by the Quebec government to single out minorities.
Why is it that one set of religious symbols, like the crucifix, are acceptable but others aren’t?
Sure, Christianity has played a significant role in the formation of Quebec as we know it. But the goal of the bill is to enforce religious neutrality. How can the crucifix still hang in the legislature
– where this bill could be passed – while other religious symbols are singled out and banned from the public sphere?
Let’s also not forget the damage that this type of political rhetoric can lead to.
In January, six men were killed and 19 other people were wounded when a man stormed into a Quebec City mosque and opened fire during prayer sessions.
Let’s also not forget Couillard’s comments in June after a Montreal man was accused of stabbing a police officer during an attack at a Michigan airport. When asked about Quebec Muslims facing a potential backlash, Couillard said “Unfortunately, you cannot disconnect this type of event — terrorism — from Islam in general.”
In July, a Quebec City mosque who had bought a plot of land for a Muslim cemetery was disappointed when neighbours voted to prevent the cemetery from happening.
Even this past weekend, there was a march in Quebec City by far-right group La Meute, which bills itself as an anti-immigration group.
This appears to be a trend in this province.
Couillard clearly doesn’t care too much about religious symbols if they’re Christian, but if they belong to “the other,” he thinks they have no place in Quebec’s society.
And with the examples listed above, it appears he’s not the only one who thinks this way.
This is a province that has always had a fear and discomfort with “the other.” Even recently, when it was revealed through census data that English-speaking Quebecers were on the rise, there was outrage.
The sigh of relief could be heard throughout the province when Statistics Canada announced it had made a mistake and that French-speakers were actually increasing.
For a province that has clearly struggled with acceptance, the course being charted by Couillard is disappointing.
Instead of focussing on divisive politics, maybe Couillard could focus on policies that will help bring Quebecers – regardless of their religion – together instead of driving them apart.
Chris Lowrey
