SAINT-JEROME, QUE – The mayor of Saguenay must apologize for his “unacceptable” and “deplorable” comments about Parti Québecois candidate Djemila Benhabib, the PQ Leader said on a campaign stop in St. Jérôme where she attempted to clarify the party’s controversial secular charter announced Tuesday.
In an interview with radio host Paul Arcand Wednesday morning, Jean Tremblay slammed Benhabib for not supporting the Catholic crucifix in the National Assembly – something her party wants to maintain despite banning all other religious symbols in public life.
“What shocks me, is to see us, the gentle French-Canadians, being told how to behave by someone from Algeria whose name we can’t even pronounce,” Tremblay said.
When told that Benhabib, the candidate in Trois-Rivières, has been in Quebec fifteen years, Tremblay laid out the perceived threat posed by “them.”
“They are quietly, and with nice language, eating away (at our traditions)” he said. “They quietly start by removing the prayer in city hall, then they’ll remove our religious objects, then they’ll take away the crosses in cities and after that, they’ll go into the schools…
“They’ll do away with our religion and culture everywhere, and you won’t notice.”
Pauline Marois denounced the comments, saying Quebecers are generous, open and tolerant and Benhabib “has integrated into Quebec society.”
While visiting a research centre for electric cars, Marois made a few announcements about public transit – promises to extend the Metro blue line, complete the east commuter train line to Mascouche before 2014, and add 300 kilometres of bus and car-pooling lanes.
She also committed to promoting research and development of electric cars, after taking a spin in one herself.
But questions kept coming back about the party’s secular charter – which a PQ government would adopt as soon as elected – that would forbid “showy” religious symbols to be worn by public servants.
Everything, from the hijab to a kipa would be banned, except for a small crucifix.
When asked if it meant a Jew wearing a kipa or a Sikh wearing a turban could be excluded from running for public office, Marois said that the more the rules are clarified, the better potential immigrants to the province will be able to decide if Quebec is for them.
“They could work in a government institution without being able to wear ostentatious symbols,” she said.
“Under the (secular) charter, equality has to take precedence in all government decisions in policy and law and the public service has to be neutral.”
Marois said the charter would take precedence over both the Quebec and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, even though freedom of religious expression is enshrined in both and legal experts have said it would never survive a court challenge.
Marois played down the accusations of xenophobia that filled social media as soon as the charter was announced Tuesday and blamed the Liberal government for churning up emotions with its 2007 Bouchard Taylor Commission on reasonable accomodation, then not following up.
“I hope (xenophobia) is not a theme of this campaign,” she said. “I think Quebecers are open and welcoming, however, we’re clarifying the values on which we will build, the rules by which we’ll live together that will create more tolerance and respect.
“We’ll make sure that all new Quebecers can integrate into Quebec society and we’ll continue to support them in finding jobs,” she said. “I want to reassure all communities and all citizens of Quebec.”
As an example of the party’s openness, Marois offered the deconfessionalization of schools while she was education minister.
“We wanted every little Quebecer, whether born here or elsewhere, to be able to go to school and have their beliefs and convictions respected, whether Christian, Jewish, or whatever,” she said, adding that in the process, the anglophone community was assured it could run its own institutions.
“The PQ has been exemplary in that regard and we will continue to be,” she said.
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