Is Quebec the most intolerant province in Canada? The majority CAQ government has passed two controversial bills that prohibit the wearing of religious symbols by state employees in a position of authority, toss out 16,000 immigration applications, and impose a values test on newcomers.
Taken together, the legislation sends a loud “not welcome” message to a wide swath of citizens, both established cultural minorities, and those hoping to join them in the province.
The first law is Bill 21. It imposes a secular dress code on a host of state officials, including police officers, judges, government lawyers, jail guards and most controversially, teachers. None can wear obvious religious symbols, though what that means has become the subject of debate and ridicule: last week, it was suggested that wedding rings might be banned, which Quebec Premier Francois Legault quickly refuted.
It is clear, however, that Muslim veils, Sikh turbans, Jewish kippas, and Christian crosses are all verboten. Teachers who currently sport religious attire may continue wearing it but should they be offered a transfer, promotion or new job, they will not be able to accept unless they remove their religious attire. Inspectors will have the power to enforce the new law, and “the targeted employee could be subject to disciplinary measures for failing to comply.”
READ MORE: Quebec bans religious symbols for state workers in new law
Draconian? Yes, but part of a continuum that has a long history in the province. The idea of “secularizing” the state dates back to the 1960s, when Quebec’s Quiet Revolution broke the grip of the Catholic Church on both the levers of state power and people’s personal lives.
In the 2000s, as the province became more multicultural, successive governments grappled with the concept of “religious accommodations” for the requirements of faith groups. These included Muslims, Sikhs and Orthodox Jews, after demands for meals without pork at a maple sugar shack, carrying ceremonial knives into the provincial legislature, and covering windows at a YMCA where women were exercising made headlines across the province.
In 2008 the province’s Bouchard Taylor Commission suggested limits on religious clothing for state officials, to present a so-called “neutral face.”But even the co-authors of that report recently testified that Bill 21 goes too far.
“History is filled with examples where a majority abused its powers at the expense of its minority,” said Gerard Bouchard, who deplored the lack of evidence that the bill was necessary to begin with. Charles Taylor said he had changed his mind about the banning of religious attire, and that talking about the subject was now fueling hatred and intolerance.
WATCH BELOW: UN condemns Quebec over Bill 21
The government, however, stood firm, and forced the legislation through in a marathon weekend session of the National Assembly.
It did the same for the second controversial piece of legislation, Bill 9, Quebec’s new immigration law, which has consequences just as severe. With a stroke of a pen, 16,000 immigration applications were thrown out and will have to be resumed by prospective newcomers who had already spent thousands of dollars and in some cases, years of their lives, on the previous process. The changes could potentially affect 50,000 people, when family members are included.
Legault says the law is necessary to match labour skills with jobs, but the law also imposes a values test and a French proficiency requirement. While putatively designed to speed up entry, it will also inevitably weed out more applicants who don’t pass muster on the new test. This is consistent with Legault’s election promise to cut immigration by 40,000 people a year as of 2019.
READ MORE: Quebec government passes Bill 9
Ottawa has already said it does not approve of Bill 9, and is in “discussions” with the province. In an election year, however, Legault knows he holds the trump card: votes. With all federal parties looking for support in Quebec, they are faced with walking the odious line between standing up for the rights of minorities and pandering to the votes of the majority.
And that line might be appearing outside the province as well. The latest national Léger poll found that 63 per cent of respondents think the federal government should prioritize limits to immigration, versus 37 per cent who believe the priority should be on growing immigration to meet the demands of Canada’s expanding economy.
READ MORE: Majority of Canadians think immigration should be limited, poll says
This comes in a week when immigration minister Ahmed Hussen announced a program to encourage immigration to 11 smaller communities across the country, but also when the number of illegal border crossers into Canada soared after diminishing over the past few months.
Together with carbon taxes and pipelines, immigration, and how we treat newcomers, will likely be one of the defining issues of the upcoming vote.
Canadian-born citizens have mixed feelings towards immigrants, Ipsos poll says (May 2019)
So while Quebec may take the heat as the most intolerant province in Canada today, the rest of the country should take a look in the mirror as well. Balancing the number of immigrants with a country’s capacity to integrate them is sound policy, but it has to be rooted in facts, not fear. Protecting our borders is critical, but must be done in a manner that emphasizes fairness, not arbitrariness.
As for curtailing religious expression, it cannot be justified unless there are reasonable grounds to do so. Otherwise, governments are simply appealing to — and reinforcing — xenophobia. In an age when populism and anti-immigrant sentiment is on the ascendancy around the world, that is ground Canada cannot afford to tread.
Tasha Kheiriddin is the founder and CEO of Ellipsum Communications and a Global News contributor.
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