MONTREAL – A Quebec teachers’ union would like the province’s government to focus on institutional secularism rather than on personal clothing.
The Federation autonome de l’enseignement (FAE) held a press conference on Wednesday to critique Parti Quebecois plans for the separation of state and religion.
“Our approach would be to establish guiding principles; the state must protect freedom of expression and conscience, and this must also include the right to atheism,” said union president Sylvain Mallette in a statement.
“Quebec must strive for the integration, not assimilation, of immigrants.”
He called on the Parti Quebecois to ensure that the Charter of Values tightens its focus on secularism for institutions and not individuals, noting that more than half of Quebec’s private schools are religious.
Mallette also reiterated the union’s request to have the cross removed from the National Assembly in Quebec City.
“There will still be a fundamental inconsistency if elected officials adopt a secular charter under a religious symbol,” he noted.
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The Montreal-based union has eight unions representing some 32,000 teachers and one-third of the teaching staff in Quebec.
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