MONTREAL – A protest organized by several of Montreal’s cultural communities drew thousands of people to Place Émilie-Gamelin in the first protest against Quebec’s proposed Charter of Values.
“My parents came here because it’s a country that’s supposed to be free,” said Manal Benkabbour, who was born in Quebec, but whose parents emigrated from Morocco. “It makes me sad and a little angry. Wearing a hijab doesn’t attack people.”
The charter would ban the wearing of overt religious symbols for public employees. Promotional materials for the charter specifically listed turbans, kippas, hijabs and burkas as being unacceptable, should the charter pass. A recent Angus Reid poll pegged support for the bill around two-thirds of respondents, although support is stronger outside Montreal, where members of cultural communities are fewer.
“They are the biggest victim of this charter,” said Salam Elmenyawi, the president of the Montreal Muslim Council. “We’re here today to show solidarity.”
The protest was joined by Muslims, Sikhs and Christians. Because Saturday was a Jewish high holiday, there were not many Jewish people visible, although organizers said they hoped they would come out to subsequent protests.
Many protesters warned that the charter could cause them to leave the province, in an exodus reminiscent of the 1970s in Quebec.
“We can leave here, go to Toronto, go to Ottawa, we can go anywhere in Canada,” said Ghenwa Abaid, a protester at the march.
When referring to Quebec Premier Pauline Marois, Abaid simply said, “she can go to hell.”
The provincial government defends the charter on the grounds that it buttresses religious freedom, rather than detract from it.
“The state has no business telling someone a preference for a certain religion or another. The state should be neutral,” said Quebec Citizenship Minister Bernard Drainville in a recent interview with Global Montreal.
But for those at the protest who made Quebec their adopted home, the proposed charter creates another obstacle to making the province feel like home.
“It doesn’t include me, it excludes me,” said Kashmir Singh, a Sikh community leader. “I’m here in Quebec 40 years. Am I Quebecois, or not?”
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