Here's QC Justice Minister, Stéphanie Vallée, answering @PhilipAuthier's question regarding who does or does not get kicked off the bus... pic.twitter.com/9JHLBmFlqd
— Justin Hayward (@CBC_Hayward) October 24, 2017
As an anglophone, what you learn about Quebec is sometimes thwarted by language. There are other times that even if you were fluent in French, je ne comprends pas what happens in Quebec.
Most of the time these quirks are harmless such as co-habitation as opposed to marriage, CEGEP after Grade 11, and protesting tuition increases even if your tuition is already low.
Bill 62 in Quebec is a different matter. The basic premise behind Bill 62 is religious neutrality so people can't be identified by a particular religion.
The separatist Parti Quebecois pushed for more extreme legislation while in power under Pauline Marois from 2012-2014. When Marois tried for a majority government, her party lost to the provincial Liberals.
The Liberals pushed Bill 62 out of political expediency. The other parties in the Assembly voted against Bill 62 because they didn't think the legislation went far enough.
The bill requires people to uncover their faces when receiving public services. The best-used example is riding the bus in Montréal.
The proponents say the law isn't targeting specific groups but the bulk of the attention is on Muslim women who wear the niqab or a burka.
Sikh men, Orthodox Jewish men and women are some religious groups have visibly identifiable coverings but none of them involve the face. Marois came out strongly in defense of the Quebec Soccer Federation's refusal in 2013 to let turban-wearing kids play the sport.
Marois proposed the Charter of Values in 2013. The legislation would have banned public sector employees, including day-care employees, from wearing overt religious symbols.
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We should point out that there is a large crucifix in the chamber of the Assembly in the provincial capital of Quebec City. I remember seeing this during my tour of the Assembly and the tour guide pointed this out to the group.
Another pro-argument is that when traveling to some Muslim countries, women have to dress a certain way to comply with their laws. Quite frankly, Canada is supposed to be better than this.
In the United States, a similar ban would be approached from a right-wing angle. In Quebec, the angle comes from the left, not the right. Again, je ne comprends pas. This is about equality in their eyes.
"The Quiet Revolution in Quebec was specifically a rebellion against religious influence. Progressive politics in many other parts of the country has been a politics of generalized tolerance; in Quebec progressive politics was often a politics of specific resistance. … this is one element of the debate over religion and politics that’s hardest for many non-Quebecers to grasp: suspicion of religion in politics is often a progressive impulse in Quebec politics. (Emphasis on “often,” as in, “of course not always, in Quebec or anywhere else.”) — Paul Wells in Maclean's in July
Quebec Justice Minister Stéphanie Vallée was asked about whether people with religious face coverings would be kicked off a bus, her response was "well, if you don't get on, you don't get kicked off."
The concern is that even with religious accommodations (allowed under the law, but you have to submit a request to a government agency), Muslim women will be harassed justified with the complicity of the state. Or they will hide even more, which isn't productive to society.
Some countries in Western Europe has passed similar type laws. Muslims and others have had more difficulty assimilating in those societies, as compared to Canada and yes, even the United States.
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We saw protests in Montréal where passengers and even a bus driver wore scarfs and other face coverings to protest Bill 62. These laws impact large cities such as Montréal more than rural areas where those people are less likely to see a Muslim woman or a Sikh man. Yet the laws are more likely to be favored in rural areas as a "protection" from something or someone they otherwise might not see.
Then again, people in large cities tend to be more upset about these laws because they know Muslim women or Sikh men as people in real life and not a political point.
Ottawa is a large city on the Quebec border. Some Ottawa bus routes go across the Ottawa River into Gatineau, Quebec. The Ottawa mayor said bus drivers will be instructed not to enforce the Quebec veil ban on cross-border routes.
We'll leave this with some words from CBC journalist Neil Macdonald. Besides being a terrific writer (and brother of Norm Macdonald), Neil is an anglophone who grew up in Quebec City and speaks fluent French.
"Passing this law and making self-righteous speeches about the need for 'religious neutrality' and 'social cohesion' while the bleeding, tortured martyr-God of their own religion hangs on the opposite wall is a special level of hypocrisy. Quebec nationalists have always claimed that theirs is a civic, utterly non-ethnic, non-religious nationalism. I never bought the idea that such a thing existed. There's even less reason to believe it after today."
Twitter grab: @CBC_Hayward
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