Bill 94: coward’s ploy
Several increasingly vocal groups in Quebec want the National Assembly to follow the lead of France, and ban the wearing of religious symbols in public places.
When Jean Charest and his immigration Minister Yolanda James introduced Bill 94 they took advantage of a hot public issue to deflect attention from their attacks on public sector workers, and simultaneously to avoid a debate that Quebec desperately needs to have in public and in the open.
This trend of opinion, strong across all political spectrums and in both urban and rural areas, wants a “charte de laicite” that would circumvent the charter of rights in order to curtail religious freedoms. Many of its proponents admit their position will never pass a charter challenge. Yet they refuse to acknowledge that their position bolsters attitudes against immigrants and minorities.
Instead of challenging this view, Charest and James have attacked another minority. Bill 94 would cut off niqab-wearing Muslim women from public services for reasons of identification, communication, or security. These undefined terms constitute a dangerous slippery slope.
Quebec’s radical secularists should be happy with cowardly bill 94. If it is allowed to pass, it will make their fight—which, whether they admit it or not, is racist—much easier.