QUEBEC, Canada - Quebec would become the only jurisdiction in North America to impose a sweeping ban on religious clothing for public employees, including at schools, hositpals, and courthouses, under a "Charter of Values" whose details were released.The Globe and Mail - The Parti Québécois government is leading Quebec into a wrenching debate over faith and the future place of minorities in the province by unveiling a charter of values that would ban Muslim headscarves, Sikh turbans, Jewish kippas and other “overt” religious symbols from the public service.
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Details of its long-awaited charter confirm what has been leaked in the media in recent weeks: if adopted, Quebec would become the only government in Canada seeking state secularism by restricting religious-based clothing for public employees. The government went as far on Tuesday as publishing sartorial dos-and-don’ts, with pictograms of Sikh turbans and Muslim face veils in the verboten category, and discreet cross pendants or Star of David rings on the acceptable list.
“If the state is neutral, those working for the state should be equally neutral in their image,” said the minister in charge of the charter, Bernard Drainville.
Response to the package, which instantly became news around the world, was swift and divided. Ever since they surfaced last month, the government’s proposals have exposed rifts: between Quebec and the rest of Canada, between Montreal and mostly non-immigrant regions, and among Quebeckers themselves. Read more http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/quebec-unveils-plan-for-controversial-charter-of-values/article14214307/.
