Connect with us

Canada News

Quebec premier stays firm on secularism position despite calls for more action

Published

on

The recent shootings at a Quebec City mosque shouldn't distract from the ongoing debate on religious accommodation, Premier Philippe Couillard said Tuesday. (Photo: Philippe Couillard/ Facebook)

The recent shootings at a Quebec City mosque shouldn’t distract from the ongoing debate on religious accommodation, Premier Philippe Couillard said Tuesday. (Photo: Philippe Couillard/ Facebook)

QUEBEC –The recent shootings at a Quebec City mosque shouldn’t distract from the ongoing debate on religious accommodation, Premier Philippe Couillard said Tuesday.

Couillard said his government remains firm on its position that only people receiving or giving state services should have to do so with their faces uncovered.

The opposition is demanding he go further.

Couillard said the Jan. 29 shootings, in which six people were murdered and many others injured, shouldn’t lead politicians to take rights away from Muslims or other minorities.

“The horror that we lived through last week was about xenophobia and racism pushed to extreme violence,” he said as the provincial legislature returned from its winter break.

“That’s the issue. We should not assume we will solve that problem by restricting the rights of certain people in our society.”

Quebec’s debate on religious accommodation has lasted for years.

The Liberals’ Bill 62, which is being studied in legislative committee, is the government’s response to calls from voters and the opposition to create strict rules regulating the religious neutrality of the state.

Francois Legault, leader of the Coalition for Quebec’s Future, said all people who are paid by the government should be prohibited from wearing religious symbols at work.

Legault offered the premier a compromise Tuesday, saying teachers can be excluded from the rules, which he wants applied to state workers such as judges, police officers and prison guards.

The Parti Quebecois also wants the government to toughen the restrictions prohibiting people from covering their face when giving or receiving state services.

buy addyi online achievephysiorehab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/png/addyi.html no prescription pharmacy

Couillard told reporters the debate around religious symbols concerns an issue that doesn’t exist.

“As far as I know, there aren’t any police officers who are wearing religious symbols in Quebec,” he said. “We are debating an issue that is more than hypothetical –it’s non-existent.

buy lipitor online achievephysiorehab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/png/lipitor.html no prescription pharmacy

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Maria in Vancouver

Lifestyle21 hours ago

Upgrade Your Life in 2025

It’s a brand new year and a wonderful opportunity to become a brand new you! The word upgrade can mean...

Maria in Vancouver3 weeks ago

Fantabulous Christmas Party Ideas

It’s that special and merry time of the year when you get to have a wonderful excuse to celebrate amongst...

Lifestyle4 weeks ago

How To Do Christmas & Hanukkah This Year

Christmas 2024 is literally just around the corner! Here in Vancouver, we just finished celebrating Taylor Swift’s last leg of...

Lifestyle2 months ago

Nobody Wants This…IRL (In Real Life)

Just like everyone else who’s binged on Netflix series, “Nobody Wants This” — a romcom about a newly single rabbi...

Lifestyle2 months ago

Family Estrangement: Why It’s Okay

Family estrangement is the absence of a previously long-standing relationship between family members via emotional or physical distancing to the...

Lifestyle3 months ago

Becoming Your Best Version

By Matter Laurel-Zalko As a woman, I’m constantly evolving. I’m constantly changing towards my better version each year. Actually, I’m...

Lifestyle4 months ago

The True Power of Manifestation

I truly believe in the power of our imagination and that what we believe in our lives is an actual...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

DECORATE YOUR HOME 101

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Our home interiors are an insight into our brains and our hearts. It is our own collaboration...

Maria in Vancouver5 months ago

Guide to Planning a Wedding in 2 Months

By Matte Laurel-Zalko Are you recently engaged and find yourself in a bit of a pickle because you and your...

Maria in Vancouver6 months ago

Staying Cool and Stylish this Summer

By Matte Laurel-Zalko I couldn’t agree more when the great late Ella Fitzgerald sang “Summertime and the livin’ is easy.”...