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Quebec charter: Thousands protest in Montreal against religious symbol ban

17 septembre 2013 admin 0

“Multi-faith” march denounces the proposed Charter of Values, calling on Premier Pauline Marois to put an end to “politics of division.” MONTREAL—Thousands marched through the streets of Montreal on Saturday afternoon to denounce Quebec’s proposed charter of values, calling on Premier Pauline Marois to put an end to “politics of division.” The protest, billed as an inclusive, multicultural event, drew many members of the Muslim and Sikh communities. Others who claimed no religious allegiance also took part. A group from a local mosque walked with a large banner that read: “Multi-faith gathering for peace.” “This is a time for all religions to come together for what they believe in,” said Noman Safdar, a 24-year-old engineer who was holding up the sign. “We came here for freedom,” said Safdar, originally from Pakistan and wearing a Muslim cap. “You can’t go and impose things on people like this.” The plan unveiled earlier this week has sparked a heated debate. The Parti Quebecois government wants to forbid Quebec’s public employees from wearing conspicuously visible religious symbols — including hijabs, turbans, yarmulkes and larger-than-average crucifixes. While opinion polls indicate there is some support for the charter, mainly in the province’s outlying regions, opponents have called it discriminatory. The PQ, which holds a minority in the provincial legislature, contends the move is necessary to ensure the public service presents a neutral face and protects equality between men and women. For many at the rally, though, the most immediate concern was how such a law would limit their job prospects. Salma Ahmed, a 17-year-old Muslim high school student who wears a hijab, said she doesn’t want her career options to be hampered. “We’re all really worried at school,” said Ahmed, who came to the rally with several friends who also wear headscarves. The march began at a downtown square that was the site of last year’s nightly demonstrations against former premier Jean Charest’s tuition hikes. This time, though, the target was Marois. One popular chant referred to her proposal as the “charter of shame.” Another, which derided the premier for the “politics of division,” finished with the punch line: “Quebec is not France.” Marois has praised that country’s secular integration model, which includes a ban on hijabs in schools. Harbhajan Singh, a 60-year-old Sikh who wears a turban, said he worries the proposed law could lead to a “brain drain” like the one he witnessed following the 1995 Quebec referendum on sovereignty. “We have been living very peacefully here, with no problems,” said Singh, who emigrated from India 40 years ago. Not all religious organizations were on board with the protest. A Jewish group said it decided not to participate in the rally because it was planned for the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. Quebec’s Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said it’s against the charter of values but doesn’t want to be associated with some of the organizers, which included the Quebec Collective Against Islamophobia. In a statement, the group said the Jewish community “will not accept to be co-opted or manipulated by the dubious objectives of some of the organizers of the demonstration, who include religious radical fundamentalists with whom the Jewish community will never make common cause.” Adil Charkaoui, a spokesman for the Quebec Collective Against Islamophobia, said the demonstration was meant to bring together representatives from all religions. He added that it’s only one of several planned actions against the proposed charter. “We were all together to say to Marois: ‘We don’t want your charter,’” he told reporters. “This kind of politics is very dangerous for Quebec society.” http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/09/14/quebec_charter_protest_in_montreal.html

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Ne divisez pas le Qc, Mme Marois!

9 septembre 2013 admin 0

À quelques heures du dépôt de la charte discriminatoire, le CQCI lance un dernier appel à la raison à Mme marois & M. Drainville Après l’opposition de la gauche, des intellectuels, des féministes, des minorités religieuses, des libéraux, voici que les voix raisonnables se font entendre au sein du PQ même! M. Drainville, Mme Marois, vous êtes de plus en plus isolés au QC. À part les radios poubelles de la capitale, les islamophobes notoires tels que Martineau & Dutrizac et de la frange radicale du PQ – que vous avez encouragée au détriment du SPQ libre – vous êtes bien seuls aujourd’hui! Ne divisez pas le Qc (Montréal vs les régions), ne divisez pas ses citoyens («de souche» vs minorités religieuses et ethniques) ! Le Collectif Québécois Contre l’Islamophobie (CQCI) Courriel : info@islamophobiequebec.org Site Web : www.islamophobiequebec.org Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/collectif.contreislamophobie

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Even sovereigntist-friendly ranks critical of PQ’s controversial proposed legislation

9 septembre 2013 admin 0

«some of the most pointed criticism has come from inside Quebec and from within sovereigntist-friendly ranks. Here is a sample: Françoise David is the leader of the sovereigntist Québec Solidaire. The left-wing party is so committed to gender parity that it actually has two leaders — one male and one female. David says she cannot fathom how the PQ charter would enhance Quebec identity. Louise Harel is a veteran PQ member who sat in the national assembly for more than 25 years before moving on to the Montreal municipal scene. She once served as interim leader of the Parti Québécois. She says governments should not be in the business of dictating values. Like others running in Montreal’s municipal election, she has distanced herself from her former party’s plan. David and Harel have impeccable feminist credentials. Neither is buying the PQ’s argument that the principle that men and women are equal is at stake in this debate. Nor is Le Devoir’s Francine Pelletier — another leading feminist voice — who is similarly critical of premier Pauline Marois’ approach. In a column on Wednesday she warned that the government risked inciting bigots to strike out against religious minorities. Over at L’actualité, Josée Legault briefly served as an adviser to premier Bernard Landry on language issues. This week she wrote on her blog that to make a parallel — as PQ ministers currently do — between the current plan and Quebec’s 1977 Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) is to distort history. The Fédération autonome de l’enseignement du Québec represents one third of the province’s public school teachers. On Wednesday it called on the government to remove the crucifix from the wall of the national assembly and to drop plans to impose a secular dress code. Raymond Gravel, a priest who in his days as a Bloc Québécois MP defied his bishop to support liberal policies on abortion and same-sex marriage in the House of Commons, was even less kind. Earlier this week he described the PQ’s intentions as “worthy of a dictatorship.” Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois was the media darling of the student leaders at the time of Quebec’s 2012 maple spring. This season he is part of a debating duo of pundits on Radio-Canada. But on their first joint appearance, he and his fending partner — former magazine executive Lise Ravary — agreed to disagree with the government’s approach to religious minority rights. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/09/05/even_sovereigntistfriendly_ranks_critical_of_pqs_controversial_proposed_legislation_hebert.html

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Charte des valeurs québécoises – Où sont les bombes, Madame Marois?

9 septembre 2013 admin 0

Grégoire Webber – Professeur de droit à la London School of Economics «Lors d’une entrevue éditoriale accordée au Devoir le 5 septembre dernier, la première ministre Pauline Marois a défendu son projet de Charte des valeurs québécoises en comparant le modèle français de laïcité et le modèle anglais de multiculturalisme. « En Angleterre, ils se tapent sur la gueule et s’envoient des bombes parce que c’est le multiculturalisme et qu’il n’y a plus personne qui se retrouve dans cette société-là », nous apprend Mme Marois. Ses commentaires n’ont pas aidé la cause du projet de charte, qui suscite de vives réactions depuis qu’il a fait l’objet de fuites dans les médias.» http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/386948/ou-sont-les-bombes-madame-marois