The charter is a proposed ban on public-sector workers in Quebec wearing religious symbols - specifically kippas, yamakas, burkas, niqabs, kufi hats, turbans, and any overly large crosses or other symbols. (No precise size has been determined for what is considered "overt".)
The ban would be a clear violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and also the Quebec Charter of Rights, and therefore would have very shaky legal standing if it ever became a law.
What is funny however is that whenever asked to provide evidence in support of the proposed ban the various members of the Parti Québécois come up with fictional (and high unlikely) stories to support the ban.
Here are some examples.
Yves Gauthier - "Even if we are open and all that, it is not always clear, because having your prostate checked by a digital rectal exam is a little disorienting, at least the first time. I could not see myself, on top of that, dealing with a veiled doctor, with a burka or chador … So yes, especially as a matter of principle, I totally agree that services should be given with the face uncovered."
Democratic Institutions Minister Bernard Drainville - "The young man can feel rejected because of the religious symbol worn by the person providing health service in this case. Can you understand that the religious symbol can sometimes be a message of rejection for those who see it?" [Speaking about a hypothetical situation in which a young Muslim homosexual who has been rejected by his family because of his sexual orientation seeks medical care and is greeted by a nurse wearing a hijab who doesn't even know him and knows nothing of his sexual orientation.]
Thoughts
Now it may be just me (and a lot of other people who listen to this BS in disbelief), but it seems to me that the Parti Québécois has had a long history of racism dating back to PQ leaders like Jacques Parizeau who blamed the loss of the 1995 Quebec Sovereignty Referendum on "money and the ethnic vote".
It is a well known fact that many members of the PQ doesn't like immigrants, outsiders and anyone who threatens the racial / religious purity of Quebec - in other words Jews (who wear kippas and yamakas), Muslims (who wear burkas, niqabs and kufi hats), and Sikhs (who wear turbans).
The additional banning of "overly large crosses" is just make it seem like Christianity is also being treated equally, but in reality nobody has defined what counts as an overly large cross so for all we know they might set it to 12 inches or something equally ridiculous. In which case it is safe to assume that 99% of Christians would be unaffected.
So what is next for the PQ? Well, I imagine they will pass a law prohibiting immigrants from riding pink unicorns, because only the Parti Québécois is allowed to ride around on fictional creatures and make up such ridiculous things.
See what I did?
I made up my own fictional bit of reasoning. Equally ridiculous.
The fact is that new laws are only supposed to come into being when there is an urgent demand for such a law and there is ample evidence to support the creation of such a new law. Basing a new law on fictional examples is pure poppycock.
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