(CBC) The Coalition Avenir Québec government is proposing a new law that would prohibit public workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols such as a hijab, kippa or turban.
The stated aim of the bill, titled, “An act respecting the laicity of the state,” is to affirm religious neutrality in a manner that “ensures a balance between the collective rights of the Quebec nation and human rights and freedoms.”
The ban would apply to, among others, Quebec crown prosecutors, judges and any public employee who carries a firearm, as well as teachers and principals.
There is a grandfather clause in the bill to exempt some public workers, including teachers, from the ban as long as they hold the same job.
