(CBC) Quebec Premier François Legault had a blunt message Tuesday for minorities worried about his government’s new religious symbols law: the legislation, he said, “could have gone further.”
The law, which was passed late Sunday, bars civil servants in positions of authority — including public school teachers, government lawyers and police officers — from wearing religious symbols while at work.
It’s been roundly denounced by minority groups in the province that warn it will institutionalize discrimination by limiting employment opportunities for people who wear such commonplace religious garments as the hijab, turban or kippa.
In an interview with Radio-Canada Tuesday, Legault was asked if he had anything to say to those Quebecers who will be affected by the law.
“We took a measure that was moderate. We could have gone further,” he replied.
