(Canadian Press) French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal used his visit to Quebec this week to express strong support for the province’s model of state secularism even as he claimed to abstain from weighing in on debates over the controversial policy.
And despite his vocal backing of Quebec’s secular values, Attal said he did not discuss the matter in meetings with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa this week, insisting his endorsement did not constitute meddling in Canadian politics.
“I believe that my responsibility when I’m abroad and when I speak to politicians, democratically elected, that have chosen this model, my responsibility is to tell them that they are not alone with this model,” Attal said alongside Premier François Legault in Quebec City. “Is this interfering in political debates in Canada? I don’t think so.”
