VICTORIAVILLE – The Parti Québécois National Youth Committee (PQ) Congress rejected Sunday morning the idea of banning the wearing of religious symbols for all employees in the public and para-public sectors during their working hours.
“This proposal, in my opinion, is not secularism, it is in a certain way, playing the racist game. Who is going to want to join the Parti Québécois with this proposal?”, said delegate Laurent Constantin, before a hundred young Péquistes gathered at the congress.
About fifteen delegates voted for the proposal, which consisted mainly of using the controversial aspects of the Marois government’s charter of values.
“We are Quebecers first and foremost. It is in this way that we will succeed in including all Quebecers in society, regardless of their origin, “said Nicolas Turcotte, of the Laurentians Association, who put forward the proposal at the congress.
The debate had to be extended to allow more delegates to speak. Marc-André Bouvette, the new president of the PQ’s National Youth Committee, and Ariane Cayer, the outgoing president, spoke out against the proposal.
“People are fed up, people want to settle this question once and for all and here we are bringing it up again?” Cayer said.
Religious accommodation was part of the debates in the National Assembly last week. Premier Philippe Couillard commented on Saturday that there is no consensus within the opposition.
The Parti Québécois, the Coalition avenir Québec and Québec Solidaire are asking the Couillard government to prohibit the wearing of religious symbols only for public servants in positions of authority.
The youth wing is slated also to vote on the idea of applying Bill 101 at the college level, which would run counter to what party leader Jean-François Lisée is defending.
