Kippahs May Be Banned In Quebec Workplaces
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
MONTREAL (JTA) — Quebec’s incoming government wants to ban some public servants from wearing religious symbols to work, spurring concerns from Jewish groups.
The proposed ban by the Coalition Avenir Québec government is ostensibly to make Quebec public institutions more secular and “neutral” religiously. It would bar police, prison guards, public school teachers and some others from wearing visible kippahs, turbans, hijabs and crucifixes under the possible penalty of dismissal for noncompliance.
Critics say the plan contravenes Canadian human rights charters and is pandering to intolerant populist sentiment being increasingly exploited in other countries. They also say the plan is hypocritical since the new government, which officially assumes power on Oct. 18, is refusing for “heritage” reasons to take down a large crucifix hanging in the Quebec legislature since 1936.
Most native Quebecers are lapsed Roman Catholics.
“The banning of religious symbols and the possible firing of public employees who freely express their religious beliefs is an assault on the fundamental rights and freedoms,” Murray Levine of B’nai Brith Canada said.
Rabbi Reuben Poupko of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said: “[We] reiterate our long-held position that religious neutrality should be imposed on public institutions, not individuals.”
The proposed ban was an election campaign promise of the Coalition, a center-right populist party led by businessman François Legault, now the premier-elect. Legault and his party won 75 out of 125 seats in the Oct. 1 election and gave the new government the power to pass laws without concern about being ousted in a vote of no-confidence.
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
