Public Employees: Quebec Charter

Quebec Charter: In August, the Parti Qu b cois sent up trial balloons on its Quebec Charter of Values. It wanted to test reaction to a proposed ban on religious dress and symbols among public employees. , according to Times Colonist. In September, the charter was unveiled. NDPLeader Tom Mulcair spoke up. Minister of Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, who is privately outraged, talked of challenging the charter in court. For weeks, events in Quebec have unfolded with an elegant predictability. Even in a world in which politics routinely trumps principle, rarely have we seen an electoral ploy as nakedly cynical as this. The early response was hostile in English Canada. The P quistes had a fright when the Conservatives and New Democrats were silent at first, but they were relieved when Justin Trudeau condemned the proposal early and enthusiastically. Although his views were much applauded in multicultural Montreal, the P quistes knew that they would play less well in rural Quebec, where the partys prospects for a much-coveted majority government lie. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.