Canada has secular bill to ban wearing of religious symbols ... Thx Marge R!

Home » News » Americas

Quebec bill would bar religious symbols for government employees

3.5K39

Credit: Merydolla / Shutterstock.

Quebec City, Canada, Apr 1, 2019 / 04:49 pm (CNA).- A bill introduced recently in Quebec would forbid future government employees from expressing their faith through religious symbols during office hours.

The bill, called “An act respecting the laicity of the state,” was introduced March 28 and is expected to pass.

“The purpose of this bill is to assert the secularity of the state and to specify the requirements that flow from it,” said Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec’s Minister of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusiveness and the architect of the bill, at a legislative session last week.

The legislation would ban religious symbols for government employees, including Muslim headscarves, Jewish yarmulkes, and crucifixes.

It would affect future employees hired into the public sector, including teachers, police officers, and judges. Current government employees in Quebec would be exempt from the ban.

The bill has drawn criticism from political and religious leaders, who have called it an act of discrimination and an affront to religious freedom.

“It is unthinkable to me that in a free society we would legitimize discrimination against citizens based on their religion,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told journalists.

“We are deeply opposed to the restriction and erosion of the freedom of religion of individuals in the name of secularism,” said Rabbi Reuben Poupko, Quebec co-chair of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

“The commitment to secularism does not rest on the outward appearance of individuals,” he said, according to the Canadian Jewish News.

Quebec has previously sought to assert the secularity of the state and ban religious symbols. The province issued a ban in 2017 on religious full-face coverings, but it is was suspended by a judge last June.

The proposal continues a trend of increased scrutiny for religious symbols, in Canada and internationally, in recent years.

A few weeks ago, Montreal’s City Hall announced that a crucifix taken down during renovations would not be returned to its display. City councilor Laurence Lavigne-Lalonde said the religious symbol was no longer relevant.

“The crucifix was installed during an era that was completely different than the one we live in today,” Lavigne-Lalonde told the council, according to CTV News Montreal. “We now live in a society that has evolved and is represented by democratic institutions that must be secular, neutral and open to all citizens.”

The Archdiocese of Montreal issued a statement in response, saying that the crucifix represents the Christian roots of the country and does not need to be removed in a religiously pluralistic society.

“As a sign revered by Christians, the crucifix remains a living symbol. It symbolizes openness and respect toward all peoples, including toward other faith communities and religious traditions, which rightfully adhere to their own signs and symbols,” said Archbishop Christian Lépine.

Europe has also seen debate over religious symbols in recent years. In 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld a ban on religious symbols in the work place. The court ruled that it is not directly discriminatory for a workplace to ban “any political, philosophical or religious sign” if the ban is based on internal company rules requiring neutral dress.

A ban on teachers wearing religious headscarves was ruled unconstitutional in a German court in 2015. In Austria and the German state of Bavaria, full-face veils are banned in public. France banned religious symbols and veils in schools in 2004.

In 2013, four Christian British Airways employees won a legal case in the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled their employer engaged in illegal discrimination for telling them they could not wear their crosses.
 

Our mission is the truth. Join us!

As a CNA reader, you know our team is committed to finding, reporting, and publishing the truth. Like you, we know that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.

Generous donors have given to make sure that all the news you read here at CNA is always free of charge—not only for you, but for millions of readers each year.

Will you join them and become a CNA supporter today?

Your one-time or monthly donation will help our team continue reporting the truth, with fairness, integrity, and fidelity to Jesus Christ and his Church. Thank you.

Yours in Christ,

JD Flynn
CNA Editor-in Chief
Catholic News Agency

Support Catholic News Agency

Manuel is moving to Canada ... Thx Lyle S!

> SUBJECT: Fwd: Manuel is moving to Canada
>
>> Manuel is Moving to Canada. Illegal immigrants are boycotting
>> Arizona by the thousands and
>> moving elsewhere, showing their outrage with Donald Trump's
>> proposed law of sending illegal immigrants back to Mexico.
>>
>> In the small town of Guadalupe, AZ, south of Phoenix, Manuel Renaldo
>> is
>> one of those who is punishing Arizona by leaving.
>>
>> As he loaded his stolen car with his stolen belongings and family of
>> ten,
>> Renaldo told this reporter through an interpreter "It's a matter of
>> principle I refuse to be supported by a state that treats me like a
>> criminal!"
>>
>> The effects of the exodus are being felt by Arizona retailers, who
>> are reporting dwindling sales of
>> beer, tequila, spray paint, and ammunition. Also hit hard are the
>> state
>> hospitals, which have reported a dramatic decline in births and
>> emergency room visits.
>>
>> State welfare agencies are preparing to lay off staffs that
>> distribute food stamps and unemployment
>> benefits, Tattoo parlors are in an absolute state of panic!
>>
>> Renaldo told a reporter, through an interpreter, that he and his
>> family are moving to Canada, with a new
>> Liberal government under Justin Trudeau and new higher taxes,
>> hardworking people will better support him and his family with
>> dignity.
>>
>> SORT OF BRINGS A TEAR TO YOUR EYE, DOESN'T IT?

Canada and Australia speak more freely than USA citizens ... Thx Paul C!

  

Pork on menus... Quebec 

  

  

I wonder how many years (hundreds for sure) that Jewish people have lived in Quebec.  I don't believe that they have ever demanded that pork be removed from the school's menu where their children attend.  

  

Excellent reply by the Mayor of Quebec to the " demands " of the Muslim population in his community.  You see, Muslim parents demanded the abolition of pork in all the school canteens of a Montreal suburb. 

  

Well, as the commercial promoting pork in Quebec says “put some pork on your fork,” so t he mayor of the Montreal suburb of Dorval has refused and the town clerk sent a note to all parents to explain why...  Or  MAYOR REFUSES TO REMOVE PORK FROM SCHOOL CANTEEN MENU. EXPLAINS WHY   Let's hear it for a Quebec mayor. 

“Muslims must understand that they have to adapt to Canada and Quebec, its customs, its traditions, its way of life, because that's where they chose to immigrate. 

 

“They must understand that they have to integrate and learn to live in Quebec. 

 

“They must understand that it is for them to change their lifestyle, not the Canadians who so generously welcomed them. 

 

“They must understand that Canadians are neither racist nor xenophobic, they accepted many immigrants before Muslims (whereas the reverse is not true, in that Muslim states do not accept non-Muslim immigrants). 

  

“ That no more than other nations, Canadians are not willing to give up their identity, their culture . 

 

“And if Canada is a land of welcome, it's not the Mayor of Dorval who welcomes foreigners, but the Canadian-Quebecois people as a whole. 

 

“Finally, they must understand that in Canada (Quebec) with its Judeo-Christian roots, Christmas trees, churches and religious festivals, religion must remain in the private domain. 

 

The municipality of Dorval was right to refuse any concessions to Islam and Sharia. 

 

“For Muslims who disagree with secularism and do not feel comfortable in Canada, there are 57 beautiful Muslim countries in the world, most of them under-populated and ready to receive them with open halal arms in accordance with Shariah".  

  

“If you left your country for Canada and not for other Muslim countries, it is because you have considered that life is better in Canada than elsewhere". 

 

“Ask yourself the question, just once, “Why is it better here in Canada than where you come from?” 

“A canteen with pork is part of the answer.” 

 

SO, put some pork on your fork.   Too bad the USA doesn’t have the common sense to publish this nationwide .  It should also be posted on signs all along the U.S. borders. 

  

If you feel the same forward it on, if not, hit delete. 

  

 

God bless America- God bless Canada ... thx Pidge F!

 

 

> Photos that need no words or comment but please respond to the message at the end. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Prayer request  ACLU has filed a suit to end prayer from the military completely. They're making great progress.. The Navy Chaplains can no longer mention Jesus' name in prayer thanks to the ACLU and others. I'm not breaking this one. If I get it a 1000 times, I'll forward it a 1000 times! Let us pray... Prayer chain for our Military... Don't break it! We owe them sooo Much! Pray for our soldiers, Don't break it! Please send this on after a short prayer Dear Lord hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them & their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. In Jesus name, .' Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world.  There is nothing attached. Just send this to people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm's way, prayer is the very best one.  MAY GOD BLESS YOU FOR PASSING IT ON!!! GOD BLESS CANADA!!   GOD BLESS AMERICA!!

The Longest Border ... Apropos my pilot friend, Sonny H.!

       Every Canadian and American  needs to see this.
         We live side-by-side in two wonderful countries filled with wonderful people.         THE LONGEST BORDER   (This is an interesting American perspective)   
             http://www.wimp.com/explainscanada/                                                                                            
                                                                
                                                                                                

 

                               Take some interest in the future, it is where                     you will be spending the rest of your life.