Oshawa hospital Lakeridge Health has taken a pointed jab at the Parti Québécois’ proposed Charter of Quebec Values, which would ban public servants from donning religious attire, jewelry or other symbols in the workplace.
A recruitment ad appearing today across social media and in Montreal’s McGill student newspaper features a Muslim medical professional wearing a hijab, accompanied by text reading “We don’t care what’s on your head. We care what’s in it.”
A hospital spokesman said the ad is intended to let Quebec’s health-care professionals know there’s a place they can work free of the constraints proposed in the charter of Quebec values.
Unveiled Tuesday, the Charter of Quebec Values features five proposals:
• Amend the Quebec charter of human rights and freedoms
• Establish a duty of neutrality and reserve for all state personnel
• Limit the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols
• Make it mandatory to have one’s face uncovered when providing or receiving a state service
• Establish an implementation policy for state organizations
If adopted by the legislature, the charter would ban hospital workers, as well other public sector employees at schools and courthouses, from wearing religious clothing such as hijabs, kippas and turbans in the workplace.
On a website outlining the charter, the PQ explains that several high-profile religious accommodation cases since 2006 have given rise to a “profound discomfort” in the province.
“To maintain social peace and promote harmony, we must prevent tensions from growing,” it said. “Clear rules on religious accommodations will contribute to integration and social cohesion. They will benefit all Quebecers, including newcomers. We will be best served by a state that treats everyone the same.”
While an online survey of more than 1,900 Quebecers conducted by the Quebec firm SOM found that 66% of the province’s residents support the plan, some groups have denounced the proposed charter as unconstitutional.
The Quebec chapter of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said in a release it was “dismayed” by the proposed charter, claiming it would restrict the fundamental rights and freedoms of Quebecers. “It is unacceptable and will only serve to enflame civil discourse.”
A CBC report earlier this week also noted PQ ads attempting to curry public supporter for the charter running side-by-side in the Montreal Metro. One ad read “Church. Synagogue. Mosque. Sacred,” while the ad beside it read “Equality among men and women. Religious neutrality of the state. Also sacred.”
