05) UNIONS WEIGH UP QUEBEC CHARTER OF VALUES

PV Vancouver Bureau

            The "Charter of Quebec Values" was introduced by the Parti Quebecois minority government on Sept. 9, but one large group representing public sector workers has long been on record as supporting the general approach of "secularising" public services in Quebec.

            A very different position was expressed in early September, however, by a union representing one-third of all teachers in Quebec. A report in the Globe and Mail says the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement will oppose measures that ban religious headgear in the classroom, characterizing any such crackdown as a "witch hunt."

            The FAE says it supports the concept of secular state institutions, but not through targeting personal religious symbols.

            "We won't go on a witch hunt to see who wears a hijab, kippa or cross," Sylvain Mallette, president of the union, said in an interview. "We will defend the right of our members to work."

            If a teacher faced losing a job due to religious garb, the union says it would be prepared to fight the case in court.  

            Mallette says the union believes there are real issues over religious accommodations in public schools, such as parents who want to withdraw their children from classes that teach evolution. But dress codes for teachers are beside the point, he argues.

            "Preventing someone from wearing a hijab or kippa isn't a way to ensure the secular nature of the state and its institutions," Mallette told the Globe and Mail. "For us, respecting secularism has nothing to do with whether you wear religious symbols or accessories."

            The FAE includes 32,000 teachers in the French‑language school system in Montreal, home to most immigrants who settle in Quebec. These teachers live day‑to‑day with the realities of multicultural classrooms. Montreal city council has unanimously adopted a motion that calls for "inclusive secularism" which "unites Montrealers of all backgrounds and beliefs."

            The FAE also disagrees with the PQ government about the crucifix hanging in the National Assembly, saying it would be "incoherent" for legislators to pass a law in favour of state secularism while sitting beneath a religious symbol. The cross should be moved elsewhere in the building, it says.

            Meanwhile, most other public‑sector unions in Quebec, including the largest teachers' union, decided to wait for the Marois government to table its proposals before commenting.

            However, the Syndicat de la fonction publique du Québec, which represents provincial civil servants, is already on record as saying it supports a ban on religious headgear for state employees.

            The minority Marois government, which marked its one‑year anniversary on Sept. 4, has made the Values Charter and other identity issues a centrepiece of its agenda, from dress codes to mandatory Quebec history courses.

            Drainville told Radio‑Canada that after Quebec rid itself of religion in its public institutions in the 1960s, public servants became "neutral" in appearance.

            "If it was fine for Catholics in the 1960s, why wouldn't it be good for all religions 50 years later?" he asked.

(The above article is from the September 16-30, 2013, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)