The Québec government is proposing a bill to prevent school teachers, judges,
police officers and other public employees from “wearing religious symbols including
Muslim head scarves while working, a move that could aggravate simmering
cultural tensions in the province.” The French Premiere also stated that the same rule
applies to “Catholic crosses, Jewish skullcaps and Sikh turbans, [because it is] necessary
to preserve Québec’s secular values and identity.” Religious human rights advocates and
religious lawyers attacked this bill saying it goes against the freedom to religion. Prime Minister
of Canada Justin Trudeau also criticized the bill saying it was unthinkable “that in a free society,
we would legitimize discrimination of citizens based on their religion.” People are concerned
that this will turn away people immigrating to Québec and have a loss of public
workers in the province.
police officers and other public employees from “wearing religious symbols including
Muslim head scarves while working, a move that could aggravate simmering
cultural tensions in the province.” The French Premiere also stated that the same rule
applies to “Catholic crosses, Jewish skullcaps and Sikh turbans, [because it is] necessary
to preserve Québec’s secular values and identity.” Religious human rights advocates and
religious lawyers attacked this bill saying it goes against the freedom to religion. Prime Minister
of Canada Justin Trudeau also criticized the bill saying it was unthinkable “that in a free society,
we would legitimize discrimination of citizens based on their religion.” People are concerned
that this will turn away people immigrating to Québec and have a loss of public
workers in the province.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you agree with this bill, why?
- Do you think this would lower conflicts among religious groups?
- If this works in Québec should something like this be posed in the US?
Austin Wong
ReplyDelete1) Yes I agree to this bill because people should have the freedom to show their religion.
I think that people have the right to choose who they want to be. Choosing a religion is a difficult thing and it should be a personal choice with no judgement.
ReplyDeleteI really don't know if I agree with this bill or not. There are pros and cons that come with it. A pro is that they won't be judged or criticized but a con is that it restricts them from their religious freedom. So it's a mighty tough choice... :)
ReplyDeleteI think it may lower tensions between other religious groups, however it may raise tensions towards the Quebec government because everyone should have the freedom to wear what they what, when they want. -Angela Hedlin
ReplyDeletePeople should be able to show their religion. Taking away people's ability to show their religion is taking a part of there freedom away.
ReplyDeleteI think people should be allowed to wear religious symbols. This bill prevents people from having the freedom of religion, and everyone should have the right to believe in any religion they want.
ReplyDelete-Kirsten Huynh
I do not agree with this bill. I think that this bill would instead take away people's freedom. Everyone should have the freedom of what they wear, and what they want to believe in.
ReplyDeletePeople should have the right to express there religion and i dont think its really causing a problem.
ReplyDelete