A statement by Quebec Democratic Institutions Minister Bernard Drainville of the Parti Québécois (PQ) suggested that elements of the party’s proposed Charter of Values could apply to students at Quebec universities.
The charter would ban public employees from wearing religious symbols such as turbans, kippahs, and hijabs in the workplace.
Drainville told Radio X on March 19 it would also extend to students wearing religious face coverings, such as the burka or niqab, on campus. Various religious groups based in Quebec campuses have spoken out against the charter, holding events to promote acceptance of religious headwear.
Hansen Alatrash, a spokesperson for the Muslim Students Association at Concordia University, said the group opposes the proposed charter.
She said it represents a form of xenophobia that does not promote pluralism, but rather a single definition of Quebecois identity.
“It is important for religious headwear to be respected and tolerated because it makes a perfect fit with Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ very first fundamental provisions and civil liberties,” Alatrash said via email. “Muslims not only see these nefarious attempts by the PQ to try to disrupt peace and confuse Canadians, as an attack against Islam, but also, as an anti-constitutional insult within Canadian chartered territory.”
The McGill Sikh Student Association responded to the charter by hosting an event called “Turban Tying Day,” where attendees could ask questions about Sikhs and their traditions, and learn how to tie their own turban.
“The event was simply to bring awareness to the turban, to the religion, and to diversity in general,” Gurnikki Kaur, a member of the association, said via email.
Imam Salam Elmenyawi, the Muslim chaplain at McGill University and president of the Muslim Council of Montreal, said many religious associations believe the charter creates the wrong idea about various religious groups.
“People in Quebec who believe in the Charter of Values are usually people who never dealt with Muslims, Sikhs, or Jews,” Elmenyawi said.
He said the charter has brought a sense of unity between various religious communities across Quebec, who all stand united against it.
Elmenyawi said he fully supports people, especially women, who the charter would affect, and said he would challenge the PQ’s actions.
“We tell women to be patient and not to take this as an attack on them personally,” he said. “We came to this country because of the freedom . . . we feel responsible to make sure that the Canadian system will continue to serve all people.”
