Architect of Quebec's secularism bill addresses Quebecers concerns

In the day since the Quebec government tabled Bill 21, entitled "An Act respecting the laicity of the State," many questions have been asked by citizens, politicians and institutions.

The bill's architect, Quebec Minister of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusiveness Simon Jolin-Barrette, joined CBC Montreal News at 6 anchor Debra Arbec to address them.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Debra Arbec:We spoke to many people yesterday about this bill. One teacher we spoke withis Muslim and doesn't want to workbeside someone she feels will have more rights than she does. What do you say to her?

Simon Jolin-Barrette: We [don't] want people get fired because they [are] wearing a religious symbol. And I think that's a compromise that we made in the bill. And it's a transition.I think people here in Quebec want teachers and people in authority to not wear religious symbols.

DA:She won't be able to be promoted. Can she even switch from class to class? How does that even work?

SJB:The grandfather clause that we put in the bill permits [a teacher] to change classes inside the same school board. So that's really important when you work as a teacher. You can continue to be a teacher with your religious symbol inside the same school board. If you change school board or you change jobslike you become a school principalyou lose your grandfather clause because it's a limited grandfather clause. It's a balance between the collective rights and the individual rights. So I want people [to] keep their job if they don't want to take off their religious symbol.

In this excerpt, Jolin-Barrette discusses teachers:

Quebec immigration minister says he doesn't want anyone fired over secularism bill

5 years ago

Duration 0:57

Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette says his government's secularism bill has a grandfather clause as a compromise to those already with public-sector jobs.

DA:Twenty-four hours after you tabled the bill, [Montreal Mayor] ValriePlante received messages, violent messages, because she came out against the bill yesterday. What do you say to the mayor?

SJB: That is unacceptable. And when I tabled the bill yesterday, in my speech I said I want to have a respectful debate about [it]. We have to be calm. We need to discuss. We can have different points of view on an issue ... and the mayor of Montreal has the right to have her opinion. That's correct. But we have to, as [legislators]or as people of Quebec, we have to be respectful of each other.

DA: The EMSB has already come out and said that they will not apply the bill. They'll hire people who wear kippas, Sikhs who wear turbans, and women of Muslim faith who wear veils.

DA:So you say that there are going to be talks, that there will be modifications made. Will you take teachers off the table?

DA:Your government is hoping to get this bill passed by June, by the end of the session. Will you push the bill through?

SJB:I hope that the opposition party will work with me to make it really quickbefore June 15and I'm hoping to hear what they have to say about the bill. But one thing's for sure, the will of the government is toadopt the bill [before] June 15. And we have two months and a half to adopt the bill. I think we are ready to work and I think [for] 10 years we [have been] talking about this subject. We already talked about it, and now it's the time to turn the page.

The full interview between Simon Jolin-Barrette and CBC's Debra Arbec.

5 years ago

Duration 13:22

In the day since the Quebec government tabled Bill 21, entitled "An Act respecting the laicity of the State," many questions have been asked by citizens, politicians and institutions.