I just became a Quebecer. Not a real Quebecer though. I was born in Northwestern Ontario and I'm Anglophone. I've only lived here for a few months. Despite being here permanently, I'll never be a "real" Quebecer to some.
But, I'm lucky. I don't wear hijab and I don't carry a kirpan. I was raised Catholic and, like my bedroom wall growing up, my National Assembly chambers is adorned with a crucifix. Elections dredge up as many issues that can be dredged so it hasn't surprised me that race, racism, religious tolerance and xenophobia have come up along Québec's election campaign trail. I have been surprised at how blatant it's been.
I'm used to Ontario's elections, where the closest thing to xenophobia was the Progressive Conservatives' reaction to the Liberals' proposed scheme for hiring immigrants.
On August 14, leader of the Parti Québécois Pauline Marois introduced her party's plans to ban religious symbols among public service workers. Muslim women would have to remove their hijab to renew someone's license. Sikh men working within a government department would have to remove their turbans. No word on whether or not a long beard is a religious symbol or just an awesome beard.
In the midst of the announcement, Marois admitted that the Catholic symbol of Jesus crucified on the cross that sits in the National Assembly would stay. So, personal religious observances are bad, but state-sanctioned religious symbols are good.
From former Action démocratique du Québec member of the National Assembly, and current independent candidate Claude Roy who said that Québec needs more Asians and fewer Arabs, to Coalition Avenir du Québec leader Francois Legault talking how young Quebecers should work harder, like Asians, there's been no shortage of attention paid to peoples' races, religions or languages.
The comments and party promises all say, very clearly, that to truly be a Quebecer, you must be Francophone, white and Catholic. Bonus points if your family descended from the Filles du Roi.
This is textbook intolerance and xenophobia.
The threat to Québec's heritage and nationhood isn't a civil servant wearing a hijab. It's the undoing of the social services that have helped Quebec grow into the distinct province it is today. It's increases to daycare fees, proposed by the Liberals. It's tuition fee increases, proposed by the PQ, Liberals and CAQ. It's a lack of language and social integration services that I would access to better fit in.
This xenophobic rhetoric will only create resentment among people who have a right to be frustrated with a depressed economy but who may misplace their frustration towards non-white, non-Francophone Quebecers. Its victims will be the thousands of Quebecers whose personal liberties and freedoms will be eliminated, at the promise of protecting the culture that they're a part of.
In its history, the territory occupied by Québec has only been French for a small amount of time. First Nations inhabited this province since time immemorial and continue to practice and evolve their own traditions, languages and cultures throughout the province.
Marois, Charest and Legault must remember that this land has always been home to different people and languages. And, today, those of us who have come here do so wanting to be part of it; wanting to be Quebecois.
Luckily my government has never defined me and I've been welcomed in Québec City by amazing people. I'll keep struggling to learn French and find employment, and rely on people I've met here for social supports. Unfortunately, it's clear that regardless who wins, those of us who support freedom of religion and oppose racism are going to have our work cut out for us.
Follow Nora Loreto on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@nolore
I moved to Quebec from Nova Scotia (another racist province if you buy into what Huffpo says) and have lived here among many different cultures happily for a long time. The Catholic church used to control everyones lives for generations and they are just starting to free themselves from it. It wasnt easy.
Now you want to reverse the clock and go back to making religious exceptions, No one (except religious institutions) wants to go back down that road.
The Quiet Revolution was an amazing chapter that separated Church and State in the most progressive laws in North American history.
Unfortunately, after that chapter, the PQ continued the Church's work -- its cultural elite kept the masses isolated and ignorant by telling them they were "distinct" and outsiders were not to be trusted.
The PQ and separatist movement is racist on its face.
It is pathetic and embarrassing.
But I do know that the French in France have a sort of tolerant fascism similar to Germany but less restrictive than Germany, Turkish worker never gain rights in Germany.
In France immigrants from North Africa are expected to speak French and to integrate it is not an option. English and French are compulsory in all French schools and religious schools are almost banned and must follow the set National curriculum.
Whereas the English seem to allow just about anything regarding clothing and there are all sorts of religious buildings and denominational schools. Pakistani boys quite often are sent to Madras in Pakistan then come back to British University.
Seems to us out West that the Quebecois try to be more French than France at least France has come to terms with the fact that French is no longer an official language in the EU, only English is compulsory in Schools throughout Europe.
Ironic isn't it England isn't in the Euro and is very Euro skeptic yet their language is the Euro official language.
So yes I think life for an immigrant is much easier in SK as most of the world teaches English in school and Quebec should do likewise.
Jean Tremblay is a federalist xenophobe. Racist is a pledge that do not know any ideological frontier. Think about that next time you paint Quebec' nationalist as racist.
Once Marois has a majority, all she'll have to do is fabricate an identity crisis by attacking Anglos and Allos. And as Ms Loreto points out, we've already seen Marois start to do that. Then language tensions will be inflamed enough for the PQ to hold a referendum within the first 2yrs of it's mandate.
Inflaming passions is how the PQ is getting les Québecois to ignore the Charest Liberals' record of economic stability and improvement. The unemployment rate is now down to 7.6%. The PQ have never gotten it below 10%.
Historically when the PQ is in power, the Quebec population becomes more dependant on the government, and less economically independant. But nobody's thinking about that now because the PQ attacks on Charest are working.
Manipulating the Quebec population in order to hold a separaration referendum while the very unpopular Stephen Harper is still Canadian PM, has been the PQ strategy right from the start of the student protests. They're masters at it, and it's working for them..
If I can wear a ski mask to get my drivers license picture taken then, sure, go ahead and wear your hijab.
As far as govt policy, I doubt you can go to Saudi Arabia and wear what you want either.
Also, what does wearnig a hijab while taking a photograph have *anything* to do with the person in the photo? The photographer can be wearing a Mickey Mouse costume for all I care, and the photo will still come out the same. But I'm pretty sure you can't wear a Mickey Mouse costume in your drivers' license photo either.