The Canadian province of Quebec will ban public sector employees from wearing religious symbols during work hours, in legislation introduced on Thursday, a controversial move that critics say targets Muslim women who wear hijabs or other head coverings.
The proposed law sets the province’s right-leaning Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government on a collision course with the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who promotes religious freedom, in a federal election year with Quebec a vital battleground.
“It is unthinkable to me that in a free society we would legitimise discrimination against citizens based on their religion,” Trudeau told reporters in Halifax on Thursday. » | Reuters in Ottawa | Thursday, March 28, 2019
