Mixed polling news from Québec where Pauline Marois’ ruling Parti Québécois has recorded a slight rise in popularity but is still well behind the opposition Liberal Party, a Canadian federalist or “Unionist” party. From the survey by Le Presse-CROP:
40% Québec Liberal Party – Parti libéral du Québec
29% Parti Québécois
20% Coalition Avenir Québec
7% Québec solidaire
2% Option nationale
2% Others
As always in Québec there are big differences in the communal vote with 93% of Anglophones supporting the Liberals. Three Hundred Eight has the details and some excellent analysis of what they mean. Meanwhile the PQ government is floating the idea of introducing new laws encouraging faith-neutral public workspaces. While in general this is a positive move the regulations may include far less positive rules banning the display of personal religious symbols or emblems such as turbans, niqabs, kippas, hijabs and crucifixes. Even an aggressively pro-secular atheist like myself finds it hard to disagree with the sentiments expressed in an interview over at the Montréal Gazette:
“As Quebec prepares legislation that would further restrict religious symbols, a borough mayor wants Montreal to urge the PQ government to define secularism in a way that is “inclusive and open” and recognizes Montreal’s diversity.
Lionel Perez, interim mayor of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, said Tuesday that a motion to that effect will be discussed at Monday’s city council meeting.
“We need a secularism that reflects Quebec’s new pluralistic demographics,” said Perez, whose borough is home to about 100 cultural communities.”
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
“Meanwhile the PQ government is floating the idea of introducing new laws encouraging faith-neutral public workspaces. While in general this is a positive move the regulations may include far less positive rules banning the display of personal religious symbols or emblems such as turbans, niqabs, kippas, hijabs and crucifixes.”
Not the best move PR-wise. This will backfire, as it always does. While I don’t want anyone ramming their faith down my throat, I also don’t want anyone ramming their desire to control my life down my throat, either.
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Agreed. While I like PQ’s secularist impulses I strongly dislike its authoritarian ones. I’d put it up there with the banning of the veils in France as a form of anti-democratic secularism. Women covering their bodies or heads as an indicator of their lesser status (arguably) makes me uncomfortable but preventing them from doing so makes me even more uncomfortable.
Politically and ideologically PQ is going to some strange places these days.
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