Religious accommodation requests lead to heated exchanges in Quebec legislature
QUEBEC — The leader of Quebec’s official opposition broke legislative rules Thursday by wearing a Parti Quebecois lapel pin and then compared it to the Jewish head cap worn by a member in the chamber the day prior to commemorate the Holocaust.
Jean-Francois Lisee’s words triggered a heated exchange in the national assembly that reflected the current level of debate in Quebec on the issue of religious symbols in the civil service.
Also on Thursday, a Montreal newspaper reported that a 17-year-old Muslim girl studying to become a police officer wants to eventually wear her religious head scarf on the job.
That prompted another opposition party, Coalition Avenir Quebec, to announce during question period that police officers in uniform cannot serve the state and God at the same time.