CDN-NDG borough mayor speaks out against secular charter

Lionel Perez, the mayor of one ofCanada's most multi-cultural neighbourhoods, has spoken out against the Parti Qubcois governmentfollowing reports earlier this week about plans to impose a widespread ban on religious symbolsin the public sector.

In a letter published in Le Devoir, the mayor of Montreal's Cte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grce borough called this part of thegovernment's proposed secular charter"rigid and selective."

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"What should concernus is the vision and how the government wants to implement this secularism. These positions show a willingness to define secularism in a way that is rigid and selective," wrote Perez.

Perez, who wears a kippaa Jewishskullcapwhile serving as mayor, says nobody should be forced to make a choice between being an elected official and wearing a religious symbol on the job.

"The goal of an inclusive secularism isaiming to build a genuinely plural public space,to build a society that avoids marginalizing ortraps our citizens in a single mold, depriving them of the right to their moral or religious choice,"wrote Perez.

Perez says he does not oppose the creation of asecular charter, but says that itshould be representative of Montreal and Quebec'smodern diversity.

"I believe that values of tolerance, respect for others and moral autonomy are equally asfundamental as Quebec secularism,"wrote Perez.

Perez says hethinksthe 2008 Bouchard-Taylor Commission report on accommodating minorities is a good base for a secular charter.

"The studies and analysis have been done. Let's put that into application. They talk about an open secularism, an inclusive secularism," Perez toldCBC News.

• Quebec will act fast on Bouchard-Taylor culture report: Charest

Perez saysthat although forsome this is an"emotional debate," hefeels it is important to keep an open dialoguewith the provincial government.

"Obviously this is a contentious issue in Quebec and we need to take a step back and use words of moderation," Perez told the CBC. "It's easy to castigate thePQ in an unfriendly way and that doesn't contribute to the debate."

Perezsays he met with the PQ minister responsible for the secular charter, Bernard Drainville, earlier this week andsays there is a willingness to talk about the issues.

Today in Quebec City, Drainville said he willintroduce legislation to create a so-called "valuescharter" sometime during the fall session of the Quebec national assembly.

"By doing so we will respond to the wish of Quebecers.I think Quebecers do want to have clear rules with regards to religious accommodation requests," saidDrainville."I think they're also expecting us to affirm a certain number of values that are very important like the equality between men and women."