Retired senator rebuked for linking hijab with female circumcision, forced marriage

For the second time this week, the Quebec government has been forced to distance itself from a supporterof its secularism bill who made incendiary remarks about Islam at a legislative hearing.

The bill proposes barringsome civil servantsincluding public teachers, police officers and Crown lawyers from wearing religious symbols.

It has drawn widespread criticism from legal experts who say itviolates religious freedom and discriminates against Muslim women who wear the hijab.Opponents have also warned it risks fuelling intolerance in the province.

The Coalition AvenirQubecgovernment, which has a majority, is using thesix days of hearings to build broader support for Bill 21, trying tospeed itspassage through the National Assembly.

But the government's attempt to portray the bill as a moderate response to the wishes of themajority were undermined early in Thursday's session.

Retired senator ClineHervieux-Payette, who was among those invited by the government to speak in support of the bill,told the commission:"The veil is a detail. What goes with it is circumcision[and] forced marriage at 14 and 15 years of age."

Hervieux-Payetteappeared to be paraphrasingAyaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born activist who gave up her Muslim faith and regularly describes Islam asinherently violent and oppressive. Ali has made similar remarks in the past. Two of Ali's books were next to Hervieux-Payette during her appearance.

The Liberalsecularism critic,Hlne David, expressed concern aboutHervieux-Payette's comments, asking her to clarify whether she thoughtgenital mutilation and forced marriages posea danger to Quebecers.

"You can't be naive,"said Hervieux-Payette,who served as a Liberal senator between 1995 and 2016 and spoke at the hearings on behalf of a group of lawyers who support Bill 21.

"Even people who live here send their children to certain countries where circumcision is done. They have to do it elsewhere than here because it's illegal But it's also done by neighbours."

Hervieux-Payettedid not offer any evidence to support this claim.

At that point, the chair of thelegislative committee, AndrBachand, intervened, asking Hervieux-Payetteto demonstrate "great caution" in her remarks.

Appeals for calm, again

Not long after her testimony wrapped up, the bill's sponsorImmigration Minister SimonJolin-Barrette assembled journalists to make clear he disagreedwithHervieux-Payette's comments.

"I don't at all share the remarks made by Mrs.Hervieux-Payetteabout the link between the hijaband circumcision and I denounce them," he said.

Jolin-Barrette reiterated an appeal he's made several times since tabling the bill in March: debate its advantages and disadvantages calmly.

But Thursday's session provided another reminder that doing so is easier said than done. On the first day of the hearings, a prominent critic of Islam,Djemila Benhabib, testified thatwomen who refuse to remove their hijab at work are "fundamentalists."

That prompted Premier Franois Legault to make clear he disagreed with Benhabib's characterization. "Let's be careful with labels," he said.

The only person so far who has worn a religious symbol at the hearings, Samira Laouni, of the non-profit group Communication pour l'ouverture et le rapprochement interculturel, said the bill sent themessage to Muslims that they weren't welcome in Quebec.

Wearing a hijab during her appearance Wednesday, Laouni said the bill will "legitimize discimination."

Some feminists have countered that suggestion, arguing that banning religious symbols from the public serviceis necessary to safeguard gender equality.

Heavily intellectual

Along with the flashpointsover Islam, there have been some tense exchanges between Jolin-Barrette and critics of the bill. He hasoften questionedwhether they respect the legitimacy of the government to enshrinesecularism in law.

But the hearings have also been heavily intellectual at times. A running list of the thinkers invoked so far includesphilosophers John Locke (on the separation of church and state), Montesquieu(on checks and balances) and Hannah Arendt (on freedom of thought).

The hearings will resume on Tuesday. Among those expected to testify are unions, school boards and the City of Montreal.

Some of these groups have expressed reservations about how to apply the law. Others have called for it to be extended even further, such as to daycare workers or more sectors of the civil service.