Release accommodation report now, Quebec opposition says

Quebec opposition parties are pressing the Liberals to immediately publish a controversial provincial commission report on religious and cultural tolerance, after sections were leaked to the press over the weekend.

Action Dmocratique du Qubec Leader Mario Dumont said there's no point in the Liberals sitting on the report until Thursday, given how many sections have already been published and commented onin various newspapers.

Dumont called it a ridiculous situation, with "those who have read the report not commenting, and those that have not seen it making [all kinds of] declarations."

Parti Qubcois Leader Pauline Marois also called for the report's immediate release to end the "circus-like" atmosphere.

"I would like to believe that what we're hearing now is not in the report, because it's turning into a caricature," she said Tuesday.

According to excerpts of leaked chapters from the final report, the commission recommends thatQuebec francophones should learn more English,become better informed about the world and open their minds to others.

Controversial report leaked to newspapers

Chapters of the Consultation Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences were obtained by the Montreal Gazette and the Journal de Montral.

The report summarizes a year-long, provincewide investigation into religious and cultural practices and their acceptance among the general population, headed by sociologist Grald Bouchard and philosopher Charles Taylor.

The commission is reportedly recommending Quebecers accept the wearing of the hijab by Muslim women as a practice that is not going away, and urges peopleto shift their focusto other matters.

The traditional Islamic head covering is not a threat to Quebec values, and most women who wear it do so by choice, the Gazette reported about the findings.

Dumont said he's not prepared to comment on the alleged recommendations until he sees them for himself in the context of the full report.

Marois said she fears the headlines don't reflect the totality of Bouchard-Taylor's findings.

"I think with all the efforts that have been made, with the quality of people presiding at the commission, it seems to me that it's not possible that this is what we're talking about now," she said.

Former sovereigntist political adviser Jean-Franois Lise said the leak sets the tone for future discussions about religious tolerance.

"It's not a good political process," he told CBC News. "It's not a good way to [hold] a good political discussion."

The leak will probably hurt the report's overall impact,said Lise, who isexecutive director of the International Studies Centre at the Universit de Montral.

The Bouchard-Taylor Commission submitted its final report to the provincial government onMonday, after the leaks were published in weekend newspapers.

Premier Jean Charest will present the report to his cabinet on Wednesday.

The report is a political minefield for the Liberals, who have spent a year trying to shore up stagnant support among francophone voters.

Opposition parties have accused the Liberals of failing to nurture the French language in the province, at the expense of promoting immigration.

Charest established the Bouchard-Taylor Commission during the 2007 provincial election campaign, to assuage an often bitter public debate over religious and cultural tolerance and accommodation.