Quebec Charter of Values
| Bill 60 | |
|---|---|
| Quebec National Assembly | |
| |
| Citation | Bill 60 |
| Territorial extent | Province of Quebec |
The Charter of Quebec Values (French: Charte des valeurs québécoises [ʃaʁt de valœʁ kebekwaz] or Charte de la laïcité [ʃaʁt də la laisite]) was Bill 60 in the Canadian province of Quebec, introduced by the governing Parti Québécois in 2013 under Premier Pauline Marois, trying to legislate the Quebec controversy on reasonable accommodation. The PQ cabinet member forwarding the bill was Bernard Drainville, Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions and Active Citizenship. Premier Marois also threatened invoking the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution of Canada to pass the Charter in 2013. There was much controversy in Quebec and elsewhere about the charter, especially its proposed prohibition of public sector employees from wearing or displaying conspicuous religious symbols.
The proposal would have included the following provisions:
- Amend the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms
- Establish a duty of neutrality and reserve for all state personnel (including state-funded education and health care workers).
- Limit the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols for said personnel.
- Make it mandatory to have one's face uncovered when providing or receiving a state service.
- Establish an implementation policy for state organizations.
The PQ had a minority government; Marois called an early election to obtain a greater vote of confidence. The political objective of the PQ was to foster an alliance between seemingly opposing groups, the traditionalists and the progressives, in order to facilitate the emergence of a new type of majority. The bill died as of the 2014 election, which was won by the Quebec Liberal Party. The Charter of Quebec Values was argued to be a contributing factor in the PQ’s loss of power (although the bill was polled with higher public opinion support than the governing party itself). The Liberals were opposed to the legislation, but party leader Philippe Couillard pledged during the campaign to put forward a less strict set of measures on the reasonable accommodation issue.