Election stymies secularist legislation

The defeat of the Parti Quebecois (PQ) in Monday’s election is being seen by most observers as partly a rejection of ambitions to lead Quebec to separation through a referendum, writes Peter Kavanagh. However, the defeat of Pauline Marois’ minority government has thrown two other central pieces of her government’s agenda into doubt.

The PQ during its 18-month tenure championed legislation providing for medically assisted euthanasia and introduced the idea of a Secular Charter, which would have banned the overt display of religious symbols, including large crosses, burkas, hijabs, kirpans, kippahs and turbans by public servants or anyone whose job received money or subsidies from the Quebec government.

While the euthanasia legislation met fierce opposition from Quebec’s Catholic Church, polls suggested it had wide support and, depending on the legislative agenda of the new Liberal government, a version of the bill could be reintroduced immediately. The Secular Charter, opposed by most religious bodies in the province, including the Quebec Assembly of Bishops and most ethnic rights groups, was more polarising among the electorate and divisive in the National Assembly.