OTTAWA – “Religious intolerance of this kind has no place in our society,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands) as she affirmed her party’s strong opposition to the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s proposal to ban public employees in a position of authority from wearing religious symbols.

“Canada is a multicultural society with a history of celebrating cultural diversity,” said Ms. May. “This bill is especially troubling given our national tradition of welcoming newcomers and embracing social and ethnic differences.”

Daniel Green, Deputy Leader of the Green Party and candidate for the riding of Outremont, adds, “An educator, math teacher, doctor or dentist who wears a hijab, kippah or turban should not be excluded from doing their job when he or she works for the province, a municipality, a school or a hospital. It's what's in people's heads and not what's on their heads that counts. The Green Party is on the side of freedom with regard to what people want to wear, while being for a secular state in our governance of the country.”

“This is not who we are, and it’s not who we want to become,” added Ms. May. “The personal right to wear symbols of our faith is enshrined in the Constitution, and in the fabric of our identity as Canadians.”

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For more information or to arrange an interview contact:

Rosie Emery

Press Secretary

613-562-4916x206

rosie.emery@greenparty.ca