When a majority feels threatened by minorities, it’s a society lacking self-confidence and wallowing in victimhood. That’s Quebec these days.

It has whipped itself into a frenzy — first, over Orthodox Jews, then Muslims in general and niqab-wearing women in particular, and now, kirpan-carrying Sikhs.

This is ironic and sad.

A Catholic majority that rightly ended the historic domination by the Protestant minority in Quebec, and ensured a reblossoming of the minority French language in a sea of English North America is now demonizing its own minorities.

At the very least, it’s letting politicians exploit collective insecurities by claiming that majority mores are imperiled by minority demands.

What makes it worse is that it’s the Parti Québécois that’s playing this dirty game to resurrect itself and breathe life into its failed separatist project. It has put the government of Jean Charest on the defensive, forcing him to play catch-up.

But it’s really the premier’s own fault, dating back to 2007.

Mario Dumont of Action démocratique was making headway campaigning against immigrants and minorities. Charest ducked and set up a commission on reasonable accommodation. The ploy did not work, as his Liberals were reduced to a minority and Dumont became leader of the opposition.

The commission got an earful from witnesses that their society was being changed for the worse by Jews, Sikhs and especially Muslims. But in its 2008 report, the commission said there was no crisis. Minorities were not making unreasonable demands. And it laid down sensible guidelines for majority-minority relations in a secular, democratic society.

With the crisis diffused, Charest called a snap election in December 2008, and won back his majority, crushing Action démocratique and triggering Dumont’s exit from politics.

Enter the PQ’s Pauline Marois, picking up his banner of identity politics. She railed against Orthodox Jews wanting to open their separate schools on Sundays (to make up for activities interrupted by the Saturday Sabbath). She wanted the niqab banned.

Charest half obliged. He allowed Jewish schools on Sundays but introduced an anti-niqab bill last year. Those not showing their face would be denied all government services, including health care.

Those opposing the draconian bill included the Jewish Orthodox Council of Quebec. On Tuesday, a group of Sikhs went to the National Assembly to do the same. But they were denied entry because they were carrying kirpans, even though there’s no such ban in Parliament or other provincial assemblies. (OnWednesday, the Bloc Québécois jumped on the PQ bandwagon and demanded a ban in Parliament.) There’s also the unanimous 2006 Supreme Court ruling in a Quebec case that schools cannot ban kirpans, only place some limitations for safety.

Such give-and-take already also governs the niqab, with women lifting their veils for purposes of identification, passport and security.

Yet the PQ keeps stoking the fires. It said that a ban on the kirpan be included in the anti-niqab bill. It anchored the demagoguery in its anti-Canadian creed.

“Multiculturalism may be a Canadian value but it’s not a Quebec one,” said Louise Beaudoin, PQ critic for secularism. “We haven’t signed the Constitution of Canada because it contains this notion of multiculturalism.”

This is revisionist nonsense. Quebec was the only province not to sign the 1982 Constitution but not necessarily for that reason. Besides, Quebec is not immune from Canadian law, especially as laid down by the Supreme Court.

Yet, the Charest Liberals demurred. Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil refused to take a stand, talking vaguely about “pluralism” and “openness.”

This is empty rhetoric. Liberals need to stand up for liberal, democratic, secular principles, including freedom of religion and protection from those who attack its expression — as in the vandalism at six Jewish institutions in Montreal over the weekend.

Sending police after the fact is only the reactive stage of a governmental process that begins with engendering respect for diverse peoples rather than mollycoddling the bigots braying at them.

Haroon Siddiqui is the Star's editorial page editor emeritus. His column appears on Thursday and Sunday. hsiddiqui@thestar.ca