Quebec wants to ban face-covering veils among civil servants and those using public services.

The Liberal government tabled its version of secular society legislation, Bill 62, on Wednesday.

Premier Philippe Couillard said his legislation is steering clear of the ban on religious symbols that got the previous Parti Quebecois government into such hot water.

Bill 62 does, however, say that public servants must demonstrate religious neutrality by neither favouring nor hindering someone because of their religion.

The bill states that public servants must have their faces uncovered while at work, and that the public must also keep their faces uncovered while dealing with public servants, although exceptions are made for those requiring safety masks.

The rules will apply to civil service desk jobs, as well as policing, health care, education and publically-funded daycares.

Burkas and niqabs will be banned in government offices.

"We're not legislating clothes, just communication, safety and identification," said Couillard.



Aside from that the bill appears to provide people with a lot of leeway regarding the type of accommodation provided, and says requests must be provided as long as they are consistent with gender equality and doesn't impose undue hardship on others.

Quebec Justice Minister Stephanie Vallée refused to say if the chador or kirpan would be banned under new law.

"We want to be respectful of diversity," she said. "If there's a message we want to be sending out today, it is (to) be respectful of diversity because diversity is wealth, in a way, and diversity makes Quebec what it is."

Opposition parties suggested the bill didn’t go far enough, for instance by not also banning religious symbols.



“For example a policeman with a religious sign, I think it should be forbidden,” said CAQ leader Francois Legault.



The PQ's Charter of Values provoked huge demonstrations by people who said it lacked basic respect.



“Quebec Inclusif is quite happy with this approach because most of the problems we had with the PQ Charter of Values is not in this bill anymore,” said Quebec Inclusif’s president Remi Bourget.



Muslim Council of Montreal president Salam Elmenwayi, however, said he felt the bill was heavy-handed as it only affects a small number of women in Quebec.



“How many people are doing that, and how serious is this problem and how damaging is it to Quebec and where is it in the list of priorities?” he said.

Federal Multiculturalism Minister Tim Uppal expressed support for Quebec's proposed legislation.

"We broadly support Quebec's legislation regarding the uncovering of faces for giving and receiving public services," Uppal said in Ottawa, adding that the federal government will also move forward with its own legislation on the matter.



Another bill, Bill 59, would propose new controls on hate speech and empowers the Quebec Human Rights Commission to investigate more cases and decide what is considered hate speech.

“There's a line between hate speech and a speech that is of opinion that is not necessarily elegant but that does not constitute hate,” said Vallée

To prevent forced marriages, a judge will need to rule whether a person who is 16 or 17 who wants to wed is doing so freely

“Validation of the consent will be made by the court,” she added.

The government hopes the bills will be passed this fall.



With files from Sidhartha Banejee of The Canadian Press