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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government warned Tuesday it will launch a legal challenge against Quebec’s proposed charter of values if the charter is deemed to be unconstitutional.

The blunt warning came shortly after Quebec unveiled its plan to ban public servants from wearing many religious symbols at work.

Federal cabinet ministers were holding a meeting on Parliament Hill Tuesday morning when the Parti Quebecois government revealed the broad outlines of its plan, to be further defined in a bill later this fall.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Denis Lebel, and Employment Minister Jason Kenney quickly responded for the federal government, expressing concern about the proposed Quebec charter.

“At the federal level, we believe our job is to make all people who live in this country — regardless of their religious, ethnic, cultural background — feel welcome, feel part of our country, feel like this is a land of equality of opportunity,” said Kenney.

“We are very concerned by any proposal that would limit the ability of Canadians to participate in our society and that would affect the practice of their faith,” he added.

“And we are very concerned by any proposal that would discriminate unfairly against people based on their religion, based on their deepest convictions.”