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Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault wants the provincial government to crack down on religious fundamentalists who preach ideas “contrary to Quebec values.”

The proposal came on the heels of an east-end Montreal borough’s decision to block a radical imam, Hamza Chaoui, from opening a community centre at 8676 Grosbois St.

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“The presence of a radical imam in Montreal showed clear flaws in our legislative system,” Legault said in a news conference on Wednesday, before his party’s caucus at the National Assembly. He was flanked by the CAQ’s point person on secularism, Nathalie Roy.

“We must guard against radicalization and the indoctrination of youth,” Roy said. “This radicalization can, sadly, lead vulnerable people or those in distress to commit acts of horror, as we’ve seen in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Ottawa.”

They called on the Couillard government to cut off tax benefits for religious organizations that peddle ideas that clash with those enshrined in Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, including respect for democracy and equality between men and women.