The issue of whether public servants should be allowed to wear religious symbols or clothing has arisen in all recent elections.<\/p>\n
The issue of whether public servants should be allowed to wear religious symbols or clothing has arisen in all recent elections.<\/p>\n Last September the province passed a religious neutrality law that bars people from wearing face coverings when giving or receiving a public service.<\/p>\n It did not specifically mention the Muslim faith, but critics said it targeted Muslim women who wear veils that cover the face.<\/p>\n The bill had been proposed by the ruling Liberal government two years ago.<\/p>\n Since passage, it has been put on hold while it faces a human rights challenge in court.<\/p>\n The law only applies to veils that cover the face, and would not affect women who wear the hijab, which only covers the hair and neck.<\/p>\n But Ms Lamrhari, who could become the first police officer in the province to wear a hijab, has raised a new issue.<\/p>\n The provincial police academy, which oversees her education, said it would issue a ruling on whether trainees can wear religious head coverings in the next few months.<\/p>\n The Montreal police do not have a rule either way.<\/p>\n Officers in Canada’s federal police force, the RCMP, have been wearing religious head coverings since the 1990s.<\/p>\n Police in the Canadian cities of Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver are also allowed to wear head coverings.<\/p>\n Both politicians from the progressive Parti Quebecois and the centre-right Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec have said she should not be allowed to wear a hijab and serve on the police force.<\/p>\n “[Our) government would forbid any religious symbols for any employee of the state who’s in a position of authority,” Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec politician Genevi\u00e8ve Guilbault said.<\/p>\n These remarks have caused uproar.<\/p>\n The mayor of Montreal has thrown her support behind Ms Lamrhari as has the provincial Liberal Justice Minister St\u00e9phanie Vall\u00e9e.<\/p>\n “This young woman was born in Quebec,” Ms Vall\u00e9e said.<\/p>\n “She wants to join the police force where we don’t have a lot of women, let alone a lot of diversity.<\/p>\n “And the opposition are telling her, ‘You know what, you can study, but if we govern, we won’t allow you.'”<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Sondos](\"https:\/\/ichef-1.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/9064\/production\/_100846963_sondros.jpg\")
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