Francois Legault hasn’t even taken office as premier yet, but he’ll already find himself the subject of a protest on Sunday.
A coalition of anti-racism and immigration advocacy groups are planning a demonstration against several of Legault’s proposed policies related to immigration and secularization, calling the policies “racist.”
Among those policies are proposed cuts to immigration levels and a ban on public servants from wearing religious symbols such as the Muslim hijab or Jewish kippah.
During the campaign, Legault vowed to cut immigration levels from 50,000 people per year to 40,000 and to have newcomers take a French test or values test within three years of arriving in the province or face expulsion.
On Tuesday, controversial far-right French politician Marine Le Pen took to Twitter to praise Legault’s victory and policies. The next day, Legault responded, saying he rejects any association with Le Pen and saying that Quebec will continue to welcome thousands of immigrants each year, but in a way that promotes integration.
Je rejette toute association avec Mme Le Pen. Les Québecois sont accueillants et généreux. Nous allons accueillir des milliers d’immigrants chaque année, mais nous allons le faire d’une façon qui favorise l'intégration. On va en prendre moins, mais on va en prendre soin.
— François Legault (@francoislegault) October 3, 2018
Anti-racism activist Scott Weinstein said Legault didn’t go far enough in distancing himself.
“He shouldn’t just disassociate himself from Marine Le Pen, he should explain why he disassociates himself from Le Pen, that he’s going to commit to rejecting these forms of racism and division, but he’s not doing that,” he said. “She supported him for very logical reasons, he’s introducing legislation that is racist and divisive, that is part of her vision of white supremacy.”
