Quebec’s deputy premier and public security minister broke with party lines Tuesday, as she suggested offenders who don’t uphold the ban on religious symbols could be reported to police.
Public Security Minister Genevieve Guilbault raised eyebrows after the comments, which she made to French reporters.
When CTV Montreal followed up with more questions, she wouldn't repeat it in English.
“When the law will be adopted, everyone will have to comply. That's what I said,” said Guilbault. “The law is the law, and everyone has to comply.”
So far, the CAQ government has struggled to explain how it would enforce the contentious Bill 21, which it hopes to adopt before the end of the session, in mid-June. The bill would restrict public workers in positions of authority -- teachers and police officers, among a long list of other roles -- from wearing religious symbols, including hijabs, kippas and crosses.
Reporters have repeatedly asked what the consequences will be if people ignore the rules.
The government can't or won't answer, despite several Montreal-area municipalities and two English school boards saying they don't plan to enforce the bill.
After Guilbault’s suggestion police could be called, Justice Minister Sonia LeBel swiftly stepped in to contradict her colleague.
“It's not a police matter in those types of situations,” said LeBel, who said she finds it troubling that some opponents to the province's proposed secularism law are suggesting conscientious objection as an option.
LeBel says calls for "civil disobedience" are irresponsible. While there are no sanctions provided for in the law, she says the province could seek injunctions to ensure the rules are followed.
She says the province doesn't intend to go that route, but it would be available to them to ensure the law of the land is respected.
Premier Francois Legault also weighed in, chalking Guilbault’s comments up to inexperience.
“There are ministers who have a bit less experience and fall into journalists' traps,” he said.
Later in the afternoon, Guilbault came out to clarify her earlier comments, saying it would fall to the organizations affected by the bill to enforce the rules. She made no mention of police.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, the minister responsible for Bill 21, is urging the municipalities and school boards that are against it to bring their concerns directly to the National Assembly.
“I invite all the organizations who have a point of view to say their point of view and exchange with me in the parliamentary commission,” he said.
Ultimately, even if they disagree with the rules, Jolin-Barrette said they will have to apply them.
“That's the way it works here in Quebec, that's the way it works in our democracy. That's the way it works because we support the rule of law, and that's what applies here in our province and our country,” he said.
The Liberals are calling it ‘the bulldozer method,’ with leader Pierre Arcand saying the government is moving far too fast on such a sensitive subject.
Legault fired back, saying the Liberals were too slow by letting the debate over religious symbols drag on for 11 years.
In the halls of the National Assembly, Legault's Sunday evening Facebook address to Quebecers is still making waves.
“It was a statement that was so aggressive to non-CAQ voters. The statement said: ‘You're with me, or else.’ That's what it said, and this is not a way to bring people together,” said Liberal MNA Gaetan Barrette.
- With files from The Canadian Press
