The town of Hampstead held its first meeting since Mayor William Steinberg equated Bill 21 to "peaceful ethnic cleansing."
There were more reporters than residents at the meeting.
In April Steinberg said the CAQ's bill to ban the wearing of certain religious symbols by civil servants was "an attempt to remove those who practice minority religions, leaving only non-believers and Christians in Quebec."
He was quickly condemned for his remarks but stands by them.
On Monday Steinberg said the Bill 21 hearings is proving his point.
"The most important thing is to not have the notwithstanding clause. Having the notwithstanding clause effectively admits that this is a discriminatory bill, a bill that goes against religious freedom," said Steinberg.
Councillor Leon Elfassy said Steinberg's comments reflect poorly on Hampstead.
"We have to be very careful about the way we speak in public so the mayor made, in my opinion, a mistake by using those words," said Elfassy.
