Alexandre Taillefer, the entrepreneur behind XPND, Téo Taxi, and the man who directed the provincial Liberal party's election campaign, says the party could win francophone votes by changing its position on religious symbols.
He made the suggestion during Monday's swearing-in ceremony for 29 MNAs elected on Oct. 1, pointing to the matter as one reason the Coalition Avenir Quebec won a majority.
The CAQ has said it wants to ban the wearing of religious symbols by civic employees such as police officers, judges, prison guards, and teachers, while leaving the crucifix in the National Assembly under the bizarre claim that it is not a religious icon.
The 'reasonable accommodation' debate has dogged Quebec for the past decade, and in 2008 previous Liberal premier Jean Charest appointed two scholars, Charles Taylor and Gerard Bouchard, to analyze the issue.
The pair came to the conclusion that certain authority figures should not wear religious symbols, among 37 other recommendations, including removing the crucifix in the National Assembly.
However in 2017 Taylor said he'd had a change of heart and said those recommendations were a mistake, especially in the wake of the divisive strife prompted by the Parti Quebecois's proposed Charter of Values
"There have been discussions on the Bouchard-Taylor question. Do we need to find a compromise? It's something that's going to be on the table but it's certainly not for me to judge," said Taillefer.
Pierre Arcand, the interim leader of the Liberal party, immediately squashed that idea.
"One thing is for sure: there is no compromise on our values, on the values of the Quebec Liberal party. We'll see what kind of motion they make, what kind of law they want to come up with, and then we'll take a formal position. But one thing is for sure: there will be no compromise on our values.
Arcand said that Taillefer was speaking only for himself, and not for the party as a whole.
Taillefer has expressed interest in the Liberal leadership, although he has never run for public office.
