For months, the CAQ government has said it has the support of many anglophones for its secularism bill, but a poll now shows the majority of English-speaking Quebecers don't support Bill 21.
“It shows that a substantial majority of the community doesn’t think it’s a good idea to have restrictions of any sort,” said Geoffrey Chambers of the Quebec Community Groups Network.
The poll, conducted by Leger Marketing and commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies, shows more than 60 per cent of anglophones think public employees in positions of authority should be allowed to wear religious symbols – meantime, more than 70 per cent of francophones think religious symbols should be banned.
Christopher Skeete, the CAQ’s secretary responsible for Quebec's English-speaking community was not available for comment, but said in April the bill had the support of many. He pointed to a poll commissioned by the party itself that showed 43 per cent of anglophones supported Bill 21.
“It’s false for us to believe that the whole English-community speaks in one voice on this,” he said at the time.
The two-week hearings on Bill 21 wrapped up last week. The government plans to pass the new legislation by the end of session in June.
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