MONTREAL - Government subsidized daycares will never be confused for places of worship again.
And not everyone is particularly happy about it.
Family Minister Yolande James announced Friday that the government will be banning all religious education in subsidized daycares as of June 1.
She says about 100 daycare centres in the province will have to change their practices because of the new rules.
"There are a number of daycare services that do specifically say that their intention is to teach," James said at a news conference Friday. "So our goal is to accompany those daycares in changing that."
James said having Christmas trees or lighting menorahs at Hanukkah will still be allowed.
"There's a difference between teaching religion and observing the cultural aspects of a holiday or tradition," James said.
At the CPE West End in NDG, that is already the standard being followed.
"We believe the symbols help explain the culture," director Paula Lamarre told CTV Montreal's Cindy Cherwin of the menorah lighting ceremony they performed during Hanukkah. "But there was no prayer, nothing specific. Just the lighting of the candles - just exposure."
Those who disregard the new directive will be subject to various sanctions, including the possible loss of their government subsidy.
Daycare workers will be allowed to say their prayers but not permitted to make children recite them.
Religious leaders including rabbis, imams and priests will no longer be allowed to visit daycare centres.
And while religious symbols such as crucifixes will still be allowed, they cannot be used as an educational tool.
Some say rules go too far, others say not far enough
The Liberal government's move does not please everyone, and for different reasons.
The Association of Jewish Daycares refused comment until it can properly examine the new policy, but the head of the Muslim Council of Montreal sees the new rules as an affront to religious freedom.
"We consider this an infringement on the rights of religious communities to educate their children according to our constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedons of Quebec," said Salam Elmenyawi, adding his organization would support any subsidized daycare that wants to fight the new rules in court.
On the other side of the coin, the Parti Québécois has been calling for just such a measure for the past eight months, and the party's families critic Carole Poirier said Friday the government announcement did not go far enough.
For instance, Poirier pointed out that the new guidelines would not forbid day care centres from selecting children based on the religion of their parents. She also noted that the number of inspectors currently visiting day care centres is already insufficient, and that will present a major obstacle to making sure the new rules are respected.
Poirier says the new inspectors promised by the government in April still have not been hired.
The association of private day cares, meanwhile, is concerned that inspectors will be called on to make judgment calls on a subject that is "as sensitive and delicate as that of religion."
"We have serious concerns about how this issue will be dealt with on a day to day basis," said the association's director general, Jean-Francois Belleau.
The association promises to be vigilant on this issue and to denounce all situations it deems "abusive."
