It was not the unions’ finest hour.  Quebec union federations made their presentations to the Bouchard-Taylor hearings on “reasonable accommodation.” The presentations of the two largest union organizations reflected a lack of tolerance for diversity.  Claudette Carbonneau, president of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), wants to forbid teachers and judges from wearing the hijab and calls for a “charter of secularism.” She sees such a charter as necessary to avoid . . . “anarchy”! While René Roy, secretary general of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ), Quebec’s largest labor organization, disagreed for the need for such a charter, it did agree with the CSN regarding religious garb, adding that such vestments should also be forbidden for judges and police.  Back in 1990, the Canadian government decided that, in accordance with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a Sikh could become a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and still wear a turban rather than regulation head-covering.  The FTQ would apparently like to reverse that decision and also apply their restriction to lawyers as well.  

The Centrale du syndicats du Québec (CSQ), which represents the largest number of school teachers, was more open.  It wants a law defining common values, but it also gave the hearing a detailed description of accommodations that are being made.  Most, interestingly, are for various Christian groups.  In Montreal, for example, Jehovah’s Witnesses want their children excluded from Halloween celebrations, and Christian parents from a variety of denominations object to sex education.  These requests cause little difficulty. What is glaringly missing from the CSQ presentation is the issue of teachers’ attire.  And what is glaringly missing from all these union presentations is whether it is okay for a teacher to wear a crucifix.