It鈥檚 going over so beautifully in Quebec, we should try something similar here.
It鈥檚 time to talk about a B.C. Charter of Values.
The Parti Qu茅b茅cois has distinguished itself by proposing a law to limit public servants from wearing conspicuous religious symbols.
It鈥檚 being construed in different ways. Some see it as a courageous attempt to shield impressionable taxpayers from seeing crucifixes or having to deal with someone wearing a hijab or niqab.
Others see it as a cunning baby step toward curbing the rights of ethnic minorities who don鈥檛 view separatism with the same passion that the PQ does.
One of the overlooked reasons it is so controversial is that it covers so many people. Quebec has public servants the way B.C. has trees. They include a broad swath of society, so hundreds of thousands of people will have to check themselves for obvious displays of religious symbols before they leave for work each morning. Hundreds more will be hired to administer the law.
B.C. has fewer, but they work in an environment that is seething with sectarian strife. So an official requirement of neutrality would be for their own good. One false move in this province when it comes to spiritual issues, like oil pipelines, and you鈥檙e on the carpet before you can say 鈥渇ive conditions.鈥�
No area is safe. If you鈥檙e wearing a salmon logo, you better make sure it鈥檚 not a farmed salmon. People notice this kind of thing.
The media are fixating on the Quebec requirement that people鈥檚 faces be visible.
But it鈥檚 rare here to see a public employee wearing a veil. The only time B.C. civil servants cover their faces is on election day.
Religious headgear of any sort is a touchy subject. Take Canuck ballcaps, for instance. Try asking someone to remove theirs and you get a quick lesson in how deeply their convictions run. But thousands of people in B.C. come from lands with different cultures and beliefs.
There are even Toronto Maple Leaf fans trying to make lives for themselves here.
Imagine how they feel 鈥� standing in a welfare line, say 鈥� when they get to the caseworker and find her wearing a Sedin jersey. They deserve to be treated with respect.
Public servants should also be considerate of both sides in the age-old B.C. argument over Gore-Tex vs. Cowichan sweaters. Each side has valid points to make. It鈥檚 not for government to decide or promote one over the other. Too many people鈥檚 feelings have been hurt already. Public employees should refrain from wearing either while on duty.
One of the most contentious parts of the Quebec bill is the exceptions. The restrictions won鈥檛 apply to elected politicians. This is wrong. If politicians are going to start writing secular dress codes, they should live by them, too.
Any B.C. charter would have to include the MLAs. So all those Tommy Douglas icons the New Democrats wear and the W.A.C. Bennett bobble-heads common to the Liberal side would have to be shelved.
Keeping officialdom neutral would allow the rest of us to pursue our own spiritual values without being offended by seeing a bureaucrat flaunting his or her own beliefs.
Quebec Premier Pauline Marois said it鈥檚 all about bringing people together. I totally get that. People are shaking their heads together in unison right across the country.
The best part of a charter is how it flushes the federal MPs into taking sides. A B.C. Charter of Values would secularize the public service on all the metaphysical issues that grip B.C. 鈥� Lululemon pants, old-growth forests, grow-ops, tattoos on the middle-aged, farmed salmon.
MPs would flock to take sides and B.C. would edge Quebec out of the spotlight to take its rightful place as the centre of attention. Couldn鈥檛 happen soon enough.
