Quebec’s alliance of public sector administrators told Bill 62 hearings on Wednesday it needs training and specific guidelines to be able to separate legitimate religious accommodation requests from ones made for bogus reasons or personal preferences.
Alliance president Anne Gosselin — who represents 3,400 administrators from 75 government departments and Crown corporations — told MNAs that three per cent of requests invoke religion and are handled “on the fly.”
“Is the request really being made because of religion? People don’t feel very well equipped,” Gosselin said, adding some managers are unfamiliar with the customs, traditions and obligations associated with different religions.
Bill 62 proposes general guidelines for religious accommodations in the province, notably that they respect the principles of equality between men and women and state neutrality.
“What are the objectively recognizable religions?” Gosselin asked.
Some belief systems may not be “religions,” Coalition Avenir Québec MNA Nathalie Roy chimed in, recalling the story of Isabelle Narayana, a Montreal Pastafarian who wanted to pose for her driver’s licence photo wearing a pirate attire.
Narayana, who claimed to belong to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, went to court after the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) said she couldn’t wear the pirate hat in the photo.
Gosselin said training would lead to a “common understanding” of religions and what consists a reasonable accommodation. For example, she said, an accommodation may be deemed reasonable at a Centre local d’emploi (CLE) in Montreal but unreasonable in Blanc-Sablon, where resources are fewer.
She added the Human Rights Commission’s existing virtual guide on processing reasonable accommodations is insufficient.
Gosselin was supported Wednesday by the group Communication, ouverture et rapprochement interculturel (COR) and Quebec’s federation of private schools, which argued guidelines should be clear. “If a parent comes to a school meeting wearing a face covering, what tools do teachers have to intervene?” asked Philippe Malette.
Private schools in Quebec already have sets of rules, but they need to be updated, Malette told MNAs.
COR president Samira Laouni said it should be clear how many days employees can take off because of their religion. She insisted the bill — which must be adopted for the sake of “social cohesion,” she said — also include municipalities.
Lawyer François Côté argued Wednesday the bill would allow for more — not less — religion in Quebec institutions.
“This is a legislative failure,” Côté said.