Comparisons are being made about the Quebec government's Bill 21, which bars some public-sector employees from wearing hijabs, kippas, turbans and other religious dress at work, and they're urging to Quebecers to cover their faces in public to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
MONTREAL -- Three years ago, Warda Lacoste was at the centre of a fight against Quebec's attempt to ban religious face coverings for people who were giving or receiving public services.
These days, Lacoste, 36, said there is something strange about seeing Quebec Premier Francois Legault urge Quebecers to cover their faces in public to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Legault government's Bill 21 bars some public-sector employees in positions of authority from wearing hijabs, kippas, turbans and other religious dress at work. It also stipulates that people receiving and giving public services must do so with their faces uncovered, though there is an exception for anyone "whose face is covered for reasons of health."
Legault has not made wearing a mask mandatory, however, telling reporters that it would be legally difficult to implement such a measure. "We're not excluding it, but for right now, we're not there yet," he told reporters on Wednesday. COVID-19 masks make people feel secure and that "they're being protected from possible disease," Reitz explained, whereas "there are very strong stereotypes that people have of Muslim women wearing traditional clothing," such as face coverings.
Lacoste said she would love it if wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic would eventually shift the discussion around religious face-coverings in Quebec, as well.
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