Sovereignty ticket to Quebec secularism, says councillor

A Quebec municipal councillor whose town adopted a controversial code of conduct for immigrants this year says sovereignty is the province's ticket to avoid accommodating different religious beliefs.

Hérouxville Coun. André Drouin told CBC News that religious accommodation should be removed from the Canadian Charter of Rights — and if that doesn't happen, Quebec's independence would give the province freedom to decide what beliefs it is willing to tolerate.

Drouin plans to present his ideas on religious rights at the Bouchard-Taylor commission this week when the hearings into so-called reasonable accommodation travel to central Quebec later this week.

Working toward sovereignty in order to opt out of the Canadian Charter is "very appealing" and an "intelligent decision" for Quebec, Drouin said.

Quebec should not tolerate any religious or cultural accommodation of immigrants, he said.

Drouin's code of conduct for immigrants made headlines around the world in early 2007 and was criticized as being xenophobic.

The non-binding code included bans on public stoning and women covering their faces in the small town outside Trois-Rivières.

It prompted the Quebec government to create the Bouchard-Taylor commission, which was asked to investigate the thorny issue of religious and cultural accommodation of immigrants.

So far the commission has heard from hundreds of Quebecers who have weighed in on a range of issues from kosher foods, hijabs, soccer and religious instruction in schools.

Drouin said opinions expressed at the hearings confirm his belief that religious accommodation creates more harm than good.