The roles of immigrants and Anglophones in Quebec society were hotly debated on several fronts on Wednesday.
In Trois-Rivieres, a provincial commission looking into Canada's "reasonable accommodation" provisions, rolled into town. There it got an earful on immigrants, religious tolerance, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The commission was started up after the town of Herouxville enacted a code of conduct earlier this year for immigrants.
The town's "Code of Life" gained international notoriety after councillors stated that anyone wanting to live in the town - located between Quebec City and Montreal -- had to live by certain rules.
Although the town of 1,300 has almost no visible minorities, councillors announced that certain practices contradicted the values of Quebecers. These included stoning, burning with acid, and genital mutilation. Councillors were also against the display of overt religious symbols such as hijabs in public life.
Herouxville Coun. Andre Drouin told commissioners Wednesday that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms "is a tool to destroy our country" and that judges should drop legal protections for religion.
Otherwise, warned Drouin, the province would have to separate from Canada.
"If there is some kind of religious accommodation to be asked or to be given, don't ask us, ask your God,'' Drouin said according to the Canadian Press.
Drouin, who got a standing ovation at one point from some of the people gathered for the commission, was not alone in uttering separatist threats. Others also complained about the condescension they perceive about their views from people in Montreal and the rest of Canada.
New immigrants were also the order of business for the province's political leaders Wednesday. Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois continues to come under fire after proposing that only Quebec residents proficient in French be allowed to participate in the province's political life.
Over the weekend, she said that if immigrants to the province did not learn French, they would be unable to run for municipal or provincial political office. They would even be barred from running for their local school boards.
Premier Jean Charest has said Marois's proposed "Identity Bill" was "backward-looking," and ADQ leader Mario Dumont stated it wasn't a "serious" proposal. Even former PQ leader Bernard Landry said Wednesday it would face too many constitutional hurdles -- something which legal experts from across the country have also suggested.
Landry said that Marois should drop the plan requiring all Canadians who move to Quebec learn French before entering political life. Instead, he suggested that Marois just concentrate her proposal on immigrants from outside the country.
Marois softened her position on the bill Wednesday. She said she was willing to submit her proposal to Quebec's Human Rights Commission rather than the legislature to see if it would be constitutional.
Constitutional or not, immigrant rights and anti-racism advocates say Marois's proposals and the anti-immigrant rhetoric heard at the hearings into reasonable accommodation are disheartening.
"We're slipping into possibly a kind of unthinkable style of governance that will basically jeopardize minority rights in a liberal democracy like ours," race relations advocate Fo Niemi told CTV in Montreal.
Referring to the Herouxville, Montreal resident Asmaa Ibnouzahir told the Canadian Press that the town's code of life is sending a message to immigrants that Herouxville does not welcome certain religious groups.
"It's another way to say, 'We don't want Muslims,'" said Ibnouzahir.
"For them, all Muslims are related to stoning, genital mutilation. They're saying, 'We want people to come to Herouxville who look like us, who don't look different, because we don't like differences.'"
