Charter of Values - PQ Remains on Script

Quebec Politicians Debate Charter of religious neutrality under the Crucifix in the National Assembly

The PQ finally deposited its Charter of Values in the National Assembly Thursday, having renamed it "Charter Affirming The Values Of Secularism And The Religious Neutrality Of The State, As Well As The Equality Of Men And Women, And The Framing Of Accommodation Requests" a dog's breakfast if I ever heard one.

You can read the entire law below;

Quebec's proposed Charter of Values

As you can read, or as I shall summarize, the PQ presented the bill in its harshest form, applying the law to everyone who remotely works for the government, paid directly or indirectly.

The bill would even apply to those outside workers who work for private companies, but on government projects or property, like plumbers, cleaning staff, construction workers or painters hired to work on a government buildings.

The one area where the law remains vague is on the sanction, nowhere does it say what will happen to a worker who is disobeys the law.

14. After a first failure by a personnel member of a public body to comply with the restriction on wearing a religious symbol, dialogue must be engaged in before any disciplinary measure is taken by the public body, in order to remind the person of their obligations and foster their compliance.

What a cop-out!
The clause clearly underscores the PQ's reluctance to define what will happen to those who disobey the law and who exactly will enforce it.

So are we to expect the creation of the 'OQL,' L'office Quebecois de la Laicité, complete with rat lines where people can squeal on scofflaws and where government inspectors may enter schools and hospitals in an effort to ferret out religious offenders.

At any rate, the PQ pretty much stuck to the script that I described in a blog piece I wrote last week; 
No Election? Don't be so sure... 

And so the PQ is playing the game exactly as I described, coming down hard and waiting to see how the polls react.

The CAQ cannot vote for the Bill as is and will be forced to side with the Liberals in defeating the government, knowing full well that will be decimated in the upcoming election.
But to let the bill pass as is, political suicide as well and would split the party to the point of internal destruction.
It will be a political Game of Chicken and test the nerve of both the PQ and the CAQ.

For the PQ, it is a case of poll-watching.
Should the numbers indicate they can win an election toeing the hard line, then they will remain firm.
But if things don't improve, they can always make enough compromises to satisfy the CAQ and remain in power.

All this will play out into the Spring of next year but I am reminded of the famous words of Bobby Burns

"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft a-gley, [often go awry]"

The continued deterioration of the Quebec economy will catch up to the PQ come budget time and it will be a question of either raising taxes or presenting a several billion dollar deficit.

The real test will be job creation which the PQ is desperately trying to cover by spending billions to create jobs.

If the unemployment rate rises any further, while the rate in Canada plummets, the PQ will never survive to see the Charter of Many Words enacted.

For Francois Legault, it is clearly question of being between a rock and a hard place, leaving him with just one viable option.

Vote with the Liberals to defeat the PQ in exchange for a minor partnership in a coalition government.

My dad used to have a favourite saying;

If you can't get the whole loaf of bread, take what you can get.

For Legault, his dream of becoming Premier is dead and so it is decision time. Members of his own caucus already know the party is a lame duck.

And so the political nonsense over the Charter goes on, distracting the population from the very real economic problems that we are ignoring.

Panem et circenses.

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It's the weekend and so let's finish on a humorous note.

My son, his lovely wife and my two grandchildren came in from Brooklyn for the weekend to introduce themselves to the newest member of our family...James, born to my daughter and her husband.

That's not the story....

My son picked up a Remembrance Day Poppy and wore it on his jacket back in the Brooklyn hospital where he works.

A patient asked him what the flower on his lapel represented, because he had seen it on television, on the breast of Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto, who is making news all over the world!

HaHa!!!!

Here's something that I couldn't resist putting together. 

To readers from Toronto or Ontario, don't be offended, as they say in Hollywood, the only bad publicity is no publicity.!!!!!

Crazy Eyes!..Chris Farley & Rob Ford! Separated at Birth?

Have a great weekend!

Bonne fin de semaine!