Category Archives: Federal NDP

Thomas Mulcair says that controversial Quebec secularism bill is a ‘non-starter’

Posted on by

Jennifer Ditchburn, Canadian Press | 13/08/26

Federal NDP Leader Tom Mulcair visits the Nova Scotia legislature in Halifax on Monday, Aug. 26, 2013. Mulcair has come out against the "principal" of the leaked Quebec secularism proposal.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair visits the Nova Scotia legislature in Halifax on Monday, Aug. 26, 2013. Mulcair has come out against the “principal” of the leaked Quebec secularism proposal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew VaughanFederal

OTTAWA — Another federal politician is venturing into the turbulent debate over religious freedom and Quebec’s proposed secular charter.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair had earlier avoided commenting on the so-called charter of Quebec values, calling it a trial balloon.

A leaked media report — which the Parti Quebecois government has not denied — said the charter would ban public employees from wearing religious head coverings and other religious symbols at work.

Mulcair now says he opposes anything that might scapegoat certain kinds of Quebecers.

“I don’t want to see scapegoating, particularly of Muslim women,” Mulcair told reporters on Parliament Hill on Monday.

“That seems to be one of the particular targets here. So we’ll wait and see what’s in it.”

Parti Quebecois Leader Pauline Marois says a charter of values will unite Quebecers. A Leger Marketing poll released this week suggests a majority of Quebecers support the idea behind such a charter, although nearly half also think it will create divisions.

Mulcair and most of his caucus come from Quebec ridings — a fact that might explain his reluctance to come out too strongly against the proposals.

He says he won’t support legislation that goes against the recommendations of a 2008 provincial commission on accommodating cultural communities.

That commission recommended that judges, police officers and others in the legal or law enforcement arenas be barred from wearing religious symbols, but exempted teachers, doctors and other public servants.

“If there’s anything in what Madame Marois is proposing that goes against that, then for us it’s an absolute non-starter and we will stand up strongly against it,” said Mulcair. “But we haven’t seen the text of anything yet. So rather than going against something that we haven’t seen, we’ll simply state the principle.”

If there’s anything in what Madame Marois is proposing that goes against that, then for us it’s an absolute non-starter and we will stand up strongly against it

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau has been more direct in his criticism of the secularization charter, saying it would promote fear of others and is unworthy of the province.

So far, the Conservative government has said very little about the issue, calling it a provincial matter.

But senior figures in the government did oppose a Quebec soccer league’s ban on turbans earlier this year. The Tories also speak out frequently on protecting religious freedom internationally — Foreign Affairs John Baird underlined that distinction Monday.

“I think one of the things that we made very clear when we launched the office of religious freedom within the Department of Foreign Affairs was that my mandate is strictly outside of the country,” Baird told reporters in Toronto.

“So I’m going to repeat that obviously I’m a big believer in freedom, I’m a big believer in freedom everywhere, but the mandate that I have is in Foreign Affairs.”

The Quebec government has not formally released the details of the proposed charter, but Marois trumpeted it over the weekend.

“We’re moving forward in the name of all the women, all the men, who chose Quebec for our culture, for our freedom, and for our diversity,” she said Sunday at a gathering of young PQ members in Quebec City.

Stephen Harper ‘hasn’t seen anything yet’

Posted on by

Mulcair warns of Senate-scandal grilling when House returns

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says Conservatives should be paying for audit.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair says Conservatives should be paying for audit. Photo: The Canadian Press / Files

August 26, 2013    http://o.canada.com

OTTAWA — Stephen Harper may have bought himself an extra month of peace by proroguing Parliament and delaying the fall session but when he returns in October, he can expect to be back on the hot seat over Senate spending, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair warned Monday

“In the last five weeks of Parliament, the prime minister showed up to answer questions exactly five times. By the time the House finally reconvenes, it will have been five months since he’s had to answer a question,” Mulcair told party faithful during a stop on Parliament Hill as part of the Opposition’s “Roll Up the Red Carpet” campaign to abolish the upper chamber.

“Well, Mr. Harper needs to answer for himself and he needs to answer to Canadians. If Mr. Harper thought the questions last spring were tough, he hasn’t seen anything yet. We’re just getting started.”

Mulcair, who was lauded by political observers last spring for his performance during question period — namely his rapid fire grilling of Conservatives over Senate spending that left them squirming —  returned to Ottawa to draw attention to the prime minister’s absence and rail against the “unelected and unaccountable” Senate.

It’s part of a cross-country campaign to sway public opinion and get provincial leaders on his side in the hopes of winning a mandate in the next election that would allow his party to scrap the so-called chamber sober second thought. It’s a crucial proposition for the NDP which has no senators and would likely struggle to pass legislation if it were to form government.

Mulcair, has yet to explain exactly how he would get rid of the Senate — a complicated proposal the Supreme Court has been asked to clarify — but acknowledged Monday that it wouldn’t be easy even if it is a “vestigial organ that can safely be removed with no harm to the body.

“I intend to meet with the premiers. I know that not all are in agreement. We’ve never had any illusion. We don’t think that this is going to be easy,” he said.

“But we want to start the conversation now, while we’re still in Opposition, to make sure that Canadians understand that we’re serious about it. That we know it’s a profound institutional change but we want to get a mandate to do that as part of the 2015 election.”

Mulcair also reiterated calls for the Conservative Party to pick up the tab for embattled Sen. Pamela Wallin’s $127,000 audit. Not only did Harper initially defend the senator in the House of Commons, he argued the audit later revealed that many of the expenses under question had to do with partisan fundraising efforts.

With the auditor general now set to review the expenses of all senators, Mulcair said both the Liberal and Conservative parties should be prepared to cover the cost should any “irregularities” related to party financing be uncovered.

Mulcair also touched on other priorities in advance of upcoming meetings in Saskatoon where his caucus will hammer out a strategy for the return of Parliament. Mulcair said the “public protection” of Canadians and the erosion of regulations related to rail safety, food security and maritime search and rescue, are among the issues the NDP will explore in the lead up to the next election.

tcohen@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/tobicohen