The promise by the French Canadian nationalist Parti Quebecois (PQ) to legislate for a "Secularist Charter" has heightened ethnic and religious tensions ahead of the provincial elections on 4 September.The PQ leader Pauline Marois made the announcement last week when she was introducing Djemila Benhabib, an Algerian-born immigrant, at a PQ nominating meeting last week.
The charter would ban the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols and clothing while exempting crucifixes around the neck and the large crucifix in the provincial National Assembly.
Ms Benhabib, who supports the charter, suggested, and later retracted, that the crucifix be removed from Quebec's National Assembly.
The Catholic Mayor of Saguenay, Jean Tremblay, said he objected to "having someone who doesn't understand our culture at all [making] the rules".