Former Quebec Premier and candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada Jean Charest formally opposes the law on state secularism, reported the Toronto Star Wednesday evening.
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According to the daily, the spokeswoman for Mr. Charest, Michelle Coates Mather, confirmed that Mr. Charest opposes the law which prohibits the wearing of religious symbols for certain professions. The aspiring Canadian Prime Minister goes so far as to believe that the federal government should intervene to oppose the law, if it ends up before the Supreme Court of Canada.
The question is all the more interesting since, according to the columnist of the Star Althia Raj, Mr. Charest intends to ally himself with another potential candidate for the leadership, the mayor of Brampton Patrick Brown. The latter must officially announce that he is diving into the leadership race on Sunday, while Jean Charest must confirm his candidacy on Thursday.
The two men, who have known each other and his friend for more than 25 years – Mr. Brown goes so far as to attribute to Mr. Charest the reason for his involvement in Conservative politics, intends to help each other and avoid attacking each other to each other during the leadership campaign, the columnist explained.
However, Patrick Brown is one of the most virulent opponents of Bill 21 in the country. The mayor had led his municipal council, last December, to adopt a motion condemning the law, in addition to paying $100,000 to help organizations that denounce it in court to pay their court costs.
In addition, Mayor Brown had urged other mayors across Canada to do the same, leading cities like Toronto and Calgary to condemn Bill 21 in turn.