Quebec's Latest Stand - NYTimes.com MONTREAL - Angela Merkel deemed multiculturalism - the idea that social harmony is best achieved through celebrating our differences - a complete failure in Germany. David Cameron claimed it facilitated the rise of radical Islam in Britain and called for "stronger societies and identities at home," along with a "much more active, muscular liberalism" that "believes in certain values and actively promotes them." Last fall, the European backlash against multiculturalism crossed the Atlantic and landed in Quebec, when the governing Parti Québécois proposed the Charter of Values, which sets out a vision of government that breaks sharply with Canada's broader multicultural ethos. Quebec, of course, with its distinctive religious history, feminist bent and linguistically diverse metropolis of Montreal, has never been reluctant to go against the Canadian grain. In 1977, the province passed the French Language Charter, which made French its sole official language and required immigrants to attend French public schools (about 80 percent of Quebecers are native French speakers). Not content to use clean hydroelectric power as its primary energy source, it ratified the Kyoto Accord - an agreement Canada itself reneged on - and teamed up with California last year to introduce North America's first carbon-trading market. And this year, all of its public sector workers and most private ones will be required to adhere to equal-compensation laws, the strongest in North America, that ensure men and women are paid on a par. Quebecers" dissent from the rest of Canada extends as deep as the country's Constitution. In 1982, a clause stating the need for the "preservation and enhancement of the multicultural heritage of Canadians" was written into a new Constitution. It is one important reason Quebec, where a quarter of Canada's people live, has refused to ratify this text that nonetheless holds de facto authority over the province. The Charter of Values is the latest expression of Quebec's dim view of multiculturalism. Among other things, the bill affirms the secular nature of Quebec's government and denies religious requests for accommodations of dress in public sector employment: After a transition period, government workers would have to refrain from wearing conspicuous religious symbols - for instance, the Muslim hijab, the Sikh turban or the Christian cross - while on the job. As usual, though, when Quebec veers from the Canadian path, controversy breaks out. The Ottowan government has even vowed to challenge the charter in the national courts if it passes. Critics are claiming that the bill infringes on the liberties of Muslims and other minorities. Oddly, though, they do not balk at the current ban, for all government workers, on the expression of other social or political beliefs through their attire. For no clear reason, multiculturalists seem to think some personal preferences are more permissibly expressed by government workers than others. In any case, a truly secular state should not permit the symbols of any religion, whether of the majority or a minority, to breach the wall between church and state advocated by no less than Thomas Jefferson; hence the Parti Québécois" decision to remove the crucifix that famously hangs in the legislature. The charter is actually just the next logical step along the path of secularization. Until 1960, when its authority began to dip, the Roman Catholic Church held much sway in Quebec. It was only 20 years ago that Christian school boards were secularized and only 10 that Catholic and Protestant classes were moved out of the schools and into the churches. Members of the Catholic Church in Quebec used to wear religious gear in the public sector, but gradually shed it in the "60s and "70s. So the return of religious vestments in the public sector can be seen as a regression. Interestingly, women in Quebec are especially likely to see it so. And indeed, the defense of gender equality is a pillar of the charter. It states that no one, man or woman, can work for the state with face covered - for instance, by the facial veils of the Muslim burqa and niqab - because such an act would imply inequality and segregation. The bill also clearly signals that no one can refuse to be served by a female public worker. Quebec's approach to the separation of church and state is thus rigorous, progressive and modern. It is, in fact, in cosmopolitan Montreal, not in more homogeneous French regions of Quebec, that one finds the strongest supporters of the religious neutrality of state employees" attire: 61 percent of the Francophone majority living in the city. Admittedly, Montreal's Anglophone minority is very much opposed, five to one. But anyone familiar with Quebec knows its distinctive mix of European (especially French) and American values. That European courts have granted considerable legal leeway to implement measures that promote state neutrality and gender equality is significant to Quebecers. And the ban on public employees" wearing religious and other symbols has actually been on the books in France for about a century: Christian professors, Jewish doctors and Muslim judges know that, from 9 to 5, they work in a neutral zone where such symbols are out of place. If the charter does pass - a vote is expected in the spring - the very federal Constitution that Quebec has never approved might be invoked to strike it down. But the Canadian Supreme Court has a history of surprising governments in its major rulings, and it has become less enamored with multiculturalism in recent decisions. In fact, throughout the country, multiculturalists have been increasingly on the defensive in recent years, not least because of the concern over the multiplication of ethnic enclaves. Around 40 percent of Canadians outside Quebec support the Quebec Charter. In a very real sense, the debate over Quebec's charter may be the last stand of Canada's multiculturalist experiment. Whatever the immediate outcome, it may be only a matter of time until Canadian multiculturalism finds itself buried alongside its European siblings. Jean-François Lisée is Quebec minister for the Montreal area and for international affairs.