Jean-Franois Lise wants to ban religious symbols for daycare workers, teachers

The leader of thePartiQubcoiswants to prohibit teachers and daycare workers from wearing religious symbols, as part of a new plan that draws on elements from the party's failed secular charter.

Jean-FranoisLisesaid the measure wouldbe applied gradually, and not to current employees.

The ban would also apply to any civil servant in a position of authority.

"Listen, when you work for the state you should have a duty of not showing your convictions,"Lisesaid Thursday in Quebec City.

Lise made the proposal while outlining his party's new policy on secularism, immigration and the promotion of the French language.

• PROFILE|Jean-FranoisLise, thePQ'sideas man, takes over

He alsowants to strengthen the French languageability of new arrivals, making sure economic immigrants have at least an intermediate levelbefore coming to Quebec. A PQ government wouldcreate a new citizenship test.

At the same time, he pledged to depoliticizethe immigration process, leaving it up to the province's auditor general to determine immigration quotas, as stated during the PQ leadership campaign.

Proposalsgofurther than during PQ leadership bid

Lisesaid a PQ governmentwould table a bill within six months oftaking power, that would:

• Force civil servants and people accessing public services to do so with an uncovered face.
• Ban thechadorforpublicservants. Thechadorisa largepiece of clothwrapped around the head and upper body leaving only the face exposed,worn especially by Muslim women.
• Ban any civil servant in a position of authority, including judges, prison guardsand police,from wearing religious symbols.
• The ban would also applytoprimary and secondary school teachers and daycare workers, in a move that goes further thanLise'sposition during the PQ leadership campaign.

Secularism debate, again

Lise wasa key proponent of the party's secular charter put forward by the PQ under former leader Pauline Marois. The charter wasintroduced in 2013 but not implemented after the party lost the 2014 election.

The proposed law sparkedheateddebate over individual rights and the role of the stateand drew thousands to the streets in protest.

Quebec's Liberal government has since introduced a bill of its own addressing the religious neutrality of the state.

The proposed lawdoesn't go nearly as far thePQ's2013proposal, seeking to force people offering or receiving a public service to do so with their face uncovered.

It has faced criticism from the opposition PQ and Coalition Avenir Qubec.

Lise made identity rather sovereignty a focus of his leadership campaign, when he called for a ban on the burka in public spaces and suggested the clothing could be used to conceal a weapon.

"I'm seeing that there are three enormous challenges for us Quebecersand the rest of the planet, in the 21st century," Lisetold CBC'sQuebec AMduring the leadership race.

"The first is global warming. The second is inequality, and the third is the rise of Islamic fundamentalism."

Watch: Lise and the state of Quebec sovereignty