The Quebec Human-Rights Commission says medicare service counters are not required to offer special treatment to clients in three cases involving service to, or by, ethnic Quebecers.
In all three cases, individuals wanted RAMQ staff to make special exceptions to its service:
In one case, a client calling in to a medicare call centre refused to be served by an agent who had an accent.
In a second case, a client at a medicare service counter refused to be served by a staffer who was wearing a traditional Muslim covering called a hijab.
In the third case, a woman wearing a niqab, the Muslim head-to-toe covering worn by about 25 women in Quebec, demanded to be served by a man instead of a woman at a RAMQ outlet.
Immigration Minister Yolande James said she agreed with the decision on the niqab, adding that the government is planning to impose new laws concerning religious symbols.
"We will be moving forward and we are taking the appropriate time to look at different acts that we will consider," she said.
The whole debate is unnecessary, said Salam Elmenyawi, president of the Muslim Council Of Montreal.
"I think we should leave society to adjust and to manage on its own. People will always find their way through; intervening and making laws will not help the situation," he said.
