The Catholic church had and extreme hold on society and politics right up to the end of the 1950's. People had a cultural revolution and threw off the yoke of the church and have embraced secularism ever since. Secularism is a big deal to people in Quebec. Gone are publicly funded religious schools.They have no Catholic Separate System like we have in Ontario. What they have now is an equally applied discrimination where it applies to those working in the public service. The questions is, does the belief in secularism, and the expectation of secularism by the people when served by public servants, hold the same importance as the ability to wear garment(s), or jewelry, which displays that affiliation with a religion in a public service job? I understand the Federal Bill of Rights says no, but the law is often defined by the will of the people. Also, of note, is that Quebec is not a signatory to our constitution, so calling its behavior unconstitutional is of little consequence.
Is it an ideal situation? No, because I don't believe there is a compromise between secular and religious rights. Someone is going to feel their rights are being ignored. It is a much better solution than just singling out a specific garment, worn by a small number of people affiliated with a specific religion. That would be bad.
As an aside, when I first started teaching decades ago, it was in a rural hamlet in North Western Ontario near the Minnesota/Ontario border. I was told, "It will not go well for you if you are seen drinking in local bars or restaurants. Do your drinking in private." This was in the 1980s. People, in public service, often have different expectations placed on them the rest of society may not even know about.
