Quebec Premier Pauline Marois is hoping to lead the Parti Québécois to a majority government on April 7, and she's planning to do it the old-fashioned way: by appealing to the fearful and those stuck in the past.
She has targeted "overt religious symbols" in her much ballyhooed charter of values, a transparent attempt to court the hearts and minds of the xenophobic.
The great writer Anatole France once commented that the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets, and steal loaves of bread. By the same token, Marois' charter of values forbids Christians, Muslims and Sikhs alike from wearing hijabs, niqabs, and turbans in the public service.
If Marois is successful next month, it will be because of her focus on symbols.
Her focus on the tangible has been far less successful.
Quebec lost 26,000 jobs in February. The province's unemployment rate now sits at 7.8.
Those numbers are a stark contrast to her lead in the polls, which currently sits at 22 points.
And more than any other provincial race, Quebec's election could carry national consequences.
After its failure nearly 20 years ago, Quebec separatism is once more in the spotlight.
While shifting demographics may not be in the favour of the Yes side in another referendum, it is a painful, bruising process for the country as a whole.
The rewards sought by those who push for an independent Quebec are mainly symbolic. We urge Quebecers to choose their symbols carefully.
