MONTREAL — Appeasing fears over the practices of religious minorities is the wrong reason to change the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, Canadian Jewish Congress, Quebec region (CJC), told the parliamentary commission holding consultations on a proposed law to amend the charter.

CJC says there is no need for the new legislation, Bill 63, which aims to reinforce women’s rights, because gender equality is already adequately protected under the Quebec and Canadian charters.

CJC officials Adam Atlas and Michelle Serrano warned the government against tinkering with the province’s supreme law in reaction to “fears” expressed by some Quebecers about religious expression in the public sphere.

“The Jewish community of Quebec was profoundly distressed by certain opinions of a xenophobic character” expressed during the public hearings on “reasonable accommodation” held this fall, the organization’s brief to the commission notes, suggesting this may not be the right climate for altering the province’s fundamental laws.

CJC contends that amending the Quebec charter to include a clause expressly stating that the rights it contains are guaranteed equally for women and men will do little to improve the situation of women. Moreover, it may even have “negative consequences” for the primacy of the charter, it says. CJC is of the opinion that modifying the charter, especially in the face of a “political tempest,” will have the effect of eroding its value as “a pillar of the Quebec identity.”

Bill 63 was tabled by Christine St. Pierre, the minister responsible for the status of women, in December. The bill was tabled in the wake of the public hearings on “reasonable accommodation” in the fall, where concerns were frequently expressed that some religious practices, mainly those of Islam and Judaism, undermine the equality of women.

The provincial advisory group, the Conseil du statut de la femme, recommended that the charter be amended in order that the equality of men and women cannot be superseded in the name of freedom of religion.

Jewish groups were concerned that such a modification would create a “hierarchy” of rights and jeopardize religious freedom.

Bill 63 does not explicitly put gender equality before freedom of religion, but it does signal that gender equality is a fundamental tenet of Quebec society. It proposes two specific amendments.

In the preamble, the equality of men and women will now be not only a “foundation” of  “justice” and “peace,” but one of “freedom” as well.

The second modification is the addition of Article 49.2, which states: “The rights and freedoms set out in the present charter are guaranteed equally to women and to men.”

CJC says the existing Article 10 of the Quebec charter adequately guarantees gender equality, as does the corresponding Article 15 of the federal charter. The provincial charter, as it now stands, does not hinder progress toward even greater equality either, it believes.

CJC suggests that the equality of men and women is already a “cornerstone” of  Quebecers’ perception of themselves.

Atlas, a lawyer and a CJC regional vice-president, and Michelle Serrano, a regional officer, reiterated CJC’s support for the equality of the sexes.

CJC has no problem with inserting the word “freedom” in the charter’s preamble, but says adding Article 49.2 is of little use because it is essentially identical to Article 28 of the Canadian charter, which states that all the rights it contains apply equally to men and women.

After 20 years of application, CJC says Article 28 has had little practical effect in advancing the status of women and has not been upheld by any court when tested, according to the organization’s research.

“We are not aware of any case in Quebec jurisprudence that, if the amendment [Article 49.2] was in effect, would have been able to achieve better and more fair results for the women in this province,” the brief states.

Adding to the Quebec charter a clause that has proven to be so ineffectual would, CJC reasons, only diminish the charter’s impact as the law that takes precedence over all other provincial laws.

Among the cases CJC cites in its brief where courts have ruled against arguments based on the federal charter’s Article 28 is that of a 12-year-old Ontario girl who wanted the right to play on a boys’ hockey team.

Article 1 of the federal charter can override claims for gender equality when deemed justified in a free and democratic society, CJC points out.

In its brief, CJC raised other concerns beyond the legal advisability of making changes to the Quebec charter.

The charter represents “one of the most important foundations of the Quebec identity,” on par with democracy and the French language, it says.

“Each modification of the Quebec charter, especially in reaction to the political tempest of the day, makes it lose a little more of its lustre as a law distinct from all others,” it states in the brief.