Jean Charest walks a fine line on Bill 21 as he launches Conservative leadership bid

Quebec political debates such as Bill 21 and the stand on pipelines may prove to be thorny issues for Jean Charest, as the former Quebec premier launches his campaign to lead the Conservative Party of Canada. 

The former Quebec Liberal Party leader, who served as premier from 2003 to 2012, officially confirmed his leadership bid Thursday morning, ahead of an official launch in Calgary.

In an interview with Radio-Canada, Charest was asked about his stance on Quebec's so-called secularism law, known as Bill 21, which bans the wearing of religious symbols by some public sector employees, including teachers. 

Charest said he would "respect the jurisdiction of provinces" and would not initiate a court challenge of the law. 

"But if it does end up in front of the Supreme Court of Canada, we will have our say," Charest said.

Charest emphasized that he would collaborate with Quebec, no matter the outcome of an eventual court case. 

Still, Charest's comments are being interpreted by some opponents of the law as a willingness to seek intervenor status in an eventual Supreme Court case. 

"It's interesting to see … you know, someone who wants to lead a federal party making those kinds of noises," said Russell Copeman, the executive director of the Quebec English School Boards Association.

Copeman, who also served as a Quebec Liberal MNA in Charest's cabinet, declined to comment on Charest's decision to seek the leadership, other than to say that "the country needs competent experienced leaders in every political party."

Charest also said he is an "ardent defender" of secularism, a position that was "well-known." He pointed to his decision as premier to launch the Bouchard-Taylor commission in 2007, on the so-called "reasonable accommodation" of cultural and religious differences. 

Still, Charest emphasized that his government received clear legal advice at the time about which measures would be in violation of the Quebec charter and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

That would seem to be a reference to the fact that Bill 21 has so far survived a court challenge only because it invokes Section 33 of the Canadian Charter, the notwithstanding clause.

Copeman underlines that there is a lot of daylight between the Bouchard-Taylor report, which only recommended a ban on religious symbols for those with "coercive authority" such as judges and police officers, and Quebec's secularism law, which includes other authority figures, such as teachers.

"I would say that political parties that supported Bouchard-Taylor those many years ago should take a hard look at Bill 21. Recognize that it goes further than that report, which, by the way, has been in part repudiated by its own authors," said Copeman.