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QUEBEC - The Quebec government made a sudden about-turn on Wednesday when it announced it will ban religious instruction in provincially funded daycare centres.
Family Minister Tony Tomassi's decision came just a day after he said he saw no problem in allowing Jewish or Islamic groups to teach their religious beliefs.
His position on Tuesday was that the religious education offered young children was merely an extension of values learned at home.
But Tomassi backtracked on Wednesday, saying there might be problems in about 20 daycare centres and that "we haven't finished our investigation."
"From now on, religious instruction will no longer be accepted in the daycare network subsidized by the Family Department," he said in Quebec City.
Tomassi refused to commit to withdrawing the permits of centres that do not comply.
A few years ago, Tomassi's department, which was then run by current Education Minister Michelle Courchesne, granted a permit to an Islamic association so it could open an 80-spot daycare centre in Laval, north of Montreal.
The organization's objective is to "spread Islamic education among Muslims and non-Muslims."
Another case is that of the Beth Rivkah centre in Montreal which is run by rabbi Yosef Minkowitz. Its website states that all the "daily activities are driven by the spirit of Torah and the Jewish tradition."
The daycare brouhaha has unfolded amid the controversy surrounding a Muslim woman in Quebec who was kicked out of a government-sponsored French class because she refused to remove her niqab - a traditional face covering.
