To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (4460 ) 2/5/2007 6:00:00 PM From: Proud_Infidel Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 20106 (Canadian) Muslim groups to launch complaint over (Quebec) town's immigrant code CBC ^ | Monday, February 5, 2007 | CBC Newscbc.ca Two prominent Canadian Muslim groups want to file a human rights complaint over immigrant policies recently adopted in a rural Quebec town. The Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC) and the Canadian Muslim Forum say Hérouxville's new code of conduct for immigrants fuels negative stereotypes of ethnic minorities and violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. CIC chair Mohamed Elmasry told CBC that the groups will file a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission if Hérouxville does not retract its code. Elmasry said he hopes to meet with town officials in the coming days. The town's code spells out behaviour "expected" from newcomers who choose to settle in the Mauricie region town outside Trois-Rivières. Among other rules, it bans kirpans and head scarves except on Halloween, and says women can drive and write cheques but should not be stoned to death. The code, adopted Jan. 25, has created divisions in the region. Some nearby towns have officially endorsed the rules, including St-Roch-de-Makinac, where officials passed a motion Friday supporting Hérouxville's new code. On Sunday, André Drouin, the Hérouxville councillor who created the code, appeared on the popular Quebec television talk show Tout le monde en parle to defend his rules. Hérouxville isn't averse to immigrants; it just wants them to understand the "shop rules" before deciding to settle in the town, Drouin told his audience. Quebec is in a state of emergency because of the debate over reasonable accommodation of non-Christian religious and cultural beliefs, Drouin said. He called on Quebec politicians to revisit the debate.