A Canadian-born, English-speaking Muslim woman and mother of four says a Quebec civil servant told her to move to an “Arab country” to find work.
Aisha Forsythe says she was shamed and insulted at an Emploi Quebec office earlier this week when she went in to explore job opportunities. The female employee allegedly scolded Forsythe for trying to find work as an English-speaking Muslim woman in Quebec.
Forsythe is now considering a complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal.
“She said, ‘Why don’t you speak French, you’re in Quebec,'” Forsythe told CTV Montreal on Thursday. Forsythe says she explained that she is not a Quebec native, and that she moved to the province from Newfoundland 15 years ago.
The woman allegedly told Forsythe her traditional Muslim hijab, or headscarf, is not appropriate to wear in ‘liberal’ Quebec. “She said ‘In Quebec, we don’t accept that type of dress,'” Forsythe recalled. “‘We don’t accept the headscarf. It’s a liberal society,'” the woman allegedly said.
The Emploi Quebec employee then allegedly instructed Forsythe to “go to one of those Arab countries” to find work, and told her she “chose” to be in a “ghetto.”
Forsythe converted to Islam 10 years ago while living on Canada’s East Coast.
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