Don Macpherson: Fear of Muslims in small-town Quebec, where there are almost none

http://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/don-macpherson-fear-of-muslims-in-small-town-quebec-where-there-are-almost-none

Premier Philippe Couillard felt the pressure. While he refused to say whether he approved of the Shawinigan council’s decision, he did say on Tuesday that recent terrorist attacks make the public’s fear “completely understandable.”A poll in mid-January suggested that inhabitants of the province’s mostly rural regions such as Mauricie were more likely than other Quebecers to have worse opinions of immigrants and Muslims after the terrorist attacks in Paris.What happened in Jean Chrétien’s hometown shows that fear of Muslims isn’t limited to the answers to pollsters’ questions. It’s starting to affect relations between people in everyday life.