Is Quebec right to condone child beauty pageants?

The province of Quebec has been in a banning mood lately.

They've banned English-only signs, including established company names like Walmart and Costco. They recently unveiled their values charter, which aims to ban religious symbols from appearing in public buildings and on public employees.

One thing they have no appetite to put a stop to? Child beauty pageants.

As reported in this weekend's Globe and Mail, Quebec has no intention of following France in that country's proposed law to eliminate beauty pageants for children under 16. If approved, anyone who breaks France's law would face fines of up to $40,000 and two years in jail.

[ Related: French Senate says 'non' to mini-Miss beauty pageants ]

Despite a 43,000-person petition, Agnes Maltais, the minister responsible for the Status of Women, says it's up to parents to decide whether or not their children should be involved in pageants like The Miss All Canadian Pageant, a cross-Canada series that plans to hold an event in Laval in November.

It's an unusually self-empowering stance from a government that has decided its residents are unable to determine on their own what language they speak and what religious symbols they wear, but the governing Parti Quebecois government could never be praised for consistency.

So we ask you: Is Quebec right to condone child beauty pageants?

Have your say in the comments area below.