Chris Selley: Quebec steps into the past with bill aimed at ending ‘reasonable accommodations’ debate

Bill 21 absolutely will not put the debate to bed. But if there is hope of stopping this bastardized secularism, it’s with Quebec’s impudent youth

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/chris-selley-quebec-steps-into-the-past-with-bill-aimed-at-ending-reasonable-accommodations-debate

Well, here it is then. Here’s the grand compromise that Quebec Premier François Legault hopes will put to bed the province’s decade-plus debate over what religious people should be allowed to wear, and in what circumstances. Bill 21, tabled Thursday in the National Assembly, bans religious symbols from civil servants in positions of authority including police officers, bankruptcy registrars, government-appointed arbitrators, Crown prosecutors and other lawyers arguing government cases, members of myriad boards and agencies and also, crucially — and which was not recommended by the Bouchard-Taylor Commission — elementary and secondary teachers, vice-principals and principals.
It absolutely will not put the debate to bed.
There is no reason to believe the people who pushed for the strictest possible regulations won’t continue to push. Notably, teachers in publicly subsidized private schools, public daycare workers and before-and-after-school caregivers are exempt.
Bill 21 is actually more generous to niqab-wearing women than the previous Liberal government’s Bill 62: Bill 62 required an uncovered face to receive government services, period; Bill 21 only does so when it’s necessary for identification or security. It is a safe bet that such nuances will not filter down to the sorts of people who take photos of women in niqabs shepherding toddlers around town, or riding the bus, or otherwise living their lives, and pitch them into the racist frenzy of social media. That’s going to get some media coverage.