https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-religious-symbols-bill-is-divisive-wrong-and-unnecessary
Thursday was a sad and shameful day. In a move rooted in traumas of the past and unjustified fears in the present, the Legault government introduced legislation that is toxic to Quebec’s future.
Bill 21, “An act respecting the laicity of the state,” bans the wearing of “religious symbols” by certain public officials. Its application is broader and its terms harsher than expected.
While it ostensibly applies to adherents of all religions, the practical impact will be on observant Muslims, Jews and Sikhs for whom wearing hijabs, kippahs or turbans is not just religious expression, but religious practice. And these are not easily tucked behind a shirt, as a cross or crucifix might be. The government’s disturbing recourse to the notwithstanding clause to override the guarantees in the Canadian and Quebec rights charters testifies to the fact that fundamental rights are being abrogated, as does the insertion of laicity into the Quebec charter as something for which a proper regard must be maintained in exercising other rights ...
Thursday was a sad and shameful day. In a move rooted in traumas of the past and unjustified fears in the present, the Legault government introduced legislation that is toxic to Quebec’s future.
Bill 21, “An act respecting the laicity of the state,” bans the wearing of “religious symbols” by certain public officials. Its application is broader and its terms harsher than expected.
While it ostensibly applies to adherents of all religions, the practical impact will be on observant Muslims, Jews and Sikhs for whom wearing hijabs, kippahs or turbans is not just religious expression, but religious practice. And these are not easily tucked behind a shirt, as a cross or crucifix might be. The government’s disturbing recourse to the notwithstanding clause to override the guarantees in the Canadian and Quebec rights charters testifies to the fact that fundamental rights are being abrogated, as does the insertion of laicity into the Quebec charter as something for which a proper regard must be maintained in exercising other rights ...
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