https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-unjust-bill-21-dispenses-with-an-array-of-rights
Bill 21 proposes to reinforce state secularism, which is a good thing, but it will do so by diminishing religious freedoms through the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter and by sidelining the judiciary. And the bill does more, far more. It uses “values” as a bulwark against virtually the entire Canadian Charter, the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and international human rights obligations.
The Supreme Court of Canada has said, and keeps saying, that state neutrality protects individuals’ religious freedoms, including non-beliefs, within reasonable limits.
Bill 21 has it backward. It will deploy individuals at the front lines in the battle to impose state neutrality, violating an unwritten principle of the rule of law that protects minorities in Canada.
Bill 21 proposes to reinforce state secularism, which is a good thing, but it will do so by diminishing religious freedoms through the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter and by sidelining the judiciary. And the bill does more, far more. It uses “values” as a bulwark against virtually the entire Canadian Charter, the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms and international human rights obligations.
The Supreme Court of Canada has said, and keeps saying, that state neutrality protects individuals’ religious freedoms, including non-beliefs, within reasonable limits.
Bill 21 has it backward. It will deploy individuals at the front lines in the battle to impose state neutrality, violating an unwritten principle of the rule of law that protects minorities in Canada.
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