25 June 2019

Bill 21 is divisive and unnecessary, Montreal school officials say

https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/bill-21-is-divisive-and-unnecessary-school-boards-association-says?fbclid=IwAR17iGOPou3rgx_gC6OFsDPu-XsWId1kDvrzugRivQSbCtusCxMj34y2mn4

Quebec’s new secularism law is divisive, unnecessary and contrary to the values taught in English schools, Russell Copeman, the executive director of the Quebec English School Boards Association, said on Monday.

On a practical level, the law will be very difficult, if not impossible to enforce, he said.
“The law creates various categories of employees who will not be able to wear religious symbols and contains a grandfather clause (for current teachers provided they don’t change job titles or school boards).”
There could easily be a situation where a new principal posted to a school sees an employee wearing a hijab, but does not know whether the employee is a teacher, a school psychologist, a lunch monitor or an after-school monitor.

24 June 2019

Statement by [Concordia University] Department of Education on Bill 21

http://www.concordia.ca/cunews/artsci/education/2019/04/12/Statement-by-Department-of-Education-on-Bill-21.html
 
We, the undersigned, affirm our total opposition to and rejection of Bill 21, An Act respecting the laicity of the State, deposited by the provincial government at the Assemblée Nationale on March 28, 2019. We believe that teachers and education professionals demonstrate our commitment to Québec’s secular society through our teaching. Those of us who wear symbols of religious faith are valued and important members of the teaching community, and are not a threat to secular society in Québec.

One of the aims of the Québec Education Program (Programme de formation de l’école Québecoise) is for learners to:
·      acquire or consolidate…an understanding of how all individuals are equal in terms of right and dignity (d'acquérir ou de consolider… la notion selon laquelle toutes les personnes sont égales sur le plan des droits et de la dignité).

Bill 21 is an attack on the values promoted in the Québec Education Program (QEP)­. The inclusive spirit of the QEP does not discriminate against particular faith traditions ...