Ask the CCLA: Do I have to show my face? When? | Canadian Civil Liberties Association

Ask the CCLA: Do I have to show my face? When? | Canadian Civil Liberties Association

Generally, a person’s right to express their religious beliefs by wearing a religious article of clothing is protected and should be accommodated. For the purposes of identity and security however, it may sometimes be necessary for a woman to remove her niqab, though significant efforts should be made to ensure that any interference with religious freedom is as minimal as possible. Whether or not asking a woman to remove her niqab is a justified or reasonable restriction of her Charter protected religious freedom depends largely on the purpose of the request and the surrounding context.

CCLA (Via The Globe And Mail): When religious freedom should take a back seat to equality rights

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/when-religious-freedom-should-take-a-back-seat-to-equality-rights/article25784108/

In my view, both rights are fundamental for a society to be grounded in respect for human dignity. Indeed, in Canada, both rights are protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – but the Charter, which applies to government action, would not directly apply to a commercial airline.

How far do we go to accommodate a sincerely held religious belief when it comes into conflict with the equality rights of someone else? If all rights are equal and there is no hierarchy, do we figure out these questions on a case-by-case basis? In Canada, decision-makers have ruled against a bed-and-breakfast owner who refused to rent to a gay couple. But some may ask, what about religious freedom? What about the innkeeper’s rights?

Personally, I don’t think that in a public or commercial space the religious beliefs of one person can be used to deny, or relegate (intentionally or not) as inferior, the equality rights of someone else. Religious freedoms are writ large and people are free to believe what they wish, and to act as they wish, short of causing harm to another. Gender segregation can and is upheld in private religious institutions freely attended by individuals – but in public spheres we must be vigilant about upholding the equality rights of all. If we wouldn’t tolerate the refusal to sit beside a racialized person, we shouldn’t tolerate sex discrimination, either.

Bill 60 (Charter of Quebec Values): CCLA Hearings Brief

CCLA’s Opposition to the Quebec Charter of Values: Read our Brief « Canadian Civil Liberties Association

CCLA has submitted a brief to the Quebec National Assembly’s
Committee on Institutions’ as part of its general consultation and
public hearings on Bill 60.  Bill 60, or the Charter affirming the
values of State secularism and religious neutrality and of equality
between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation
requests, is a deeply troubling law that would infringe basic
rights and cannot be justified in a free and democratic society.  In our
submissions, CCLA argues that the Bill infringes freedom of religion,
freedom of expression and the right to equality and to be free from
discrimination.  CCLA also points out some concerning inconsistencies in
the proposed law which would have a disproportionate impact on
individuals from minority religious groups and, in particular, women
from these groups.  We are urging the Quebec government not to move
forward with the proposal and hope to have an opportunity to address the
Committee in person in their public hearings, which are scheduled to
start in mid-January, 2014.

The stats bear it out: In Quebec, trust is low - Macleans.ca

The stats bear it out: In Quebec, trust is low - Macleans.ca

Two scholars on trust dig into the data to see what they believe Andrew Potter got right

—and wrong—about Quebec

Supreme Court rules against prayer at city council meetings

Mayor Jean Tremblay of Saguenay argued reciting prayer respects Quebec’s Catholic heritage

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/supreme-court-rules-against-prayer-at-city-council-meetings-1.3033595

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled the municipal council in the Quebec town of Saguenay cannot open its meetings with a prayer.

In a unanimous decision today, the country's top court said reciting a Catholic prayer at council meetings infringes on freedom of conscience and religion.

The ruling puts an end to a eight-year legal battle that began with a complaint filed by atheist Alain Simoneau and a secular-rights organization against Saguenay Mayor Jean Tremblay.

Don Macpherson: The Charter of Pants encourages discrimination

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/montreal-gazette/20131109/281981785351833/TextView

But maybe the strongest kick was to the Quebec human-rights commission.
The rights watchdog had called Drainville’s original proposal not only a “clear break” with the province’s own charter of rights but also a violation of international standards for the protection of minority rights.
Drainville’s response was to add a new restriction in the rights charter: rights must be exercised with a “proper regard” for “the primacy of the French language.”
That has nothing to do with “secularism,” the supposed objective of the Pants Charter. But apparently, if the PQ was going to encourage discrimination against minorities, it didn’t want to overlook anybody.
And it’s slipped a poisoned pill to the official opposition Liberal party. Now the Liberals, whose leader Philippe Couillard had vowed to let the original proposal pass only “over my dead body,” will expose themselves to the accusation of being “against French” if they filibuster against the Pants Charter.

Jedwab: France’s ‘beautiful notion’ of secularism is not a model for Quebec

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/frances-beautiful-notion-of-secularism-is-not-a-model-for-quebec/article14678810/

For a romantic getaway you can’t beat France. It’s a great place to visit, but as a member of a religious minority it doesn’t appear these days to be the best place to live. 

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois recently pointed to France as a model for Quebec (and presumably for all of Canada) in its approach to diversity. The French national doctrine of secularism seems to be a source of inspiration for the Premier’s proposed Charter of Values.

 While cautiously acknowledging imperfection in the French system, Ms. Marois prefers it to the British approach to diversity which she recently characterized as a source of severe social unrest and violence. While presumably not wanting to comment on the Quebec debate during a visit to the province last week, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici described French secularism as a "beautiful notion" that creates unity – not division. The terms he used resemble those being employed by the Quebec government to describe its Values Charter. The Quebec government conveniently chooses to ignore the deep inter-ethnic divisions around the Charter debate as reflected in public opinion surveys ...

Pro-Charter of Quebec Values rally in Montreal draws several hundred supporters

Pro-Charter of Quebec Values rally in Montreal draws several hundred supporters

"I respect everybody and what they do when they go to the synagogue or when they go to a mosque, that's their (business)," she said. "But I don't think it belongs in the public space." ...

Marchers carried cutout fleur-de-lis and Quebec flags. They carried signs that read "'we're born naked and everything else is superfluous" and "secularism that's open to closed religions doesn't work." ...

"For me the freedom of religion should not surpass liberty of expression and if we can't have political badges at work, why should we be allowed religious symbols?," Chantraine said. "It should be the same for everyone." ...

Patrick Lagace: Quebec has a strange view of secularism

Quebec has a strange view of secularism - The Globe and Mail

The Quebec Soccer Federation announced last week that it won’t allow turbans on its soccer pitches because, well, FIFA’s Rule 4 on equipment doesn’t explicitly allow turbans on soccer fields.

FIFA’s Rule 4 also doesn’t “allow” players to wear gloves in freezing late October games. It doesn’t “allow” women to wear headbands for their ponytails. Still, you’ll find players wearing gloves and headbands without the QSF invoking Rule 4 to ban them.

 Apparently a recent FIFA ruling that lets Muslim women wear the hijab on the pitch wasn’t enough to convince the QSF that the spirit of the rules is tolerance ...

Jedwab: Religious accommodation survey promoted intolerance

http://www.pressreader.com/canada/montreal-gazette/20130528/281904475713770/TextView

MONTREAL — Is the Marois government moving toward requiring that a teacher of the Jewish faith in a Jewish private school remove his kippa?

That might sound preposterous. But a survey last March commissioned by the Quebec Ministry of Democratic Institutions and Active Citizenship (as it is called) asked Quebecers the following question: “If the Government of Quebec decides to prohibit wearing religious attire would you agree or disagree that such a measure be applied to employees of private elementary and secondary schools?”

In preparation for this fall’s tabling by the government of what it is now calling a Charter of Quebec Values (a reworking of the original plan for a Secularism Charter), the survey also asked whether a similar ban on religious signs and symbols should be extended to health institutions — and more specifically to doctors and nurses.