Canada Court Voids Part of Disputed Quebec Law on Religious Symbols

(Reuters) -The Canadian province of Quebec said on Tuesday it
would appeal a court ruling that exempts some teachers and
provincial politicians from a controversial law that bans public
employees from wearing religious symbols.

The ruling, which upheld most of a 2019 law, stops it from
applying to educators in Quebec’s minority English-language school
boards since they hold special rights over education under the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said the decision
would be appealed to ensure that it applies to all. The law still
prohibits many civil servants, including judges and police
officers, from wearing religious symbols such as hijabs and turbans
on the job.

The Quebec government has said the law was designed to preserve
secularism in the mainly French-speaking province,

“We cannot divide Quebec in two,” Premier François Legault said
on Tuesday.

The law was passed by the province’s ruling centre-right
Coalition Avenir Quebec although other governments had been trying
for years to impose such restrictions.

LAWSUITS

Multiple lawsuits have challenged the law, calling it
unconstitutional. Several Muslim women said they were refused
teaching jobs because they wore a headscarf, or hijab.

Yusuf Faqiri, Quebec director for the National Council of
Canadian Muslims, said “it’s not the last day” that we will be
speaking about the law.

A spokeswoman for Canadian Justice Minister David Lametti said
the federal government was reviewing the decision.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear in 2019 that he opposed
the law but has not mentioned it since. The case is sensitive for
the ruling Liberals since Quebec will be of critical importance in
an election expected later this year.

A March 2021 poll found a majority of Quebecers favored such a
ban.

Besides staff in the English-language school system, the ruling
also exempts members of Quebec’s provincial parliament.

“We are elated,” said Joe Ortona, chair of the English Montreal
School Board. “It means that we can now hire any qualified teacher
to work in our system regardless of whether they choose to wear a
religious symbol.”

(Reuters) -The Canadian province of Quebec said on Tuesday it
would appeal a court ruling that exempts some teachers and
provincial politicians from a controversial law that bans public
employees from wearing religious symbols.

The ruling, which upheld most of a 2019 law, stops it from
applying to educators in Quebec’s minority English-language school
boards since they hold special rights over education under the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said the decision
would be appealed to ensure that it applies to all. The law still
prohibits many civil servants, including judges and police
officers, from wearing religious symbols such as hijabs and turbans
on the job.

The Quebec government has said the law was designed to preserve
secularism in the mainly French-speaking province,

“We cannot divide Quebec in two,” Premier François Legault said
on Tuesday.

The law was passed by the province’s ruling centre-right
Coalition Avenir Quebec although other governments had been trying
for years to impose such restrictions.

LAWSUITS

Multiple lawsuits have challenged the law, calling it
unconstitutional. Several Muslim women said they were refused
teaching jobs because they wore a headscarf, or hijab.

Yusuf Faqiri, Quebec director for the National Council of
Canadian Muslims, said “it’s not the last day” that we will be
speaking about the law.

A spokeswoman for Canadian Justice Minister David Lametti said
the federal government was reviewing the decision.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear in 2019 that he opposed
the law but has not mentioned it since. The case is sensitive for
the ruling Liberals since Quebec will be of critical importance in
an election expected later this year.

A March 2021 poll found a majority of Quebecers favored such a
ban.

Besides staff in the English-language school system, the ruling
also exempts members of Quebec’s provincial parliament.

“We are elated,” said Joe Ortona, chair of the English Montreal
School Board. “It means that we can now hire any qualified teacher
to work in our system regardless of whether they choose to wear a
religious symbol.”