(CBC) Quebec’s religious symbols law was not yet 12 hours old when it became the subject of a Superior Court motion seeking to have it struck down.
On Tuesday, the motion, filed last month by the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, will get its first hearing before a judge.
Given widespread concerns about the law’s potentially harmful effects on minorities, legal experts predict other court challenges are likely to follow.
But as opponents of the law turn to the courts, they will have to confront one big obstacle.
The legislation, which bars public school teachers and other authority figures in public service from wearing religious symbols at work, invokes Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a.k.a. the notwithstanding clause.
