(CBC) Hundreds of people attended a rally in the Park Extension neighbourhood on a rainy Saturday afternoon to speak out against Quebec’s secularism law — and in particular its effect on teachers in the province.
Bouchera Chelbi, who teaches English as a second language with the Commission Scolaire de Montréal (CSDM), said some colleagues who wear the hijab are being harassed and feel alienated.
“They don’t feel like they belong anymore,” she said. “Before that bill, we used to believe that we belonged; we used to believe we could make a change in Quebec.”
The secularism law known as Bill 21 bans some civil servants in positions of authority, including teachers, police officers and judges, from wearing religious symbols at work.
