Court ruling on Quebec’s religious symbols law expected Tuesday Bill 21 has been challenged by several groups, including the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

April 18, 2021   

(Montreal Gazette) A highly anticipated legal decision on Quebec’s religious symbols law is expected to be issued on Tuesday.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Marc-André Blanchard heard arguments last winter for and against Bill 21, the controversial secularism law adopted by the Legault government in 2019.

Bill 21 forbids the wearing of religious symbols such as turbans, kippas and hijabs for employees of the state deemed to be in positions of authority, including police officers and teachers.

The law has been challenged by several groups, including the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, individual teachers who wear religious symbols, the English Montreal School Board and the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement, a teachers’ union.

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(CBC) Legislative hearings into Quebec’s controversial secularism bill began Tuesday amid concerns that religious groups have largely been excluded from the process. Premier François Legault remains insistent that Bill 21, which was tabled in late March, will be passed before the National […]