(CBC) As arguments wrapped at the Quebec Court of Appeal Wednesday for the legal challenge to the province’s secularism law — known as Bill 21 — the panel of judges hinted that the case hinges on whether the bill disproportionately discriminates against Muslim women who wear the hijab.
“That’s a tough question, but it’s really at the centre of our preoccupations and that’s why we asked it,” Justice Yves-Marie Morissette said as the panel of three judges posed some final questions to lawyers to clarify their positions.
The Quebec government and several civil liberties and religious minority groups presented arguments last week and again Wednesday about a Superior Court decision last year, which upheld most — but not all — of the controversial secularism law.
