(CBC) The Quebec government has put forward legislation that would extend the province’s ban on the wearing of religious symbols to support staff in schools, and prohibit students from having their faces covered.
Under Bill 94, the ban would apply to all staff and volunteers in public schools and school service centres, and not just teachers and principals, as is the case under the [existing] secularism law.
That means lunch and after-school care monitors, secretaries and volunteer librarians will all be subject to the ban on wearing religious symbols, such as a kippa or hijab. A historical clause for staff already in their position is included in the bill.
Education Minister Bernard Drainville said the legislation is an attempt to strengthen secularism in schools after reports of problems involving religion. He told reporters that schools in Quebec must respect the “values of Quebec.”
