(Montreal Gazette) The National Council of Canadian Muslims says it is considering legal action after the Quebec government tabled a new secularism bill Thursday.
Quebec’s minister for secularism, Jean-François Roberge, presented the Bill 9, which builds on Quebec’s existing legislation, Bill 21, by proposing a ban on face coverings and religious symbols in schools, as well as public prayer.
“Let’s not kid ourselves: this bill targets Muslims,” said National Council of Canadian Muslims CEO Stephen Brown in an interview Thursday, adding it’s “what we feared it would be … a crass example of electoral wedge politics.”
Quebec’s expansion of secularism laws — known as laïcité in French — is the latest in a series of controversial legislation from François Legault’s government, including union and health-care reforms. Brown said he believes the secularism overhaul is meant to serve as a political “distraction.”
