(CBC) Quebec Premier François Legault said Friday afternoon that he wants to ban praying in public and that he was considering using the notwithstanding clause to do so. The premier was giving an overview of the past year in Quebec City before […]
(Montreal Gazette) Following up on complaints sparked by allegations of incidents at the Bedford elementary school, Quebec’s Education Ministry is sending inspectors into 17 schools to verify them for possible violations of laicity rules. The schools to be inspected are in the […]
(CBC) High school students at one of the four Montreal schools under investigation by Quebec’s Education Ministry for alleged toxic behaviour among staff say their teacher referenced wanting to hit them last week. The students’ account is one of the few specific incidents […]
(CBC) In the last few weeks, an elementary school in Montreal’s west-central Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood has been mired in controversy. This past weekend, 11 teachers were suspended for allegedly creating a toxic environment for students and staff that goes back to 2016. On […]
(Montreal Gazette) With the Legault government saying the evidence shows Quebec’s secularism law was being flouted, 11 teachers at Montreal’s Bedford elementary school have had their teaching licences suspended by the Education Ministry pending the conclusions of an investigation. And the government […]
(Montreal Gazette) Urging politicians to not shy away from the debate because it involves religion, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called Monday for stricter secularism rules in the wake of the Bedford school controversy. St-Pierre Plamondon said what happened in the […]
(Canadian Press) The Quebec government renewed its call for Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia to resign Friday, after she sent a letter to college and university heads recommending the hiring of more Muslim, Arab and Palestinian professors. The existence of the […]
(Canadian Press) After concerns of bias raised by the Quebec government and others, a Supreme Court of Canada justice will not participate in deliberations about whether the high court will hear an appeal to the province’s secularism law, known as Bill 21. […]
(CBC) The Quebec government is requesting that Supreme Court Justice Mahmud Jamal recuse himself from hearing the challenge to the province’s secularism law because he was board president for one of the plaintiffs. In letters sent to the registrar of the Supreme […]
(Canadian Press) Earlier this week, members of Montreal’s Muslim community gathered in a park to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday, a day when families traditionally wear their finest clothes, share gifts, feast and pray together. Religious celebrations are not uncommon at Parc […]
(CityNews) About 71 per cent of Muslim women surveyed in Quebec considered leaving the province for work due to the [effects] of Bill 21, during the pandemic. This is according to a new study published by the National Council of Canadian Muslims […]
(CBC) One of Canada’s most prominent Muslim advocacy groups used part of its time in front of a Commons committee studying Islamophobia Thursday to attack a controversial Quebec law that bars most public sector employees from wearing religious clothing or symbols on the job. […]
(Canadian Press) French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal used his visit to Quebec this week to express strong support for the province’s model of state secularism even as he claimed to abstain from weighing in on debates over the controversial policy. And despite […]
(CTV) The debate over the constitutionality of Quebec’s secularism law is poised to go to the Supreme Court of Canada. On Wednesday evening, the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) voted in favour of asking Canada’s top court to rule on Bill 21 […]
(CBC) The Quebec Court of Appeal has upheld the province’s controversial secularism law in a ruling on challenges to the law’s constitutionality released Thursday afternoon. The heavily anticipated judgment is 290 pages long and quashes a previous exception, made by Superior Court […]
(Global News) Nearly five years since the Quebec government implemented its secularism law, known as Bill 21, some of the province’s community groups say the legislation continues to have an impact on minority communities. The law bans certain public workers in positions […]
(Montreal Gazette) Embroiled in controversy, a private high school in Laval says it has not forbidden students from wearing religious symbols — but it does require that parents request a “religious accommodation.” An online petition that collected 6,900 signatures over two days […]
(Montreal Gazette) Six Muslim groups are asking a Quebec court to declare unconstitutional a new provincial edict that bans religious activity in public schools. In a lawsuit filed this week, the groups asked Quebec Superior Court to “declare constitutionally invalid, inapplicable, inoperative […]
(Canadian Press) Muslim groups are speaking out against the Quebec government’s intention to ban prayer spaces in public schools, saying they will monitor how the Education Department enforces its new rules. In response to reports that at least two Montreal-area schools had […]
(CBC) A few weeks after apologizing for comments in a 2019 opinion piece, Canada’s anti-Islamophobia representative began an official tour of communities with a stop in London, Ont., where a Muslim family was killed in June 2021 in what police describe as a […]
(CityNews) A recent survey done by Angus Reid suggests Islamophobia within Quebec is more prevalent compared to the rest of Canada — with more than half of respondents in the province holding an unfavourable view of Islam. “It’s sad, but for someone […]
(Western Standard) Nearly two-fifths of Canadians hold an unfavourable view of Islam, according to a new study from the Angus Reid Institute. In total, 39% of those surveyed held a “negative” or “very negative” view towards the religion amid ongoing discussions across […]
(Canadian Press) The federal Conservatives are trying to reassure the World Sikh Organization of Canada that the party remains opposed to Quebec’s secularism law after its MPs voted in support of a provision the province used to create it. On Monday, the […]
(Montreal Gazette) Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi had some choice words for both federal and provincial politicians, who he says are capitalizing on anti-Islamic sentiment to score political points. Nenshi, the first person of Muslim faith to be elected as mayor of […]
(Global News) Canada’s first-ever special representative on combating Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, should be given “a chance” to do her job, Justice Minister David Lametti says. Elghawaby apologized on Wednesday for her past remarks about Quebec, which she made in an op-ed she […]
(CBC) The federal government’s new anti-Islamophobia representative Amira Elghawaby apologized Wednesday for past remarks about the prevalence of anti-Islam sentiment in Quebec. Elghawaby, who was appointed the special representative on combating Islamophobia last week, made the remarks before meeting with Bloc Quebecois […]
(CBC) The Quebec government is calling on the federal government to withdraw its support of Amira Elghawaby, the new representative to combat Islamophobia, only four days after she was first appointed. This comes a day after her attendance at the sixth commemoration […]
(CBC) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of a special representative on combating Islamophobia that will advise the federal government on how to better fight discrimination against the Muslim community. Human rights activist Amira Elghawaby will be responsible for serving “as […]
(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 […]
(CBC) English-language school boards argued before the Quebec Court of Appeal Wednesday they should be exempt from Quebec’s secularism law — known as Bill 21 — because religious diversity is part of the cultural heritage of English schools in Quebec. “The examples […]
(CBC) As the court challenge of Quebec’s secularism law — commonly known as Bill 21 — continues this week before the Quebec Court of Appeal, groups contesting the law argued Tuesday Bill 21 overwhelmingly discriminates against Muslim women. The Quebec government and several civil […]
(CBC) Opponents of Quebec’s secularism law — known as Bill 21 — argued before the province’s Court of Appeal Monday that the CAQ government went too far in pre-emptively invoking the constitutional notwithstanding clause in order to protect the law from court […]
(CityNews) Next month’s provincial election will have tremendous implications for Quebec’s Muslim community, according to the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM). The NCCM released its Quebec election policy guide this week, ahead of the Oct. 3 vote. The guide lays out […]
(Canadian Press) Religious minorities in Quebec are feeling less safe, less accepted and less hopeful since the province passed its secularism law three years ago, a new survey suggests. The results published Wednesday by Léger and the Association for Canadian Studies reveal […]
(CityNews) Communities in Quebec are speaking out as the province’s premier said he and his party oppose multiculturalism. Quebec’s Premier François Legault said recently that he and his party oppose multiculturalism, adding that in Quebec there is only one culture that is […]
(CBC) Maram Makhlouf, a Grade 6 student, moved to Quebec from Germany about three years ago and on Thursday she was in a Montreal park with her family celebrating the province’s national holiday, or Fête nationale. She said the day is “really important to […]
(Global News) There will be one less teacher wearing a religious symbol in Montreal schools next year. Haniyfa Scott, who wears a hijab, is retiring after her more than 40-year career. “I don’t think it’s really hit me yet,” said Scott. The […]
(CTV) This week marks the third anniversary of Quebec’s controversial Bill 21 — which bans some public workers from wearing religious symbols — passing into law. On Saturday, dozens gathered outside the metro station in Montreal’s Park Extension to denounce the bill. […]
(Canadian Press) The federal government will join a legal challenge to Quebec’s religious symbols law if it reaches the country’s highest court, Justice Minister David Lametti said Wednesday. “When it arrives at the Supreme Court of Canada, it is by definition a […]
(CBC) Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown launched an attack Monday on his opponent Pierre Poilievre, accusing the Conservative MP of supporting “discriminatory policies” that target immigrants. Poilievre, the MP for the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton considered the front-runner in the race, pitched new […]
(Canadian Press) Organizations representing Sikhs and Muslims in Canada say they want Conservative leadership hopefuls to take a strong stand against Quebec’s controversial secularism law. Balpreet Singh, a spokesman for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, said when he met with Erin […]
(Canadian Press) A new poll suggests support may have slipped for a key element of Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21. A web panel survey carried out by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies earlier this month found 55 per […]
(Canadian Press) Canada’s special envoy on combating antisemitism has sharply criticized as “discriminatory” Quebec’s law banning teachers and some other public-sector employees from wearing religious symbols at work. Prof. Irwin Cotler, who was appointed by the prime minister to fight antisemitism, has […]
(CTV) A recent letter published in a leading Canadian medical journal has stirred up debate — and controversy — around the hijab and prompted calls for a full retraction. On Dec. 20, the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published a letter, with […]
(Toronto Sun) Last week, a Quebec school teacher was removed from her classroom for wearing the hijab. Quebec’s controversial secularist law, Bill 21, prohibits religious symbols in public places. The law has many human rights activists and federal parliamentarians on edge. MPs […]
(CBC) The interim chair for the Western Québec School Board says the school board made a mistake in hiring Fatemeh Anvari, the Chelsea, Que., elementary school teacher who had to be removed from her position under Quebec’s secularism law because she wears […]
(Canadian Press) Premier François Legault said Friday a school board in western Quebec should never have hired a woman who had to be removed from her teaching duties because she wears a hijab. Legault said the province’s law restricting religious symbols, known […]
(CTV) Parents and students at an elementary school in Chelsea, Que., say they are shocked a teacher was removed from the classroom for wearing a hijab. The Western Quebec School Board confirms the Grade 3 teacher at Chelsea Elementary School was removed […]
(Canadian Press) The Conservative MP leading outreach efforts for leader Erin O’Toole says a six-year-old promise to create a “barbaric cultural practices” hotline still hangs over the party’s attempts to rebuild relationships with racialized communities today. “It’s there,” Tim Uppal says. “It […]
(CBC) Quebec’s English school boards will have to abide by the province’s secularism law, known as Bill 21, until challenges against and in favour of the law are heard in court. The province’s Court of Appeal has rejected a request by the […]
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