(CBC) The English Montreal School Board was before the Quebec Court of Appeal Monday, asking for an acceleration of its exemption to Bill 21, the controversial law that prevents some civil servants in positions of authority — including teachers — from wearing religious […]
(Canadian Press) Dareen Shilbayeh can’t stop herself from looking over her shoulder while out in public. The London, Ont., resident who wears a hijab says she’s been worried she’ll be targeted because of her faith ever since a Muslim family was killed […]
(iPolitics) A federal candidate for the Bloc Québécois (BQ) has been writing messages with “Islamophobic” undertones on Twitter and Facebook for years. Ensaf Haidar, 42, became the BQ’s nominee for southern Quebec’s Sherbrooke riding last month. Her husband Raif Badawi was arrested […]
(Global News) Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says he hasn’t “ruled out” federal intervention to challenge Bill 21 in court. The contentious bill, also known as Quebec’s “secularism bill,” is legislation across the province that prohibits public service workers, including teachers, lawyers and […]
(CBC) Three months after all major party leaders gave emotional speeches at a vigil in London, Ontario, for the four members of the [Afzaal] family who were killed in a drive-by attack, the threat of Islamophobic violence still hasn’t emerged as an […]
(Canadian Press) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called out federal security and tax agencies during a national summit on Islamophobia, saying they must do more to put an end to anti-Muslim sentiments in Canada. Speaking to the meeting organized by the government, Trudeau […]
(CBC) The head of a group representing Muslim people in Quebec says many members are hopeful there will be a plan for concrete actions coming out of Thursday’s national summit on Islamophobia — and that several specific issues relating to the province will […]
(Global News) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Islamophobia has been fed by populism and the politics of division. “There are politicians who have been stoking hatred and division that we as a government have been pushing back against,” said Trudeau in an […]
(Canadian Press) A national strategy to fight anti-Muslim hate across society is one of 61 recommendations released Monday by the National Council of Canadian Muslims ahead of a summit on Islamophobia to be held later this week. The organization hosted events on […]
(CBC) The vehicle attack in London, Ont., earlier this week, which killed all but one young member of the Afzaal family, was the third time in the last four years that Muslims in Canada have been murdered because of their faith. Since […]
(Canadian Press) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday the habit of wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic might be changing Quebecers’ views on the province’s religious symbols ban. He was asked about Quebec’s secularism law, Bill 21, during a news conference […]
(CBC) Quebec’s attorney general filed a notice of appeal Friday regarding the Superior Court decision on April 20, which upheld most, but not all, of the province’s controversial secularism law enacted under the Coalition Avenir Québec government. In that ruling, Justice Marc-André Blanchard […]
(Canadian Press) Two groups that unsuccessfully challenged Quebec’s religious symbols law in court say they’ll be appealing last month’s ruling. The National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association say in a statement today the law known as Bill […]
(CBC) Amar Al-Shakfa dropped off her CV at a Montreal school on Wednesday, a day after learning English school boards would be exempt from the province’s ban on religious symbols under a new court ruling. Al-Shakfa, a 25-year-old Montrealer who wears a […]
(Global News) After a Quebec Superior Court judge rendered a decision upholding most of the Legault government’s religious symbols ban for public employees, a new chapter in the legal battle over Bill 21 is set to begin. Coalition Inclusion Quebec, a group […]
(CBC) Seeking re-election in October 2019, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau baited his opponents over their lack of commitment to a court challenge against Bill 21, the controversial Quebec secularism law that bans public servants from wearing religious symbols at work. “I am […]
(CBC) Quebec’s secularism law violates the basic rights of religious minorities in the province, but those violations are permissible because of the Constitution’s notwithstanding clause, a Superior Court judge ruled on Tuesday. But the ruling by Justice Marc-André Blanchard also declared that […]
(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 […]
(Montreal Gazette) Amnesty International is condemning Canada’s record on its treatment of First Nations peoples and minority rights and has singled out Quebec for the adoption of Bill 21. The human rights organization’s criticisms were contained in its annual report made public […]
(Canadian Press) The Quebec government does not believe its secularism law violates freedom of religion, but rather it serves to frame it, one of its lawyers told a court Wednesday. As those defending the law began final arguments in the court challenge, […]
(Canadian Press) When the Quebec government tells English schools they cannot hire women wearing the hijab, it violates the rights of the English-speaking minority to manage its educational institutions, a lawyer argued Tuesday in a case challenging the province’s secularism law. The […]
(CBC) A task force comprised of faith groups, think-tanks and community organizations in Calgary says Quebec’s Bill 21 has impacted religious minorities across Canada since it came into law in 2019. The secularism law bans religious symbols, like hijabs and turbans, prohibiting public teachers, lawyers, police […]
(CBC) Several parents pleaded with a Quebec Superior Court judge on Monday to uphold the province’s religious symbols ban in order to shield their children from being exposed to the hijab, which they believe conveys a “pernicious” sexist message. The parents, all […]
(CBC) Plaintiffs challenging Quebec’s ban on religious symbols sought to dismantle, on Tuesday, one of the main arguments made by supporters of the law — that the hijab is a symbol of female oppression and undermines gender equality. The Laicity Act, which was passed […]
(CBC) A test of the constitutionality of Quebec’s secularism law began Monday amid tearful testimony from Muslim and Sikh teachers who said the law derailed their careers and made them targets of bigotry. The law, which was passed last year despite protests from civil […]
(CBC) Around 9:30 on Monday morning, on the 17th floor of a drab, black and grey building in Montreal, some of the most basic principles of Canadian democracy will go on trial. That’s when lawyers from several civil society groups will begin […]
(Canadian Press) Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole said following a meeting Monday with Quebec Premier Francois Legault that he supports the province’s right to pass legislation banning religious symbols and he wouldn’t challenge it in court. Canada is facing a national unity crisis, O’Toole told reporters after his first in-person meeting […]
(CBC) Dozens of people gathered outside Quebec Premier François Legault’s Montreal office on Sunday to stage a sit-in, in opposition to the province’s ban on religious symbols that became law one year ago. The most controversial section of the law, known as […]
(CBC) Canada’s top court has refused to look at whether Quebec’s controversial ban on religious symbols should be suspended until the case is heard on its merits. Civil rights groups had filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada in January after Quebec’s Court of […]
(CBC) The English Montreal School Board says it will not take the $250,000 it was offered by the federally backed Court Challenges Program to fight two Quebec laws that the board contends go against the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In […]
(CBC) The Quebec government says Ottawa has some explaining to do after it was revealed that the English Montreal School Board is funding two separate legal challenges of provincial laws with federal tax dollars. “We need an explanation from the federal government,” […]
(CBC) Civil rights groups challenging Quebec’s controversial ban on religious symbols have filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. Last month, Quebec’s Court of Appeal rejected a request to suspend portions of the law, known as Bill 21, pending a ruling on its constitutionality. […]
(CBC) Civil rights groups challenging Quebec’s controversial ban on religious symbols want to take their case to Canada’s top court. Quebec’s Court of Appeal last week rejected a request to suspend portions of the law, known as Bill 21, pending a ruling on its constitutionality. […]
(CBC) Amal Sassi was counting on Quebec’s highest court to suspend the province’s controversial secularism law, so she kept her head buried in her books Thursday and focused on studying for her final exams. When she stepped out and heard the news that […]
(CBC) Quebec’s Court of Appeal has refused to suspend the province’s controversial ban on religious symbols, even while acknowledging it causes “irreparable harm” to those affected. The province’s top court was ruling on a request to stay sections of the Laicity Act, or Bill 21, […]
(CBC) The stakes around Quebec’s secularism law have always been high, but somehow they’ve managed to become even higher in recent days. The law (Bill 21) has already altered the career choices of dozens, maybe hundreds, of aspiring public school teachers, prosecutors and police officers by […]
(CBC) Quebec Premier François Legault offered a brief shout-out on Tuesday to Quebecers “preoccupied” with the alleged bias of a judge involved in a case related to the province’s secularism law. During a media scrum at the National Assembly, Legault was asked […]
(CBC) A Quebec historian has launched a formal complaint against the chief justice of the province’s Court of Appeal over comments she made about the province’s religious symbols law. Frédéric Bastien, who teaches history at Dawson College, said taken together, Justice Nicole Duval […]
(CBC) As a political spat plays out between Manitoba and Quebec over Bill 21, some Muslim women affected by the province’s ban on religious symbols say they are tempted by the offer to move to the Prairie province. Seeba Chaachouh, a third-year law […]
(CBC) An advocacy group is launching a campaign to inform Muslim women of their rights as it tries to deal with increasing reports of harassment and discrimination since Quebec’s secularism law was introduced. Justice Femme, the group behind the campaign, will begin distributing […]
(Canadian Press) Opponents of Quebec’s secularism law introduced a new legal argument in Appeal Court Tuesday, saying that Bill 21 disproportionately affects women and therefore violates the Constitution. Lawyer Olga Redko argued Bill 21 violates the sexual equality guarantees in the Canadian […]
(CBC) The two civil liberties groups that mounted an early legal challenge to Quebec’s secularism law were at the Quebec Court of Appeal today making a second attempt to have parts of the law suspended while their challenge is considered. When the National Council […]
(AP) A union federation representing 45,000 teachers in Quebec is suing the Canadian province over its ban on the wearing of religious symbols by many public employees. The lawsuit by the Fédération Autonome de l’Enseignement challenges a state secularism law passed this […]
(CBC) Quebec’s largest women’s organization said it was the target of hateful comments on social media after announcing support for the hashtag MonVoileMonChoix, or My Hijab, My Choice. The Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ) said it was inundated with hateful, Islamophobic messages. Some […]
(CBC) The Ontario Legislature on Thursday passed a motion from Michael Coteau, Liberal MPP for Don Valley East, affirming the province’s support of religious diversity in response to Quebec’s Bill 21. Coteau placed the motion before the province’s elected representatives on Thursday afternoon, asking […]
(Canadian Press) Quebec Premier Francois Legault defended the province’s controversial secularism bill on Thursday after yet another municipal council passed a motion this week condemning the legislation. Toronto city councillors passed the motion at their meeting on Wednesday, making the Ontario capital the largest […]
(CBC) The Quebec government released a short list of sample questions designed to test knowledge of “democratic values and Quebec values” expressed in the province’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Bear in mind that these are likely not actual test questions, […]
(CBC) Immigrants to Canada who want to settle in Quebec will soon be required to pass a provincial values test. Starting Jan. 1, immigrants will have to prove they have learned “democratic values and Quebec values” in order to obtain a selection certificate, the […]
(Canadian Press) Protesters against Quebec’s secularism law said Sunday that they aren’t giving up the fight to overturn Bill 21, with or without politicians on their side. As a cold rain fell, dozens gathered in Montreal’s Parc-Extension neighbourhood on Sunday to march against […]
(CBC) The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) has filed its legal challenge of Quebec’s controversial law that bars teachers and principals from wearing religious symbols. The legal challenge, filed Thursday by the law firm Power Law on behalf of the EMSB and parent commissioners […]
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