(CBC) Microphones and lecterns were being set up in the Ottawa Mosque in Westboro Saturday as people gathered for the afternoon prayer. That’s because the house of worship was preparing to host its first federal election debate of the 2019 campaign, with […]
(Toronto Sun) The resurgent Bloc Quebecois is poised to perform well in the election under its articulate and pragmatic leader, Yves-Francois Blanchet. It has successfully pitched itself to younger voters by turning away from ageing entrenched separatists. Recent polls in Quebec put […]
(CBC) NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said today that, if he’s elected prime minister, he’d have to get involved in Quebec’s controversial secularism law if it makes it all the way up to the Supreme Court. He also said this morning that he […]
(Canadian Press) Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet has had enough of all the secularism talk. Quebec’s Bill 21 banning religious symbols for some public servants is a “very important” subject, but it should not be an issue in the current federal campaign, the […]
(CTV) Over 100 people gathered in Place-Emilie-Gamelin on Sunday to demonstrate against Quebec’s Bill 21, the start of a weeklong flurry of activity in opposition to the controversial religious symbols law. The Montreal protest was one of four in cities across the […]
(CBC) There may be more support for Quebec’s controversial religious symbols law across the country than some Canadians would care to admit. The legislation, which came into effect in June and bans teachers, police officers and other provincial employees from wearing religious […]
(CTV) Bill 21 has been law in Quebec since June, but that hasn’t stopped public mobilization against the province’s controversial ban on religious symbols in the public service. Anti-Bill 21 demonstrations will be held in four cities across the province at 2 […]
(CBC) Calgary city council voted this week to condemn Quebec’s religious symbols law, Bill 21. Bill 21 bars certain civil servants from wearing religious symbols at work. Critics have accused the law of undermining religious freedom and singling out minorities, although it remains […]
(CBC) Calgary city council voted unanimously Monday to formally oppose Quebec’s Bill 21, the province’s secularism law which bars certain civil servants from wearing religious symbols at work. “Racism and bigotry has no jurisdiction,” said Coun. George Chahal while introducing the motion. “It is […]
(CBC) Hundreds of people attended a rally in the Park Extension neighbourhood on a rainy Saturday afternoon to speak out against Quebec’s secularism law — and in particular its effect on teachers in the province. Bouchera Chelbi, who teaches English as a […]
(CBC) Quebec’s secularism law, which bans some civil servants from wearing religious symbols at work, is facing a new legal challenge. Lawyers representing a multi-faith group filed a motion Thursday in Quebec Superior Court that argues the law violates constitutional protections of gender […]
(CBC) The English Montreal School Board has voted in favour of taking the province to court over its religious symbols ban. They’re seeking an exemption because they are a linguistic minority. Last month, the EMSB held off on deciding whether or not it […]
(CBC) Civil rights groups fighting Quebec’s religious symbols law have filed new evidence which, they say, demonstrates without a doubt it has “caused and continues to cause irreparable harm.” Lawyers submitted affidavits last week from Muslim women who were denied employment opportunities or […]
(CBC) Fatima Boularhmane isn’t sure where to turn anymore. She and her husband and children emigrated from Morocco about a decade ago, lured by the idea of living in a free and democratic country. Trained as an electrical engineer, Boularhmane tried in vain to get a […]
(Canadian Press) National party leaders’ reluctance to intervene in a court challenge to Quebec’s controversial Bill 21 may have left the erroneous impression that there’s nothing the federal government can do to try to stop the law that bans teachers, police and […]
(CBC) The largest school board in Quebec says three teachers have been directly affected by Quebec’s secularism law, formerly known as Bill 21. On Tuesday afternoon, the Commission Scolaire de Montréal (CSDM) revealed the teachers took off their religious symbols in order to be able to […]
(CBC) Federal leaders have been challenged to outline their position on Quebec’s secularism law in the first week of the campaign. The law has been met with criticism within the province and across the country, with many saying it infringes on people’s right to […]
(CBC) Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that a Liberal government would not get involved in legal challenges to Quebec’s religious symbols law, at least not “for the moment.” But that wasn’t good enough for the province’s premier, François Legault, who wants a commitment from all federal […]
(CBC) Quebec’s new secularism law is creating situations that “darken the climate of a school,” says the head of a union representing Montreal teachers. She says the law is compelling school boards to turn away teachers as they’re facing a labour shortage. “I […]
(CTV) Organizers of a campaign against Bill 21 are asking Quebecers to express their opposition to Quebec’s controversial ban on religious symbols in the public service by publicly wearing an anti-Bill 21 button and a religious symbol of their choosing. “Even if […]
(CTV) All of Quebec’s subsidized private schools received letters from the provincial government telling them how to comply with the new law on secularism. The letters were sent on Aug. 20 to private elementary and high schools throughout the province, including Montreal. […]
(CBC) The English Montreal School Board was expected to vote Wednesday night on whether it would enforce the province’s religious symbols ban, but the item was struck from the agenda shortly before the start of the meeting. “I guess the majority of the commissioners […]
(Canadian Press) The Quebec government is saying no to some parents who want to pull their children out of classrooms taught by teachers wearing religious symbols. About 50 parents signed an open letter published in Montreal newspaper Le Devoir Wednesday calling on […]
(CBC) Kitchener councillors have voted unanimously to denounce the Quebec government’s secularism bill. Ward 8 Coun. Margaret Johnston introduced the motion at a council meeting Monday night. Quebec’s Bill 21 bans public workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols such as […]
(CBC) The deputy leader of the federal Green Party says he would like to see Canada’s attorney general intervene in court cases that challenge Quebec’s new law on religious symbols. But that position is at odds with the party’s official position on the legislation […]
(CBC) Quebec’s largest school board appears to be falling into line when it comes to the province’s new religious symbols law, despite saying earlier this summer it wouldn’t apply the rules until holding further consultations. The Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM) began quietly including a notice […]
(Montreal Gazette) A new poll shows a majority of Canadians living outside Quebec do not approve of the province’s religious symbols law. But as other polls have revealed in the past, those living in Quebec say they strongly approve of Bill 21 […]
(Global News) Organizations trying to challenge Bill 21 won a small victory in court on Thursday. The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), along with Ichrak Nourel Hak — a university student who wears a […]
(Religion News) Quebec’s Superior Court recently rejected civil rights advocates’ legal request to suspend the Canadian province’s controversial new ban on religious symbols for state workers. But activists in Canada and around the world say the fight is not yet over. “We […]
(CBC) Two civil rights groups are seeking an appeal after a Quebec Superior Court justice refused their emergency request to temporarily freeze parts of the province’s new religious symbols law. The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and the Canadian Civil Liberties […]
(Middle East Eye) Hate crimes against Muslims in Canada were down 50 percent in 2018 compared to the year before, a new report by Statistics Canada has said. But a national advocacy group has warned about an uptick in hate incidents targeting religious institutions. […]
(CBC) The Canadian wing of an international Jewish organization wants Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to send government lawyers to join the legal fight against Quebec’s secularism law. B’nai Brith Canada published an open letter Thursday after a Quebec Superior Court justice denied […]
(CBC) A Quebec Superior Court justice has rejected a request to temporarily suspend parts of the province’s new religious symbols law, though he did agree it raises “serious” constitutional questions. Justice Michel Yergeau said Thursday the court must defer, at this stage, […]
(CBC) The Quebec government can’t “with a straight face” claim its new religious symbols law won’t have any harmful effects, a lawyer for two civil rights groups told a Superior Court justice Tuesday. Catherine McKenzie made the comment as she asked the […]
(CBC) Quebec’s religious symbols law was not yet 12 hours old when it became the subject of a Superior Court motion seeking to have it struck down. On Tuesday, the motion, filed last month by the National Council of Canadian Muslims and […]
(CBC) A Victoria councillor has tabled a motion that will ask the city to support a legal challenge of a Quebec law that bans employees from wearing religious symbols at work. The motion from Sharmarke Dubow asks that the City of Victoria […]
(Canadian Press) Quebec’s education minister is being accused of hypocrisy after tweeting a picture of himself with Nobel Prize-winning human rights activist Malala Yousafzai. Jean-Francois Roberge met Yousafzai while in France, and said on Twitter that they discussed education and international development. […]
(CBC) Quebec Premier François Legault says he doesn’t “really” believe Muslim women in the province who say they’ve been the target of Islamophobic incidents since the government passed a law making it illegal for some civil servants to wear religious symbols. Several Muslim […]
(Canadian Press) Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says he will be seeking a joint response to Quebec’s new religious symbols law when western premiers meet on Thursday in Edmonton. “That is, certainly to my mind, dangerous and un-Canadian and deserves to be opposed,” Pallister said in […]
(CBC) Quebec’s federation of school boards (FCSQ) says it intends on obeying the province’s new secularism law when classes resume in September. The move comes after the province’s largest school board, the Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM), said it would not enforce the […]
(CBC) An Ontario police force will launch a recruiting campaign targeting Quebec residents affected by the province’s new law on religious symbols. The Peel Regional Police, which covers territory including the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, will conduct a campaign in Quebec after a motion was passed unanimously […]
(CBC) Lisa Starr’s job is to find internships for prospective teachers. Her task for next fall just got more complicated, now that Quebec’s ban on religious symbols has been passed into law. “I think there’s a lot of confusion and a lot of […]
(CBC) The Commission Scolaire de Montréal voted unanimously Wednesday to delay the application of Quebec’s religious symbols law until a proper consultation process with its internal groups can be carried out. The consultations could last until the fall of 2020, the CSDM said […]
(Toronto Sun) On Sunday night after a marathon session, Quebec legislators voted 73-35 to bring into law Premier François Legault’s Bill 21 that bans some public servants from wearing religious symbols. Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government, which also had the backing […]
(CBC) Quebec Premier François Legault had a blunt message Tuesday for minorities worried about his government’s new religious symbols law: the legislation, he said, “could have gone further.” The law, which was passed late Sunday, bars civil servants in positions of authority — including public school teachers, […]
(CBC) Quebec’s new law on religious symbols has been on the books for less than 24 hours, but already opposition is being mounted on several fronts, both in the courts and on the streets. The law was rammed through the legislature late Sunday […]
(CBC) Quebec’s opposition is warning last-minute changes to the Coalition Avenir Québec’s religious symbols law open the door to the establishment of “secularism police.” In the final hours before Bill 21 was passed late Sunday, the CAQ introduced several amendments, including provisions to ensure the […]
(CBC) Quebec’s majority government has pushed through a controversial piece of legislation that will bar public-school teachers, government lawyers, judges and police officers from wearing religious symbols while at work. The bill, introduced by the Coalition Avenir Québec government, passed after a marathon weekend of deliberations […]
(CBC) Opposition parties are accusing Quebec’s Legault government of trying to run the National Assembly like a business, as they attempt to extend the debate of its two flagship Bills 9 and 21. Members of the National Assembly are sitting this weekend […]
(CBC) Quebec Premier François Legault says there’s a risk of upsetting “social cohesion” in the province if the debate over religious symbols is allowed to linger any longer. Legault will invoke closure to pass his government’s controversial secularism and immigration bills, putting an end […]
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