(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 […]
(Global News) Quebec Premier François Legault congratulated Justin Trudeau on his reelection. Yet bolstered by the Liberals’ drop to minority status and the electoral success of the nationalist Bloc Québécois, Legault cautioned the prime minister not to take any actions that go […]
(CBC) Edmonton city councillors are denouncing legislation in Quebec that restricts civil servants from wearing religious symbols as discriminatory and racist. “Bill 21 is an offence to civil rights,” Mayor Don Iveson said during an executive committee meeting on Thursday. “It is troubling, deeply troubling to […]
(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 […]
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