(CBC) An organization representing all nine of Quebec’s English school boards says the province’s proposed ban on religious symbols can’t be imposed on them, potentially opening a new front in the legal resistance to the legislation. Like some of their French counterparts, English schools boards […]
(CBC) The mayor of Quebec’s biggest city accused the provincial government on Tuesday of rushing ahead with a controversial proposal to restrict religious symbols without considering the harm it will cause Montreal’s diverse population. At a legislative hearing in Quebec City, Valérie Plante said the […]
(CBC) City councillors have voted down a motion that would have urged Montreal police to allow officers to wear religious symbols on the job. Councillors voted Tuesday 32-19 against the motion, debated on the same day Mayor Valérie Plante testified at Quebec’s Bill […]
(CBC) There has been a sharp increase in harassment directed at Muslim women in Quebec since the province tabled draft legislation to ban religious symbols in parts of the civil service, according to a women’s advocacy group. Justice Femme, a Montreal organization that […]
(Canadian Press) The federal Tories are accusing the Trudeau government of playing politics by stripping specific references to specific religious groups from its annual report on terrorism. Conservative public-safety critic Pierre Paul-Hus suggested to the House of Commons national-security committee Monday that the Liberals bowed […]
(CBC) For the second time this week, the Quebec government has been forced to distance itself from a supporter of its secularism bill who made incendiary remarks about Islam at a legislative hearing. The bill proposes barring some civil servants — including public […]
(CBC) It wasn’t until late on the second day of hearings into Quebec’s secularism bill that lawmakers heard from someone who wears one of the religious symbols targeted by the legislation. But by the time Samira Laouni wrapped up her testimony, the committee was […]
(National Post) It’s been more than a decade since U.S. authorities freed Ayub Mohammed from their Cuban prison, having decided he was not, after all, an “enemy combatant.” In that time the ethnic Uyghur from China has earned a business degree from […]
(CBC) After spending all day hearing from defenders of his secularism bill, Quebec Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette was confronted Tuesday evening with a challenge from a wispy-haired, 87-year-old philosopher. “We are still waiting for an explanation about why this is necessary,” Charles Taylor told Jolin-Barrette at legislative hearing […]
(CBC) Legislative hearings into Quebec’s controversial secularism bill began Tuesday amid concerns that religious groups have largely been excluded from the process. Premier François Legault remains insistent that Bill 21, which was tabled in late March, will be passed before the National […]
(CBC) Racha Cheaib, a particle physicist, often helps organize an annual event at a Muslim community centre in Montreal to celebrate girls who decide to wear the hijab. Last year, far-right groups sought to disrupt the event, and twice succeeded in getting […]
(CTV) Hundreds of Montrealers linked arms to form a human chain around the Palais de Justice on Sunday to express opposition to Bill 21, days before hearings about the legislation take place. Canadian Council of Muslim Women spokesperson Shaheen Ashraf was among […]
(CTV) A pro-Bill 21 rally was held in downtown Montreal Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of people — many of them donning patriotic gear and waving Quebec flags — gathered on de Maisonneuve Boulevard, not far from Papineau Avenue. “La Vague Bleue” — the […]
(CBC) The hospital in Fort McMurray has become the first in Alberta’s north zone to offer halal meal options. The Northern Lights Regional Health Centre phased in the food in November, and has since served about 100 halal meals to patients. “This […]
(CTV) Doctors caring for Muslim patients with mental health disorders should balance concern about the effects of Ramadan fasting on symptoms with an understanding of the spiritual significance of the observance, says a new study released Thursday. There is little research into […]
(Global News) The government has again revised a report that is supposed to update Canadians on the major terrorist threats they face, removing all references to Islamist extremism. While the report, first released in December, had initially identified attackers “inspired by violent […]
(CTV) Police forces are refusing to participate in public consultations on Bill 21, which aims to prohibit the wearing of religious symbols by many civil servants. On Monday, the secretary of the Committee on Institutions, Carolyne Paquette, confirmed that the Quebec Bar […]
(CBC) Ramadan begins one week from today. This means observing Muslims are getting ready to fast from dawn to dusk and abstain from other temptations for one month. It’s an important time for those who follow Islam as they dedicate 30 days […]
(CBC) Inside a packed room at the Ukrainian Labour Temple in Winnipeg’s North End Friday night, Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour began by addressing the controversy surrounding her appearance there. “It is I — I am the drama that you heard about before you got here. This is it,” […]
(CTV) An activist invited to speak in Winnipeg said she was shocked by recent comments from Mayor Brian Bowman, who earlier this week called for her to be removed from a panel discussion Friday night. “I thought I was being invited to […]
(CBC) In an era when demagogues flourish on social media, reason gives way to rhetoric and opinion masquerades as fact, it’s easy to understand how ordinary, decent people have grown weary and wary of all sorts of political and cultural debates. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict […]
(CBC) Quebec’s largest school board has come out against the province’s plan to ban teachers from wearing religious symbols in the classroom, saying it runs contrary to the school board’s mission and would be difficult to enforce. The Commission scolaire de Montréal (CSDM) outlined […]
(Global News) Flying its black flags, the Islamic State group advanced across Syria and Iraq in convoys of pickups and SUVs, some mounted with heavy guns and reinforced with metal plates. Vehicles were central to the ISIS campaign, but like any trucks, […]
(Canadian Press) Forcing a reporter to give information on a terror suspect to the RCMP would be unreasonable given that the wanted Canadian man is almost certainly dead, an Ontario justice heard on Tuesday. The argument from Vice Media played out in Superior Court […]
(CBC) Mayor Brian Bowman is calling for the removal of U.S. activist Linda Sarsour from a speaking engagement planned for Winnipeg on Friday. The Social Planning Council of Winnipeg and the Canadian Muslim Women’s Institute had booked Sarsour, one of the co-chairs […]
(Canadian Press) An eastern Ontario teen already facing five charges related to an alleged terrorism plot has been rearrested after breaching his bail conditions, police and lawyers said Tuesday. Like many of the previous proceedings concerning the boy from Kingston, Ont., the details […]
(CTV) In the face of increasing Islamophobia, a group of Muslims in Toronto is vowing to reclaim the mosque as a sacred and safe space for women. The Women’s Mosque of Canada marked its first prayer meeting in Toronto Friday, in an […]
(CBC) When Canadians go to the polls in October, a non-partisan group hopes Muslim voter turnout will be higher than ever — and seized one of the year’s most-attended days of prayer to mobilize the community with a single message: every ballot […]
(Global News) A mechanic who came to Canada in 2015 has been found complicit in crimes against humanity for repairing vehicles for the so-called Islamic State, Global News has learned. Before arriving in Canada and claiming refugee status, the Lebanese national made […]
(CBC) Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has been the target of an escalating series of violent threats, apparently sparked by her staunch opposition to the provincial government’s secularism bill. Plante spoke publicly last month about receiving hateful comments after she first criticized Bill […]
(CBC) The minister responsible for Quebec’s proposed secularism law says there will be no exemption for Montreal, a day after city council unanimously denounced Bill 21. Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said he welcomes the City of Montreal’s input as hearings begin on the […]
(CBC) Montreal city councillors have unanimously adopted a declaration against the Quebec government’s secularism bill, put forward by the mayor and leader of the opposition. The bipartisan declaration, signed by Mayor Valérie Plante and Ensemble Montréal interim leader Lionel Perez, presents a […]
(CBC) Montrealers took to the streets to protest Quebec’s proposed religious neutrality bill at two separate rallies on Sunday, in Côte Saint-Luc and in downtown Montreal. If adopted, Bill 21 would prevent public employees — including teachers, police officers and judges — […]
(CBC) Ameni Ben Ammar lays out a spread of Tunisian hospitality on the coffee table of her small apartment in downtown Montreal. Traditional pastries, a homemade cheese chicken pie and Tunisian wine. Despite having left six years ago, the bond with her […]
(Global News) A suicide bomber from Calgary strikes near Baghdad. A Windsor man masterminds the torture and killing of foreigners at a Dhaka bakery. Two London, Ont., gunmen take hostages at a gas plant in the Algerian desert. Canadian terrorists have killed […]
(CBC) Hampstead Mayor William Steinberg is facing growing pressure to apologize for saying Quebec’s proposed religious symbol ban amounts to “ethnic cleansing.” But instead of apologizing, on Tuesday he opted to clarify his comments, referring to the ban’s effect as a “peaceful ethnic cleansing.” […]
(CBC) Thousands of protesters gathered in downtown Montreal on Sunday afternoon to protest the Quebec government’s Bill 21 — proposed legislation that would ban some public employees from wearing symbols of their faith. “Quebec is not France, long live the difference!” protesters chanted […]
(CBC) A Calgary NDP candidate has apologized for posting a meme about jihadists and crusaders several years ago. Joe Pimlott, who is running in Calgary-Peigan, posted on Twitter that he made a social media post that had “Islamophobic and anti-Semitic connotations” of which […]
(CBC) A week after tabling the legislation, opposition to the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s plan to ban certain public workers from wearing religious symbols is growing more organized — and more vitriolic. Politicians in Montreal’s west end at the federal, provincial and municipal level came […]
(Canadian Press) A youth charged with terrorism-related offences has been released under strict conditions following a bail hearing in Kingston, Ont. The youth, who cannot be identified under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, will be required to be in the […]
(Montreal Gazette) To the staccato of blaring horns and cheers from motorists on Ste-Catherine St., students and teachers formed a human chain outside Westmount High School on Wednesday morning to protest against Bill 21. The row of people — about 200 — […]
(National Post) Quebec’s newly tabled law, “An Act respecting the laicity of the State,” will be sent to committee for study, and with the help of the notwithstanding clause, will pass as written. The new law prohibits all government employees in positions […]
(Toronto Sun) It has been 10 years since Quebec’s Bouchard-Taylor Commission recommended that all public officials who embody the authority and the neutrality of the state and its institutions, such as judges, crown prosecutors, police officers, prison guards and the president and […]
(CBC) The mayor of Montreal calls it “very concerning.” Religious groups say it’s discriminatory. And civil liberties groups have vowed to fight. But what legal options do these groups have in the face of the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s secularism bill, and what […]
(CBC) Civil rights activists in the National Capital Region say they will challenge Quebec’s secularism bill introduced Thursday by the Coalition Avenir Québec government. The legislation bans public workers from wearing religious symbols such as the kippa or hijab. This includes judges, crown prosecutors, teachers and principals, although the bill […]
(Canadian Press) A youth is facing new charges in connection with a terrorism investigation in Kingston, Ont. The charges were read in provincial court Friday as the youth appeared at a bail hearing. The suspect, who cannot be identified under provisions of […]
(CBC) The Coalition Avenir Québec government is proposing a new law that would prohibit public workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols such as a hijab, kippa or turban. The stated aim of the bill, titled, “An act respecting the laicity of […]
(CBC) As the Quebec government prepares to table its secularism bill, constitutional experts are raising concerns about Premier François Legault’s reported plans to pre-emptively invoke the notwithstanding clause to ensure public workers in positions of authority are banned from wearing religious symbols. Robert Leckey, dean of McGill […]
(CBC) Quebec public schools teachers and school principals will be prohibited from wearing religious symbols such as the hijab or kippa, under a bill likely to be tabled later this week in the provincial legislature. The long-awaited legislation from the Coaltion Avenir […]
(CBC) An ex-Muslim who is now an atheist and secular activist says Mount Royal University is overreacting by canceling his talk that was planned on campus for Thursday. Armin Navabi, who lives in British Columbia, was being brought in by the Atheist Society of Calgary to share […]
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