National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM)

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Canadian medical journal to retract letter calling hijabs ‘an instrument of oppression’ Letter from pediatric surgeon in Canadian Medical Association Journal drew immediate pushback

December 23, 2021   

(CBC) The interim editor-in-chief of the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Thursday said the publication is formally retracting a letter it ran about hijabs that many have slammed as Islamophobic. Kirsten Patrick’s announcement comes days after she posted on Twitter, apologizing for the letter, which called the religious […]

Academics & Education

Quebec’s English school boards will have to apply secularism law until court hears challenge EMSB didn't sufficiently prove how applying law would be harmful, Quebec Court of Appeal rules

November 9, 2021   

(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 […]

Crime

Muslim leaders urge Ontario to adopt Our London Family Act to immediately combat Islamophobia Act includes 6 proposals to counter racism in wake of June attack on Afzaal family

November 8, 2021   

(CBC) Leaders of Canada’s Muslim community are urging the Ontario government to take immediate action against Islamophobia and adopt measures they’re proposing to get to the root of “systemic discrimination.” Nadia Hasan, chief operating officer of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, on Monday discussed the […]

Academics & Education

English Montreal School Board asks court to speed up exemption from religious symbols law EMSB argues waiting for appeal process to play out is causing irreparable harm

October 18, 2021   

(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 […]

Academics & Education

Staff, students in this school board are learning about Islamophobia, but true test comes in real world Peel District School Board's strategy and mandated training seen as important 1st steps to be widely emulated

October 14, 2021   

(CBC) Over the years, Nokha Dakroub has come face-to-face with racism and anti-Islamic hate during her work as a school trustee. Among the most vivid incidents were a series of meetings at her Mississauga, Ont., school board in 2017, when protesters spewed Islamophobic comments […]

Academics & Education

Peel school board approval of anti-Islamophobia strategy draws support from community groups Trustee Nokha Dakroub pushed for strategy, which includes mandatory staff training

October 7, 2021   

(CBC) Community groups are welcoming a Peel District School Board decision to develop an anti-Islamophobia strategy because they say the plan will help make schools safer for Muslim staff and students. At its Sept. 30 meeting, the Peel District School Board (PDSB) passed a […]

Crime

Muslim communities worry that Islamophobic violence is being forgotten during election campaign As party leaders roll out campaign promises, the problem of racist violence seems to be flying under the radar

September 9, 2021   

(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 […]

Academics & Education

Quebec Superior Court upholds most of religious symbols ban, but English-language schools exempt Government plans to appeal, saying exemption will create a more divided Quebec

April 20, 2021 and   

(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 […]

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Court ruling on Quebec’s religious symbols law expected Tuesday Bill 21 has been challenged by several groups, including the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

April 18, 2021   

(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 […]

Academics & Education

Thames Valley School Board to begin collecting race-based data Teachers are invited to participate in training to combat [Islamophobia] in schools

October 26, 2020   

(CBC) The Thames Valley District School Board will conduct a student survey this school year, focused on identifying the ethnicities of its families. “We don’t actually have that data just yet in our board,” said board assistant principal Doriana Rosati. “I mean the entire province […]

Academics & Education

Muslim groups call for MUN to take action against ‘[Islamophobe]’ doctor and systemic racism National and provincial groups voice concern over Zachary Kuehner and MUN's response

June 12, 2020   

(CBC) A letter signed by four provincial and national Muslim associations says a doctor accused of making racist comments violated several professional standards, and criticizes Memorial University’s response to the incidents. Zachary Kuehner, a second-year resident at the school, came under fire for his […]

Academics & Education

Brampton principal ‘temporarily removed’ after alleged Islamophobic remark ​Muslim group says board for Brampton, Mississauga, Caledon didn’t ‘go far enough’

May 28, 2020   

(Brampton Guardian) A national Muslim organization is demanding the public school board for Peel take further action in light of alleged Islamophobic remarks made by a Brampton high school principal. On May 27, Central Peel Secondary School principal Julie DeMaeyer was “temporarily […]

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Civil rights groups challenging Quebec’s religious symbols ban file appeal to Canada’s top court Request for appeal was filed in a 27-page brief Friday

January 17, 2020   

(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. […]

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Civil rights groups want to challenge Quebec religious symbols ban in Supreme Court Appeals Court last week rejected request for injunction on sections of Bill 21

December 18, 2019   

(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. […]

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‘We will keep on fighting’: Muslim women devastated by Appeal Court decision to uphold Bill 21 Amal Sassi, who came to Quebec to pursue a teaching career, had hoped for a ruling allowing her to continue

December 12, 2019   

(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 […]

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Quebec’s top court won’t suspend province’s religious symbols ban, but judges say rights being violated Province’s controversial Bill 21 passes major legal test; opponents vow to continue fight

December 12, 2019   

(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, […]

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François Legault’s high-stakes game with the courts and Quebec’s secularism law Premier faces a test as supporters of the controversial Bill 21 question Quebec's chief justice

December 9, 2019   

(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 […]

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Dawson College professor accuses Quebec’s top judge of bias against Bill 21 Frédéric Bastien has filed formal complaint against Nicole Duval Hesler, chief justice of the Court of Appeal

December 2, 2019   

(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 […]

Academics & Education

Pamphlets inform Muslim women of their rights in wake of Quebec’s secularism law Documents include information on how to face and report harassment and how to deal with discrimination

November 28, 2019   

(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 […]

Academics & Education

English Montreal School Board files legal challenge to Bill 21 Board argues law infringes on minority language education rights and equality of men and women

October 24, 2019   

(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 […]

Government & Politics

People’s Party won’t take action against N.S. candidate who called Islam ‘pure evil’ Bernier to appear with candidate for Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook in Halifax event

October 10, 2019   

(CBC) Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party says it won’t take action against one of its candidates in Nova Scotia who called Islam “pure evil” and “not compatible with democracy” in numerous social media posts. Sybil Hogg, the PPC candidate for Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook, made a […]

Academics & Education

Quebec’s religious symbols ban causes ‘irreparable harm,’ teachers tell court Civil rights groups file affidavits ahead of appeal set for November

September 25, 2019   

(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 […]

Academics & Education

3 CSDM teachers have taken off religious symbols to work, school board says The board would not specify what kind of symbols the teachers wore

September 17, 2019   

(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 […]