Source: Montreal Gazette – Eye on Islamism

Quebec to do secularism checks at 17 schools for potential laicity law violations The ministers responsible for laicity and education have contacted all school service centres reminding them of their Bill 21 obligations.

November 14, 2024 Philip Authier

(Montreal Gazette) Following up on complaints sparked by allegations of incidents at the Bedford elementary school, Quebec’s Education Ministry is sending inspectors into 17 schools to verify them for possible violations of laicity rules. The schools to be inspected are in the […]

Quebec opens investigation on another religious incident in a public school 'If these events are confirmed, you can be sure decisions will be made,' says Education Minister Bernard Drainville. 'I'm not going to let this go on without a very firm and determined response.'

October 23, 2024 Philip Authier

(Montreal Gazette) The Quebec government has opened an investigation into another incident of religion reappearing in a public elementary school, with Education Minister Bernard Drainville saying Quebec will not turn a blind eye to the fresh allegations. One day after suspending the […]

Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy asks for police protection in wake of threats She says she fears for her safety and that of her family after speaking up about a toxic climate at the Bedford school.

October 22, 2024 Caroline Plante

(Montreal Gazette) Saying she fears for her safety and that of her family, St-Laurent MNA Marwah Rizqy has asked for police protection. Rizqy was repeatedly insulted after denouncing the situation at Bedford elementary school that came to light in a recent investigation […]

Ministry suspends licences of 11 teachers at Bedford school as Legault vows to reinforce secularism rules 'We have a group of teachers who tried to introduce Islamic religious concepts into a Quebec public school, putting aside science as a way of helping students,' the premier said.

October 22, 2024 Philip Authier

(Montreal Gazette) With the Legault government saying the evidence shows Quebec’s secularism law was being flouted, 11 teachers at Montreal’s Bedford elementary school have had their teaching licences suspended by the Education Ministry pending the conclusions of an investigation. And the government […]

PQ leader calls for stricter secularism rules in wake of ‘toxic’ climate report at Bedford school Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says the education minister only referred to 'ideological divergences' in a Radio-Canada interview, without acknowledging the religious part of the equation.

October 21, 2024 Philip Authier

(Montreal Gazette) Urging politicians to not shy away from the debate because it involves religion, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called Monday for stricter secularism rules in the wake of the Bedford school controversy. St-Pierre Plamondon said what happened in the […]

’11 teachers all at once?’: Parents shocked by suspensions at Montreal school Several Muslim parents with children at Bedford school said they fear the suspensions will fuel political discourse.

October 21, 2024 Jesse Feith

(Montreal Gazette) Parents at a Montreal primary school where 11 teachers were suspended over the weekend expressed shock and confusion during after-school pickup on Monday, with several questioning if the situation had been blown out of proportion. The suspensions, announced on Saturday, […]

Montreal resident charged with inciting hatred and violence toward Jewish people The charge reportedly involves comments posted on social media days after Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

January 10, 2024 Paul Cherry

(Montreal Gazette) A Montreal resident faces a criminal charge alleging he incited hatred and called for violence toward Jewish people beginning just days after Hamas carried out the Oct. 7 attack in Israel. The charge filed against Houssem Hammami, 37, became public […]

Quebec leaders want hate speech investigation into Adil Charkaoui The controversial imam gave a speech to a Montreal pro-Palestinian rally in which he called for the extermination of 'Zionist aggressors.'

November 7, 2023 René Bruemmer

(Montreal Gazette) The leaders of Quebec’s four main political parties are calling for well-known and controversial imam Adil Charkaoui to be investigated for possible hate crimes after he delivered a prayer calling for the extermination of “Zionist aggressors” during a pro-Palestinian demonstration […]

Laval high school denies banning students who wear religious symbols However, Collège Citoyen de Laval says parents must file a 'religious accommodation' request if their child wears a hijab, for example.

September 8, 2023 Andy Riga

(Montreal Gazette) Embroiled in controversy, a private high school in Laval says it has not forbidden students from wearing religious symbols — but it does require that parents request a “religious accommodation.” An online petition that collected 6,900 signatures over two days […]

Muslim groups ask court to quash Quebec’s ‘discriminatory’ school prayer ban The ban violates 'the fundamental rights of minors and adults in terms of their freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, but also individuals' right of association,' the organizations argue.

May 17, 2023 Andy Riga

(Montreal Gazette) Six Muslim groups are asking a Quebec court to declare unconstitutional a new provincial edict that bans religious activity in public schools. In a lawsuit filed this week, the groups asked Quebec Superior Court to “declare constitutionally invalid, inapplicable, inoperative […]

Naheed Nenshi says politicians play role in spreading Islamophobia The former mayor of Calgary says politicians can calm anti-Islamic tensions, but some choose to score political points instead.

February 13, 2023 Jason Magder

(Montreal Gazette) Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi had some choice words for both federal and provincial politicians, who he says are capitalizing on anti-Islamic sentiment to score political points. Nenshi, the first person of Muslim faith to be elected as mayor of […]

Montreal man who tried to join ISIL to be released from penitentiary soon In 2017, Ismaël Habib was convicted of attempting to travel abroad to commit a terrorist act and giving false information to obtain a passport.

February 25, 2022 Paul Cherry

(Montreal Gazette) A Montreal man who was found guilty of attempting to leave Canada to join the terrorist group ISIL in Syria will be released to a halfway house or a psychiatric institution soon, even though the Parole Board of Canada still […]

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 Katherine Wilton

(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 […]

Quebec’s adoption of Bill 21 singled out in report from Amnesty International The annual report is also critical of Canada’s treatment of Indigenous people, citing the case of Joyce Echaquan, and the country’s pandemic response.

April 7, 2021 Unlisted Author

(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 […]

Majority of Canadians disapprove of Bill 21, but Quebecers are in favour: poll A Forum Research survey of 1,733 people conducted from July 26-28 concludes 59 per [cent] of Canadian voters disapprove of the law

August 6, 2019 Philip Authier

(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 […]

Montreal police removed Muslim woman’s hijab during search, Human Rights Commission says The Quebec Human Rights Commission says a Montreal police officer asked Aicha Essalama if she had any weapons on her, then removed her hijab and prayer robe without her permission.

July 11, 2019 Jesse Feith

(Montreal Gazette) Claiming a Montreal police officer removed a Muslim woman’s hijab and prayer robe without her permission, the Quebec Human Rights Commission is seeking to have the force ordered to update its search policies to better accommodate religious minorities. According to […]

Bill 21: ‘We will not be silent,’ Westmount High teachers say Staff form a human chain outside the school to show their opposition to Quebec's proposed secularism legislation.

April 3, 2019 Jason Magder

(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 — […]

Westmount High teachers protest CAQ’s religious-garb ‘slippery slope’ 'What I look like has no affect on my teaching whatsoever. … You start with one exclusion and it’s a slippery slope downward.'

October 18, 2018 René Bruemmer

(Montreal Gazette) Teachers at Westmount High School took to the street Thursday to protest the incoming Coalition Avenir Québec’s proposed religious neutrality laws, on the day the new government was officially sworn in. The English Montreal School Board, which represents more than […]

Westmount High teachers to rally against CAQ religious symbols ban Protest 'to send a clear message to the new government' is set for Thursday morning in front of the school.

October 17, 2018 Unlisted Author

(Montreal Gazette) Four years after staging protests against the Parti Québécois’s proposed charter of values, teachers at Westmount High School are planning to rally against the Coalition Avenir Québec plan to bar public servants in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols. […]

PQ in favour of accommodating Muslim students: Jean-François Lisée The Commission scolaire de Montréal wants to move a test so that its Muslim students won't have to take an exam during a high holiday.

August 22, 2018 Christopher Curtis

(Montreal Gazette) Jean-François Lisée says he would be in favour of a plan to postpone a province-wide elementary school exam next year because it interferes with a Muslim holiday. The PQ leader weighed in Wednesday on a recent spat between a Montreal […]