The ''Act respecting the laicity of the State'' (), introduced and commonly referred to as Bill 21 or Law 21, is a statute passed by the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

in 2019 which asserts that

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

is lay state (secular state). It prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by certain public employees in positions of authority and grandfathers in those who were already in office when the bill was introduced. The statute operates despite the Quebec ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'', and also notwithstanding certain sections of the ''

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...

''. On April 20, 2021, the

Superior Court of Quebec The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...

upheld most of the law, despite stating that the law violates the

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

of religious minorities (especially

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

women), because the government invoked the

notwithstanding clause Section 33 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is part of the Constitution of Canada. It is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause (french: clause dérogatoire, links=no or ), sometimes referred to as the override power, and ...

. However, the court did rule that the law was inoperative with respect to

English-language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

school boards and members of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

as it infringed on their constitutional rights arguing that minority language rights cannot be overriden by the notwithstanding clause. The Government of Quebec appealed the judgment to the

Quebec Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal. History The Court wa ...

. The Autonomous Federation of Education also decided to bring the case to the higher court. English-language school boards must apply the statute until the appeal is decided; an interlocutory application to temporarily exempt the school boards was rejected by the Quebec Court of Appeal in November 2021. While the statute is supported by most of Quebec's population, some argue that it does not go far enough and should extend to daycares, while others argue that the statute is

discriminatory Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, rel ...

against religious groups like Muslims, Jews, and Sikhs. Disapproval of the statute is more widespread in

English Canada Canada comprises that part of the population within Canada, whether of British origin or otherwise, that speaks English. The term ''English Canada'' can also be used for one of the following: #Describing all the provinces of Canada that ...

than in

French Canada French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

Contents and passage

The

Coalition Avenir Québec The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ; , ) is a Quebec nationalist, autonomist and conservative2018 provincial election. Now enacted, the Act bans public workers in positions of "authority" from wearing religious symbols, specifically while they are on duty. According to the text of the bill, the laicity of the state is defined by a neutral religious stance, keeping state and religious affairs apart, as well as promoting equality and freedom of conscience and religion among citizens. The first section of ''An Act Respecting laicity of the State'' asserts that Quebec is a "lay State". The laicity of the state is based on four principles: * the equality of all citizens *the separation of State and religions *the religious neutrality of the State *

freedom of conscience Freedom of thought (also called freedom of conscience) is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints. Overview Every person attempts to have a cognitive proficiency by ...

and

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

According to the second paragraph of section 4, "State laicity also requires that all persons have the right to lay

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

and judicial institutions, and to lay public services". Immigration Minister

Simon Jolin-Barrette Simon Jolin-Barrette is a Canadian lawyer and politician in Quebec, Jolin-Barrette (born 1987) was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in the 2014 Quebec election. He represents the riding of Borduas as a member of the Coalition Ave ...

said all religious symbols, regardless of the size of the object, would be prohibited, but not religious tattoos or hairstyles such as Rastafarian

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as locs or dreads, are rope-like strands of hair formed by locking or braiding hair. Origins Some of the earliest depictions of dreadlocks date back as far as 1600–1500 BCE in the Minoan Civilization, one of Europe' ...

. The law affects: * Any public employee who carries a weapon, including police officers, courthouse constables, bodyguards, prison guards, and wildlife officers * Crown prosecutors, government lawyers, and judges * School principals, vice-principals and teachers A

grandfather clause A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

exempts some public workers as long as they continue to hold the same job, at the same institution. The law also details rules that require people to uncover their faces to receive a public service for identification or security purposes, such as taking public transit with a reduced-fare photo ID card. However, people who have their faces covered for medical reasons or to do their jobs are exempt from these rules. The law applies when receiving government services, including: * Municipal services such as public transit * Doctors, dentists, and midwives in public institutions * Subsidized daycares * School boards The Act also invokes section 33 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'', the notwithstanding clause, and states that the Act shall have effect notwithstanding section 2 of the Canadian Charter (which protects freedom of religion and freedom of expression), and sections 7 to 15 of the Canadian Charter ( section 15 of the Canadian Charter prohibits discrimination by governments, including on the basis of religion). The Act also states that it will apply despite sections 1 to 38 of the Quebec ''Charter of human rights and freedoms''. These provisions were included to avoid legal challenges based on the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' and the ''Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'', which was amended to assert that "state laicity" is of "fundamental importance". It passed on June 16 by a 73–35 vote, with backing of the CAQ and the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

. The

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

and

Québec solidaire Québec solidaire (QS; ) is a democratic socialist and sovereigntist political party in Quebec, Canada. The party and media outlets in Canada usually use the name "Québec solidaire" in both French and English, but the party's name is sometimes ...

were opposed. The CAQ government also introduced last-minute amendments toughening the law, making provisions for a minister to verify that it is being obeyed and to demand corrective measures if necessary.

Prior legislation

Proposed Charter of Values

The Parti Québécois in 2013 under Premier

Pauline Marois Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a member of the National Assembly in various ridings since 1981 as a member of the Parti Québ� ...

proposed the

Quebec Charter of Values The Charter of Quebec Values () was Bill 60 in the Canadian province of Quebec, introduced by the governing Parti Québécois in 2013 under Premier Pauline Marois, trying to legislate the Quebec controversy on reasonable accommodation. The PQ cab ...

, a law banning the display of "ostentatious" religious symbols, but they were unable to pass it before losing an election some months thereafter.

Bill 62

''An act to foster adherence to State religious neutrality and, in particular, to provide a framework for requests for accommodations on religious grounds in certain bodies'', introduced as Bill 62 and passed by Premier

Philippe Couillard Philippe Couillard (; born June 26, 1957) is a Canadian business advisor and former neurosurgeon, university professor and politician who served as 31st premier of Quebec from 2014 to 2018. Between 2003 and 2008, he was Quebec's Minister of He ...

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

government in October 2017 made world headlines. The law banned a person whose face is covered from delivering or receiving a public service. Justice Minister

Stéphanie Vallée Stéphanie Vallée (born 24 September 1971) is a French-Canadian politician, lawyer and negotiator in Quebec. She was a member of the National Assembly of Quebec (MNA) for the provincial riding of Gatineau from 2007 to 2018, as a member of ...

stated that people could seek religious exemption on a "case by case" basis.

Criticism

The ban has worried some conservative Muslims who consider face covering a necessary part of their religion and have defined the move as

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

. Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

spoke out against it. Several scholars have also criticised the ban. The ban was challenged by the

Canadian Civil Liberties Association The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA; french: Association Canadienne des Libertés Civiles) is a nonprofit organization in Canada devoted to the defence of civil liberties and constitutional rights.Dominique ClementCase Study: Canadian ...

and the

National Council of Canadian Muslims The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) is a Canadian Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. NCCM was formerly known as the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN). NCCM is active in human rights and civil li ...

in the Quebec Superior Court. Meanwhile, the

(PQ) and the

Coalition Avenir Québec The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ; , ) is a Quebec nationalist, autonomist and conservative Some journalists accused Couillard of supporting the ban for “perceived political advantage,” while a majority of the general public expressed their support for this move.

Public opinion

With regard to public opinion, an October 27

Ipsos Ipsos Group S.A. () (an acronym of ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the P ...

poll found that 76 per cent of Quebecers backed Bill 62, with 24 per cent opposing it. The same survey found the 68 per cent of Canadians in general supported a law similar to Bill 62 in their part of Canada. An October 27

Angus Reid Institute Angus Reid (born December 17, 1947) is a Canadian entrepreneur, pollster, and sociologist. He is the chairman of the Angus Reid Institute and CEO and founder of Angus Reid Global. He is director of the Reid Campbell Group which operates Rival ...

poll found that 70 per cent Canadians outside of Quebec supported "legislation similar to Bill 62" where they lived in the country, with 30 per cent opposing it.

Court challenges

Several legal challenges were filed against the law and a judge ruled that the face-covering ban cannot be applicable while analysis by another court, because of irreversible injury it may cause some women of the Muslim faith. Another judge granted an injunction on that section questioned in court by the

with the participation of the

. In the judgment of the court, said section contravenes the freedoms guaranteed by the ''

Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms The ''Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte des droits et libertés de la personne), also known as the "Quebec Charter", is a statutory bill of rights and human rights code passed by the National Assembly of Quebec on June 27, 1 ...

'', and the ''

''. The Quebec Liberal Party government confirmed that it would not appeal that suspension of the key article of its ''Religious Neutrality Act''. The

Government of Quebec A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

preferred to wait for a judgement on the substance and constitutionality of the law. If the Liberal government had been re-elected in the general election on October 1, 2018, Premier Philippe Couillard said he would be ready to go to the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

, if necessary, to defend Bill 62. From his previous comments on the matter, Couillard was not likely to preserve the face covering ban by invoking section 33 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'', the notwithstanding clause. Couillard stated that his government, in passing Bill 62, did not use the notwithstanding clause by design, asserting that the court would uphold his government’s limited ban as reasonable and justified.

Reception

Opposition

The Quebec Liberal Party said the law would go too far, particularly in respect to Muslim women, and continued to advocate a ban only on religious clothing which covered the face, such as the niqab. Québec solidaire said that it was opposed to any ban on the wearing of religious symbols. Quebec Liberal leadership candidate,

Dominique Anglade Dominique Anglade (born January 31, 1974) is a business woman and a Canadian politician who served as the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition of Quebec from May 11, 2020 to December 1, 2022.Antoni Narestant"Dominiqu ...

, argued that “We are all in favour of

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...

, but not the way it was done with Bill 21.” The Parti Québécois said the ban did not go far enough, and that it should have been extended to public daycare workers, as in its proposed legislation.

Gérard Bouchard Gérard Bouchard (born 1943) is a Canadian historian and sociologist affiliated with the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. Born on 26 December 1943 in Jonquière, Quebec, he obtained his master's degree in sociology from Université Laval i ...

and Charles Taylor, authors of the Bouchard-Taylor report on reasonable accommodations, raised concern that the law makes the province not look like a “decent society” and will only feed an intolerance toward minorities. Various forms of resistance to Law 21 have emerged since its inception. Some are the legal challenges described below. The Coalition Inclusion Quebec is taking legal action on the basis that Law 21 specifically targets Muslim women. The Coalition Inclusion Quebec is challenging the use of the notwithstanding clause because it cannot be used against Section 28 of the Charter, regarding gender discrimination. Another court case is being filed by the English Montreal School Board on the basis of violating minority language rights.

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

and

Edmonton City Council The Edmonton City Council is the governing body of the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Edmonton currently has one mayor and twelve city councillors. Elections are held every four years. The most recent was held in 2021, and the next is in 20 ...

voted unanimously to condemn Bill 21 with mayors

Naheed Nenshi Naheed Kurban Nenshi (born February 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician who was the 36th mayor of Calgary, Alberta. He was elected in the 2010 municipal election with 39% of the vote, and is the first Muslim mayor of a large North American city. ...

of Calgary and

Don Iveson Donald L. Iveson (born May 30, 1979) is a Canadian politician who served as mayor of Edmonton from 2013 to 2021. He was first elected as mayor in the 2013 municipal election with 62% of the vote, and was re-elected in 2017 with 73.6% of the vot ...

of Edmonton urging other municipal governments to speak out against Law 21.

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

leader

Jagmeet Singh Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal ( ; born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) since 2017. Singh has sat as the member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby South since 2019.antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

envoy

Irwin Cotler Irwin Cotler, PC, OC, OQ (born May 8, 1940) is a retired Canadian politician who was Member of Parliament for Mount Royal from 1999 to 2015. He served as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 until the Liberal gov ...

has called Law 21 "discriminatory", adding that "It does not so much separate religion and state as it authorizes state interference with religion".

Support

Prior to the

Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...

in the 1960s, Quebec was heavily influenced by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, including the education system. The arrangement was unpopular, with many older Quebeckers later reporting negative experiences while in school. People saw the role of the church as a "necessary step on the road to modernity, to building a secular, more egalitarian society, freed from the evils of superstition". Religion came to be seen as a

social construct Social constructionism is a theory in sociology, social ontology, and communication theory which proposes that certain ideas about reality, physical reality arise from collaborative consensus, instead of pure observation of said reality. The ...

that society and people can choose to adopt or to disregard. David Rand wrote in a

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

column that the law is a positive step forward in ensuring the religious neutrality of the state. He explained that in the

culture of Quebec The culture of Quebec emerged over the last few hundred years, resulting predominantly from the shared history of the French-speaking North American majority in Quebec. Québécois culture, as a whole, constitutes all distinctive traits – spiri ...

, religion is a private matter and that members of the civil service must be neutral while at work. Similar to existing legislation which prohibits employees from wearing partisan political symbols on the job. Law 21 extends the principle to religious symbols. It does not ban religious believers from government jobs but instead excludes only their religious symbols if they are in positions of authority, and only while on the job. The bill intends to eliminate any perceived religious favouritism and protect freedom of conscience for users of government services by ensuring they are not subjected to unnecessary displays of religion. A 2019 poll conducted by

Forum Research Forum Research is a Canadian market research and polling firm founded in 1993 by Dr. Lorne Bozinoff. Forum Research Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and has offices throughout Canada (Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver) and around the world ( ...

reported the law enjoyed 64 per cent support in Quebec. The

Supports it but, said the ban did not go far enough, and that it should have been extended to public daycare workers, as in its proposed legislation.

Mouvement laïque québécois The Mouvement laïque québécois (MLQ) (unofficially, the 'Quebec Secular Movement') is a non-profit organisation whose goal is to defend and promote freedom of conscience, separation of church and state, and secularisation of public institutions ...

MLQ supports the Bill, but they say it doesn't go far enough.

Federal election

Law 21 was debated in the 2019 federal election. Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet stated this was a provincial matter and not relevant to the federal government's jurisdiction but did campaign in favour of Law 21. When explaining why being called a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

to Canada Press is not seen a pejorative, Joseph Yvon Thériault, a sociology professor at

University of Quebec at Montreal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, compared Bill 21 to stricter legislation in European countries such as

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and Belgium as an argument that Quebec nationalism is based on moderation.

Court challenges

The law has faced many legal challenges. The

(NCCM) and the

(CCLA) filed a legal challenge against the law which aimed to stay its application. The groups argue that the law is unconstitutional, irreparably harms religious minorities and constitutes "state-sanctioned second class citizenship." The

later granted the petitioning organizations leave to appeal the claim for an injunction. The Coalition Inclusion Quebec announced a challenge to the ruling at the Quebec Court of Appeal in order to strike down the entire law. A 29-day hearing into challenges to the law was heard in the Quebec Superior Court in 2020. In April 2021, Quebec Superior Court judge Marc-André Blanchard ruled that the law violated the

and

of religious minorities (especially

women). Blanchard stated the law "in one way violat stheir freedom of religion, and in another,

oes Oes or owes were metallic "O" shaped rings or eyelets sewn on to clothes and furnishing textiles for decorative effect in England and at the Elizabethan and Jacobean court. They were smaller than modern sequins. Making and metals Robert Sharp obta ...

the same in regards to their freedom of expression, since clothing constitutes both pure and simple expression, and also the manifestation of a religious belief." Nevertheless he upheld most of the ban as the government had invoked the

. However, he ruled that the provisions were unconstitutional, to the extent they applied to English-language school boards, as the notwithstanding clause cannot be used to restrict minority language rights protected by the ''Canadian Charter Rights and Freedoms''. Similarly, the notwithstanding clause cannot be used to restrict rights granted by s. 3 of the Canadian Charter to elected members of the legislative assemblies, so the law was unconstitutional to the extent it purported to apply to members of the National Assembly.

References

External links

* * * {{Politics of Quebec 2019 in Quebec Clothing in politics Clothing controversies Political controversies in Canada Politics of Quebec Quebec provincial legislation Religious controversies in Canada Political history of Quebec

Contents and passage

Prior legislation

Proposed Charter of Values

Bill 62

Criticism

Public opinion

Court challenges

Reception

Opposition

Support

Federal election

Court challenges

See also

References

External links