Symbols Ban Upheld

From the CBC:

“Quebec Superior Court upholds religious symbols ban, but English-language schools exempt”

The Quebec Superior Court has struck down some sections of the province's secularism law, but also ruled its most controversial provisions are constitutional.  In a ruling handed down Tuesday morning, Justice Marc-André Blanchard said the Quebec government has the right to restrict what religious symbols are worn by government employees, such as teachers, police officers and prosecutors. But he also said the law can't be applied to English schools because it violates minority language education rights, protected under Section 23 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And he said that members of the province's National Assembly can't be forced to provide services to the public with their faces uncovered.  In other words, MNAs are allowed to wear religious symbols that cover their faces, such as a niqab, in accordance with the section of the charter that guarantees every citizen "has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein." In a statement, the chair of the English Montreal School Board said it was "elated" with the decision to exempt English-language school boards. "We value the diversity of our students and staff and respect their personal and religious rights, which are guaranteed both by the Canadian and Quebec Charters of Rights," said Joe Ortona, the school board's chair.

Muslim women among most affected The ruling comes roughly a year and a half after the Coalition Avenir Québec government passed Bill 21, which bans some civil servants from wearing religious symbols at work. Among the largest group affected by the ban are Muslim women, who are no longer allowed to wear hijabs if they work as public teachers, police officers, prison guards or government-paid lawyers. The restrictions were necessary, the government said, to protect Quebec's unique version of secularism, or laicity. Civil liberties groups — including the National Council of Muslims — began filing lawsuits against Bill 21 as soon as it was passed. At a trial this fall, Justice Marc-André Blanchard heard four different lawsuits, each attacking different aspects of the law. Tuesday's decision marks the first time a court has issued an opinion on the law's constitutionality. It is, however, highly unlikely to settle the matter. Most legal experts expect the issue will eventually be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

^ Public Officials who work for the Local, Provincial or Federal Governments should be banned from wearing religious symbols (unless they can be hidden from public view.) I consider myself very religious, but with that said I also believe religion is a private and personal thing that should not be thrown in anyone’s face. I also believe in the “Separation of Church and State” which Canada does not do (it is officially a Protestant Country as only the Monarch and Head-of-State can be a Protestant), but which Canada should adhere to. ^

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bill-21-religious-symbols-ban-quebec-court-ruling-1.5993431