In Hak v. Attorney General of Quebec, (Que. Super. Ct., April 20, 2021), a Quebec (Canada) Superior Court judge in a 240-page opinion upheld, with two important exceptions, Bill 21 which prohibits a lengthy list of public officials, law enforcement and judicial officials as well as teachers from wearing religious symbols in the exercise of their official functions. (See prior posting.) Here is CBC News' summary of the decision:
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 the most contentious parts of the law — the religious symbols ban for many government employees — can't be applied to English schools.
The desire of English school boards to foster diversity by choosing who they hire is protected by the minority-language education rights in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Blanchard said in his decision.
Crucially, that section of the charter (23) is not covered by the notwithstanding clause....
Blanchard also ruled 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 the right to be eligible to vote and be a member of the legislature.
Quebec's Justice Minister says that an appeal is planned. Montreal Gazette and the New York Times also analyze the decision.
