Quebec creates committee to analyze and strengthen secularism law

A new committee is mandated to create guidelines for secularism and religious neutrality within Quebec institutions.

Quebec will now have a state secularism watchdog.

Secularism Minister Jean- François Roberge announced the creation of the committee on Monday. It is mandated to create guidelines for secularism and religious neutrality within state institutions and make recommendations on how to strengthen secularism in Quebec.

“Secularism is a fundamental value in Quebec,” said Roberge in a news release. “It is part of our history and is now part of our identity as a nation. Five years after the adoption of the Act respecting the secular nature of the State, the government wants to have a clear picture of its application in our institutions.”

The Act respecting the laicity of the State, formerly known as Bill 21, was passed in 2019 and makes it illegal for public servants in positions of authority, such as judges, teachers, and police officers, to wear religious symbols while at work.

That law followed the 2017 Bill 62, which banned face coverings for public sector employees, among other rules.

The Supreme Court of Canada agreed to hear a legal challenge against Bill 21 by several groups, including the English Montreal School Board, the National Council for Canadian Muslims, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).

Banning prayer in public to be examined

The committee will be headed by two lawyers: Christiane Pelchat, former president of Quebec’s council on the status of women, and Guillaume Rousseau, a law professor at Université de Sherbrooke.

“I have been working on secularism as a vehicle for equality between women and men for 20 years now,” said Pelchat. “I’m encouraged by the progress we’ve made and happy to be part of the continuing evolution.”

Roberge said they will go beyond public institutions to examine whether the government can take action on prayer in public places as well. He pointed to instances of Muslims blocking streets by kneeling to pray during pro-Palestinian protests in Montreal last year, which he said made people uneasy.

“Personally, I find that it is contrary to living together in harmony,” he said.

During a news conference last December, Legault said he was looking at ways to end prayer in public places.

Legault said he was particularly shocked by the religious excesses at the Bedford School in Montreal.

A report from the committee is expected by Aug. 20.

With files from The Canadian Press