Quebec not ruling out expanding religious symbol ban to daycare workers: minister

Quebec minister responsible for secularism Jean-Francois Roberge responds to the opposition during question period at the legislature in Quebec City on April 8, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot) (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

The Quebec minister responsible for secularism says the government isn’t ruling out expanding its religious symbols ban to include daycare employees.

Jean-François Roberge says “everything is on the table” when it comes to strengthening secularism in the province, including extending the law known as Bill 21 to include more categories of public employees.

However, he said today the government will wait for the recommendations from a government-appointed committee studying the issue before deciding whether to move forward.

Currently, the workplace religious symbol ban applies to categories of public employees deemed to be in positions of authority, including teachers and police officers.

Families Minister Suzanne Roy says that if the ban is extended to daycares, it should only apply to future hires in order to avoid staff shortages and service disruptions.

Roberge says the committee is also looking at ways of strengthening secularism in other spaces, including junior colleges and universities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 23, 2025.