Quebec secularism bill creating division

Quebec's Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, walks through the Salon rouge before the start of Question Period at the Quebec City Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Karoline Boucher/The Canadian Press)

Education Minister Bernard Drainville’s bill to extend secularism in Quebec schools is far from reaching consensus.

While the list of people calling for the legislation to go further is growing, others are calling for it to be withdrawn altogether.

In parliamentary committee on Tuesday morning, philosopher Normand Baillargeon said he would like to see secularism extended “to public schools, religious schools and CPEs (daycares).”

“Schools must be places where critical thinking is taught, embodied in this ideal of secularism and universality,” he argued.

Baillargeon said he had not reached a conclusion on CEGEPs yet.

“But for the rest, I stand by what I have just said: a ban on religious symbols everywhere and for everyone, without any reservations. No compromise on accommodations or exceptions, such as prayer rooms”, he said at the National Assembly.

The group Pour les droits des femmes au Québec (PDF Québec) is calling for “a complete ban on the wearing of religious symbols in schools by primary and secondary students, in both the private and public sectors.”

PDF Québec is calling for a ban on religious symbols for children and staff in daycare centres and CPEs, and a ban on prayer halls in CEGEPs and universities.

Bill 94 extends the ban on the wearing of religious symbols to all public school staff, as well as to people working under agreements with schools. A grandfather clause is nonetheless provided for those already on the job.

Minister Bernard Drainville has already closed the door on extending the ban on religious symbols to students.

The minister said on Tuesday that public schools would be considered at a later stage.

“What we have already tabled for public schools is considerable. So we’re going to go step by step,” he said.

The legislation will also ban the full veil in public and public schools, for both students and staff.

Bill 94 was tabled in the wake of breaches of secularism observed in several Quebec schools, including Bedford in Montreal.

Two weeks ago, the eminent sociologist Guy Rocher argued that the ban on religious symbols should be extended to students in Quebec’s public schools.

For its part, the Mouvement laïque québécois (MLQ) called for a ban on “religious dress” - such as the hijab and abaya - for pupils. France has had a law along these lines since 2004.

Bill infringes Canadians’ Charter rights: LDL

On Thursday, the Ligue des droits et libertés (LDL) called for Bill 94 to be withdrawn, claiming that it is “contrary to an open and inclusive secularism and that it infringes the rights and freedoms protected by the Quebec and Canadian Charters and by international human rights law.”

“By imposing forced secularization on individuals and excluding people from the public education system because of the expression of their cultural and religious affiliation, Bill 94 proposes an assimilationist model for managing pluralism,” LDL spokesperson Diane Lamoureux said on Tuesday.

In a letter published in La Presse on Tuesday morning, three former MNAs, Françoise David (Québec Solidaire), Louise Harel (Parti Québécois) and Christine St-Pierre (Quebec Liberal Party), condemned Drainville’s bill, arguing that it “will penalize women in particular.”

The CSN has also already called for Drainville’s piece of legislation to be withdrawn, arguing among other things that it would worsen staff shortages in the network.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French April 22, 2025.

Thomas Laberge, The Canadian Press