‘Everything is on the table,’ says minister responsible for secularism
Having daycare employees covered under Quebec’s Bill 21 is not out of the realm of possibility, according to the province’s minister responsible for secularism.
“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, said Jean-François Roberge in a report from The Canadian Press (CP).
The government, however, will wait for the recommendations from a government-appointed committee studying the issue before deciding whether to move forward.
The committee is also looking at ways of strengthening secularism in other spaces, including junior colleges and universities, said Roberge.
However, if the ban is extended to daycares, it should only apply to future hires in order to avoid staff shortages and service disruptions, said Suzanne Roy, minister of families, in the CP report posted in CTV News.
In March, the Quebec government introduced new legislation that would expand its controversial ban on religious symbols to school support staff – such as lunchroom and after-school care monitors, administrative secretaries, and volunteer librarians, banning them from wearing religious symbols, including items like the hijab or kippa, in the workplace, according to a report by CBC News.
"I'm aware that this bill will cause disruption," said Education Minister Bernard Drainville, according to Times Colonist. "But honestly, we can't just sit back and do nothing."
The English Montreal School Board strongly opposes the Quebec government’s proposed law to expand the ban on religious symbols at work.
“Bill 94 is a bad idea at a bad time,” said EMSB Chair Joe Ortona. “We are already dealing with a shortage of teachers across the province. Bill 21 merely exacerbates the problem. Finding people to do all the other jobs necessary to ensure our students have all the support they need is equally challenging. Bill 94 will impact every educator and student in Quebec negatively.”
The government is invoking the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to shield the bill from constitutional challenges, as it did with Bill 21, according to CBC. Bill 21 is facing a challenge at the Supreme Court after the Quebec Court of Appeal decided that the legislation is constitutional.
