Court upholds most of Quebec secularism law

The Supreme Court of Quebec has upheld most of a controversial new law meant to enforce secularism in the province, CTV News reports.

Bill 21, which passed the Quebec legislature nearly two years ago, prohibits public sector workers from displaying religious symbols while on the job. Such symbols can include religious garbs such as hijabs and turbans, and other religious items such as kippahs.

The law was passed with the invocation of the notwithstanding clause, allowing them to preemptively bypass most constitutional challenges the law may face.

While most of the law was subsequently upheld by the court, Justice Marc-Andre Blanchard did strike down some elements of the legislation. According to Blanchard, the bill "[violates] Article 23 of the Canadian Charter, as interpreted by the Supreme Court of Canada, which provides guarantees for public educational institutions for linguistic minorities," meaning that such religious symbols could not be banned in English-language public schools.

Blanchard also ruled that the law could not prohibit members of Quebec's national assembly from wearing religious garbs in the province's legislative body.

While the law has received widespread support in Quebec, it has become the subject of intense criticism from outside the province, with civil liberties advocates arguing that the law infringes on religious freedoms. Political figures such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi have publicly expressed opposition to the law. Organizations such as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have also spoken out against the law.

However, many advocates of secularism in Quebec have argued that the law does not go far enough, with the Parti Québécois expressing disappointment that the law did not cover public daycare workers.

Some have also argued that the law strikes a moderate balance between religious freedom and more stringent secularism laws as seen in France, where the government has outright banned the wearing of Islamic face coverings.